How RMIT’s Chinese website refresh doubled​​​conversion of direct inquiries

RMIT recognised the need to refine its China-facing website to better align with its global branding, improve lead generation processes, and enhance the mobile user experience, which accounted for the majority of web traffic. While the original site provided a solid foundation, some content had become outdated, and operational inefficiencies in lead management needed to be optimised. Ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and integrating the platform with CRM systems were also critical to achieving a more effective and streamlined digital presence.

The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), one of Australia’s most prestigious institutions, has a diverse student base. RMIT’s ambition to engage international students has never been more crucial. In particular, engaging prospective students in China—a key market for the university—required overcoming unique challenges. These included navigating technological barriers, ensuring cultural relevance, and delivering seamless user experiences. There were also additional geographical and process challenges associated with operating overseas.

Recognising the need for a strong digital presence in China, RMIT first partnered with Sinorbis in 2019 to establish a localised China-facing website. This collaboration enabled the university to break through barriers such as China’s firewall while providing a tailored digital experience for prospective students, all managed from Australia.

In 2023, RMIT took this success a step further by initiating a comprehensive website refresh project. The goal was to further optimise the digital experience, enhance branding, and align the site with evolving user needs. “The initial site gave us a strong foundation, but we identified several areas where we could improve,” explained Alford.

The decision to refresh the China-facing website was driven by a need to address several challenges. The original site, while effective, was no longer aligned with RMIT’s updated global branding. Additionally, some content was outdated, creating a gap in relevance for current and prospective students.

Lead generation was another area of concern, as the university’s previous processes were manual and labour-intensive, leading to inefficiencies and potential data loss. Simultaneously, ensuring compliance with stringent legal and regulatory requirements was paramount.

What’s more, with 95% of RMIT’s web traffic originating from mobile users, further optimising the mobile experience became a critical priority.

The Sinorbis Experience Platform proved to be an invaluable partner in addressing these challenges and building a modern, optimised digital presence. The refreshed website retained its strong localised focus while introducing several enhancements.

“We wanted to ensure we were speaking to our audience not only in their language but also in terms of the things they were interested in,” said Alford. “This ability to deliver tailored, relevant information has been crucial in engaging prospective students in China.”

One of the key improvements was a comprehensive branding overhaul, aligning the site with RMIT’s global identity and ensuring consistency across platforms. This was coupled with a full content refresh to improve relevance, quality, and accuracy. Mobile-first design enhancements further elevated the user experience by ensuring fast load speeds and responsive templates tailored to mobile users.

Centralised content management was a standout feature, allowing updates to be made in one place and reflected across the site. “One of my favourite features of the Sinorbis platform is the grouping function,” said Alford. “It ensures accuracy while saving time and effort.”

The project included the creation of a localised native form, designed to further optimise lead generation. “The localised form allowed us to significantly streamline the way we capture and process information,” Alford noted. With a dedicated risk and compliance team, as well as a legal team, RMIT worked closely with Sinorbis to ensure all legal and compliance risks were addressed to their high standards. “We have several processes in place, like a security risk assessment and a third-party risk assessment,” Alford explained. “It’s important for compliance reasons that any vendor we work with, including Sinorbis, meets the expectations that are required within these frameworks.”

The project also included a major push to improve search engine optimisation (SEO). This involved identifying critical keywords, optimising titles and descriptions, and restructuring content for better visibility and usability.

Perhaps the most transformative improvement was the integration of Sinorbis forms with RMIT’s Salesforce CRM. This enabled the automation of lead management processes, eliminating data loss and reducing manual workload. “ We now have reassurance that with our new lead management process in place we are receiving 100% of the data.” said Alford. RMIT was also able to develop a benchmark for lead conversion from visitors to form conversion.

The website refresh delivered measurable success across all key metrics. The lead conversion rate doubled in 2024. Chinese application rates rose by 15% between 2022 and 2023 and by an additional 20% the following year.

The site also saw a 26.3% increase in visitors and an 18.9% rise in sessions after the website refresh project, while returning visitors grew by 65%, highlighting improved engagement. “The data unequivocally points to the fact that this project has provided a much better experience for users,” said Alford.

The initial partnership with Sinorbis provided the foundation for success, while the refresh project further optimised the digital experience, driving significant growth and engagement.

“The Sinorbis platform is one of the most intuitive I’ve worked on,” Alford reflected. “The ability to create bespoke components and leverage advanced features has been invaluable. Beyond that, the team has been incredible—knowledgeable, supportive, and collaborative throughout the process.”

This case study highlights how RMIT’s strategic use of the Sinorbis platform has supported its digital engagement strategy.