UK Education & Training Universities - PPC Market Share Analysis January 2026

Leveraging Adthena’s Whole Market View, this analysis explores recent trends in Google Ads for the UK Universities category from the last month. Our Data Analyst, Ask Arlo provides commentary on key findings.

Universities – UK

Google AI Overview visibility for Education & Training Universities UK

See how often AIOs appear and how search intent is distributed across buying signals.

AIO Frequency

How often a Google AI overview appears on search terms relevant to this category.

Frequency Percentage
Frequency 37.7196822816
62.2803177184
37%

Complex Query Frequency

A complex query is a longer, more detailed search that often contains multiple keywords, specific conditions, or multi-part questions.

Frequency Percentage
Frequency 25
75
25%

Search Intent Distribution

Breakdown of search queries by their underlying goal.

Intent Distribution
Investigational 8%
Transactional 0%
Navigational 3%
Seasonal 0%
Local 2%
Problem Solving 1%

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Market Exposure

Share of Clicks for top 10 UK Education & Training Universities brands

Here are the Top 10 competitors in the industry by Share of Clicks for the last month.

Share of Clicks - Last month
Share of Clicks - Last month
Domain Share of clicks
law.ac.uk 7.97
ucl.ac.uk 7.73
arden.ac.uk 7.23
london.edu 6.52
open.ac.uk 6.38
london.ac.uk 5.61
mmu.ac.uk 5.24
brighton.ac.uk 3.52
brunel.ac.uk 2.88
roehampton.ac.uk 2.64
others 44.28
  • law.ac.uk - 7.97%
  • ucl.ac.uk - 7.73%
  • arden.ac.uk - 7.23%
  • london.edu - 6.52%
  • open.ac.uk - 6.38%
  • london.ac.uk - 5.61%
  • mmu.ac.uk - 5.24%
  • brighton.ac.uk - 3.52%
  • brunel.ac.uk - 2.88%
  • roehampton.ac.uk - 2.64%
  • others - 44.28%

Copyright © Adthena. All rights reserved.

In the education sector’s PPC landscape, ‘others’ dominate with 44.28% click share, while ‘law.ac.uk’ leads individual domains at 7.97%.

Market Exposure

Share of Spend for the top 10 UK Education & Training Universities brands

Curious about your market position? Here you can see the Top 10 competitors in the industry by Share of Spend for the last month. 

Share of Spend - Last Month
Share of Spend - Last Month
Date arden.ac.uk law.ac.uk roehampton.ac.uk open.ac.uk london.edu london.ac.uk betterhelp.com hult.edu ucl.ac.uk brunel.ac.uk
2026/01/01 4.27% 14.02% 1.5% 8.8% 3.18% 3.01% 4.37% 1.29% 0.18% 3%
2026/01/02 3.76% 13.14% 2.38% 14.44% 4.9% 2.24% 3.28% 0.82% 5.14% 4.4%
2026/01/03 3.34% 14.73% 2.54% 9.75% 3.97% 7% 1.37% 1.01% 9.66% 3.11%
2026/01/04 3.35% 12.82% 4.07% 8.94% 4.48% 6.86% 3.35% 1.29% 1.53% 2.76%
2026/01/05 4.71% 13.62% 3.97% 10.47% 4.08% 3.33% 1.26% 0.75% 5.8% 5.35%
2026/01/06 5.4% 12.66% 4.91% 7.77% 4.82% 4.63% 2.96% 1.9% 6.38% 3.34%
2026/01/07 5.53% 15.37% 4.19% 11.13% 3.85% 4.3% 0.62% 1.67% 0.84% 3.89%
2026/01/08 6.56% 7.75% 3.21% 10.33% 3.74% 4.45% 7.28% 3.13% 11.79% 2.34%
2026/01/09 9.47% 10.53% 5.26% 8.2% 3.6% 3.3% 5.39% 4.71% 0.41% 1.81%
2026/01/10 8.75% 7.93% 2.94% 5.06% 3.36% 5.25% 2.55% 4.82% 1.18% 2.27%
2026/01/11 7.55% 10.17% 3.78% 5.07% 3.5% 4.2% 5.22% 4.08% 5.77% 2.15%
2026/01/12 8.57% 9.83% 5.64% 5.69% 2.69% 6.07% 3.87% 6.42% 1.64% 5.59%
2026/01/13 9.14% 9.82% 4.91% 4.41% 3.18% 3.62% 2.53% 5.36% 1.34% 8.05%
2026/01/14 9.86% 12.14% 6.66% 2.92% 3.51% 4.52% 2.97% 2.69% 0.79% 11.38%
2026/01/15 9.23% 9.15% 5.95% 6.22% 6.36% 6.48% 3.01% 1.3% 0.1% 8.66%
2026/01/16 9.44% 10.5% 5.24% 8.17% 3.59% 3.33% 5.37% 4.7% 0.41% 1.81%
2026/01/17 8.62% 9% 1.59% 4.41% 6.02% 4.14% 2.37% 4.18% 3.95% 2.95%
2026/01/18 11.66% 11.59% 1.88% 3% 4.71% 7.25% 2.96% 5.56% 0.75% 3.38%
2026/01/19 10.45% 11.02% 3.76% 3.54% 3.36% 8.78% 4.7% 6.72% 1.41% 1.96%
2026/01/20 10.59% 12.33% 2.89% 3.93% 4.44% 4.95% 4.53% 6.68% 6.5% 2.06%
2026/01/21 13.97% 11.13% 5.7% 3.7% 3.39% 8.76% 6.97% 4.68% 0.08% 3.23%
2026/01/22 18.8% 10.84% 8.63% 6.67% 5.25% 5.74% 5.07% 3.15% 0.38% 2.66%
2026/01/23 14.22% 9.89% 9.27% 7.63% 3.89% 3.8% 3.58% 1.27% 5.63% 2.13%
2026/01/24 10.74% 9.5% 6.55% 4.56% 3.62% 6.22% 1.52% 0.68% 10.38% 2.27%
2026/01/25 11.54% 8.53% 5.55% 7.03% 4.64% 4.22% 2.66% 0.54% 6.72% 1.99%
2026/01/26 11.24% 10.82% 7.66% 6.98% 4.21% 4.65% 2.46% 0.61% 4.32% 3.35%
2026/01/27 11.65% 8.96% 8.7% 7.26% 5.9% 4.28% 2.24% 0.83% 7.55% 1.85%
2026/01/28 10.49% 9.36% 8.53% 6.43% 3.43% 3.82% 2.37% 0.73% 14.26% 2.19%
2026/01/29 11.64% 9.84% 7.82% 8.78% 3.99% 5.25% 2.57% 0.31% 0.05% 2.94%
2026/01/30 11.35% 9.28% 7.5% 7.12% 5.21% 6% 2.84% 0.42% 0.04% 1.78%
2026/01/31 16.76% 12.58% 7.56% 7.06% 5.41% 4.81% 2% 1.08% 1.04% 0.66%
  • arden.ac.uk
  • law.ac.uk
  • roehampton.ac.uk
  • open.ac.uk
  • london.edu
  • london.ac.uk
  • betterhelp.com
  • hult.edu
  • ucl.ac.uk
  • brunel.ac.uk

Copyright © Adthena. All rights reserved.

Arden.ac.uk’s spend share surged from 4.27% to 16.76% in January, peaking mid-month. Law.ac.uk fluctuated, ending at 12.58%. Roehampton.ac.uk rose steadily, closing at 7.56%. Open.ac.uk’s share varied, finishing at 7.06%. London.edu and london.ac.uk showed moderate changes, ending at 5.41% and 4.81%, respectively. Betterhelp.com and hult.edu had lower shares, closing at 2.0% and 1.08%. Ucl.ac.uk and brunel.ac.uk experienced volatility, ending at 1.04% and 0.66%.

Market Exposure

Competitor Count for UK Education & Training Universities

Ever wondered how many competitors you’re up against in your industry? Well look no further, here we can see the number of advertisers bidding over the last month. 

Competitor Count - Last month
Competitor Count - Last month
Date Competitor Count
2026/01/01 181
2026/01/02 185
2026/01/03 180
2026/01/04 181
2026/01/05 178
2026/01/06 162
2026/01/07 175
2026/01/08 157
2026/01/09 155
2026/01/10 167
2026/01/11 168
2026/01/12 166
2026/01/13 172
2026/01/14 165
2026/01/15 158
2026/01/16 155
2026/01/17 166
2026/01/18 165
2026/01/19 155
2026/01/20 152
2026/01/21 153
2026/01/22 148
2026/01/23 160
2026/01/24 152
2026/01/25 159
2026/01/26 179
2026/01/27 157
2026/01/28 152
2026/01/29 156
2026/01/30 162
2026/01/31 159

Copyright © Adthena. All rights reserved.

January saw fluctuating advertiser numbers, starting at 181 and ending at 159. Mid-month, numbers dipped to 148, reflecting a dynamic advertising landscape.

Campaign Efficiency

Market Loss & Market Gains for UK Education & Training Universities

Here we’re looking at the Top 10 biggest industry movers by market share gains and losses for the last 30 days.

Market Loss & Market Gains - Last month
Market Loss & Market Gains - Last month
Name Market Trend
ucl.ac.uk 4.93%
arden.ac.uk 4.07%
birmingham.ac.uk 2.54%
london.ac.uk 1.31%
law.ac.uk 1.24%
brighton.ac.uk -1.14%
brunel.ac.uk -1.41%
uea.ac.uk -1.45%
qmul.ac.uk -2.6%
mmu.ac.uk -4.96%

Copyright © Adthena. All rights reserved.

UCL and Arden saw significant click share growth, with UCL at 4.93% and Arden at 4.07%. Conversely, MMU experienced a notable decline of -4.96%.

Campaign Efficiency

UK Education & Training Universities Share of Impressions

Take a look at the Top 10 competitors in the industry by Share of Impressions over the last month.

Date arden.ac.uk law.ac.uk open.ac.uk roehampton.ac.uk london.edu betterhelp.com hult.edu getsmarter.com brunel.ac.uk ucl.ac.uk
2026/01/01 4.71% 18.15% 8.82% 1.54% 2% 4.3% 1.37% 6.34% 3.3% 0.15%
2026/01/02 5.4% 18.18% 13.35% 1.92% 2.88% 4.02% 0.64% 1.48% 4.97% 2.66%
2026/01/03 4.85% 18.35% 12.36% 2.08% 2.84% 1.18% 1.18% 2.5% 4.1% 5.57%
2026/01/04 4.56% 14.51% 11.82% 2.48% 2.81% 4.44% 1% 4.37% 3.66% 0.61%
2026/01/05 6.46% 18.14% 11.01% 3.04% 2.73% 2.04% 0.7% 2.13% 6.83% 3.22%
2026/01/06 7.65% 18.53% 7.92% 4.25% 3.01% 4.87% 1.55% 1.75% 3.96% 3.37%
2026/01/07 6.47% 19.1% 10.59% 3.44% 2.21% 0.96% 1.76% 0.17% 4.62% 0.34%
2026/01/08 7.86% 12.41% 11.69% 2.99% 2.4% 7.43% 3.19% 3.89% 3.37% 7.55%
2026/01/09 11.12% 11.01% 6.81% 5.18% 2.4% 6.32% 5.13% 1.96% 2.35% 0.35%
2026/01/10 10.47% 10.14% 5.62% 2.37% 2.15% 2.88% 4.72% 8.87% 2.7% 0.5%
2026/01/11 8.46% 12.07% 5.19% 2.67% 2.1% 5.45% 3.65% 4.63% 2.67% 3.17%
2026/01/12 10.43% 11.57% 5.44% 4.7% 1.68% 5.2% 6.02% 0.44% 7.47% 0.66%
2026/01/13 9.86% 13.16% 5.16% 3.07% 1.76% 3.84% 4.58% 4.56% 8.44% 0.55%
2026/01/14 11.63% 14.25% 3.07% 3.24% 2.31% 4.43% 2.44% 0.26% 11.04% 0.36%
2026/01/15 10.56% 12.55% 6.74% 3.01% 4.32% 5.11% 1.38% 0.63% 10.79% 0.09%
2026/01/16 11.12% 11.01% 6.81% 5.18% 2.4% 6.32% 5.13% 1.96% 2.35% 0.35%
2026/01/17 8% 12.55% 5.79% 1.18% 3.96% 3.63% 4.14% 8.3% 3.77% 3.56%
2026/01/18 16.33% 15.38% 2.79% 1.04% 2.77% 4.46% 4.61% 3.7% 3.66% 0.34%
2026/01/19 13.02% 15.89% 3.96% 2.41% 2.49% 6.51% 7.17% 0.5% 2.66% 0.83%
2026/01/20 10.81% 17.64% 3.72% 1.79% 2.77% 5.56% 6.51% 4.46% 2.7% 3.51%
2026/01/21 16.26% 17.7% 3.85% 3.25% 2.13% 8.45% 4.56% 0.61% 3.97% 0.05%
2026/01/22 19.56% 15.66% 7.68% 4.47% 3.4% 6.69% 2.91% 0.3% 3.07% 0.22%
2026/01/23 13.59% 15.65% 8.26% 5.74% 2.57% 5.55% 0.75% 2.43% 2.23% 4.51%
2026/01/24 13.89% 14.6% 6.15% 3.63% 2.22% 2.47% 0.84% 4.67% 2.81% 7.19%
2026/01/25 14.63% 12.09% 8.57% 3.77% 2.92% 4.36% 0.53% 3.22% 2.28% 4.81%
2026/01/26 13.75% 14.54% 8.5% 3.99% 2.5% 3.87% 0.71% 0.28% 3.73% 3.98%
2026/01/27 14.04% 13.06% 9.83% 5.28% 3.91% 3.63% 0.94% 3.13% 2.43% 4.13%
2026/01/28 12.02% 13.78% 8.94% 5.27% 2.15% 4.11% 0.89% 0.33% 2.85% 11.8%
2026/01/29 13.28% 14.89% 11.54% 4.04% 2.62% 4.06% 0.37% 0.4% 3.32% 0.06%
2026/01/30 14.1% 14.34% 8.47% 4.23% 3.37% 4.72% 0.42% 0.46% 1.92% 0.04%
2026/01/31 18.55% 15.47% 8.79% 4.58% 3.57% 3.3% 1.38% 0.81% 0.55% 0.47%
  • arden.ac.uk
  • law.ac.uk
  • open.ac.uk
  • roehampton.ac.uk
  • london.edu
  • betterhelp.com
  • hult.edu
  • getsmarter.com
  • brunel.ac.uk
  • ucl.ac.uk

Copyright © Adthena. All rights reserved.

In January 2026, arden.ac.uk’s impression share surged from 4.71% to 18.55%. law.ac.uk maintained a steady presence, while open.ac.uk fluctuated. roehampton.ac.uk and london.edu showed modest gains. The month concluded with arden.ac.uk leading.

Campaign Efficiency

Google Text Ad Copy Insights & Creative Trends for UK Education & Training Universities

Ever wondered how your rivals’ ads are doing? Here we can see the top-performing ads in the industry over the last month.

Google Text Ad Copy Insights & Creative Trends for UK Education & Training Universities - Last month
  1. 1
    Therapy Without Referrals https://www.betterhelp.com

    Find a Specialised Therapist — About 95% Of Customers Can Find A Therapist Within 48 Hours. 100% Online And Easy Sign-Up. No Referrals, No Waiting Rooms. Start Your Healing...

  2. 2
    BSc (Hons) Psychology Online https://www.law.ac.uk

    Start Your Psychology Career — We Offer More Than A Degree, Discover Your Pathway To Success. Launch Your Career With Us. Flexible Psychology Degree For Undergraduates...

  3. 3
    Manchester Met University | University degrees https://www.mmu.ac.uk › undergraduate

    Modern University of the Year 2026. Your future begins at Manchester Met. Begin your journey with a degree at Manchester Metropolitan University.

  4. 4
    Master of Business Admin (MBA) | Graduate in 12 months https://onlinestudy.roehampton.ac.uk › online-msc

    100% online degree you can complete in 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time. Master of Business Administration (MBA), lead like a boss with a CMI-accredited degree.

  5. 5
    PGCE Courses at UCL | Virtual Events - January 2026 https://www.ucl.ac.uk

    Benefit from placements in London schools. Learn more at our January virtual open events. World #1 for education for nine years running. (QS World University Subject Rankings 2024) Expert Lecturers. Excellent Location. Degree programs: Primary, FE.

Copyright © Adthena. All rights reserved.

In the competitive landscape of Google PPC, top-performing ads reveal compelling narratives. BetterHelp emphasizes accessibility with “Therapy Without Referrals,” promising swift therapist connections. The University of Law and Manchester Met highlight career pathways and modern education. Roehampton’s MBA ad focuses on flexibility and leadership, while UCL showcases its prestigious education ranking and strategic location.

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