Cialfo partners with universities to display promotional content including ad slots, campaign banners and featured university promotions to students at relevant moments in their university search journey. This article explains how these promotions work and what to do if you encounter issues with them.
What Are University Promotions and Ad Slots on Cialfo?
University promotions on Cialfo include features such as:
Uni Quest - A dedicated section where partner universities can run featured promotions, scholarship highlights or event invitations targeted at relevant students.
Homepage banner slots - Promotional banners displayed on the student dashboard featuring partner university campaigns.
Course profile highlights - Sections on individual course or university profile pages where partners can surface key information and calls-to-action.
These promotions are managed by Cialfo's partnerships and platform team, and the content is provided by partner universities. Cialfo products are ad-free promotions are only displayed from partner institutions that have a formal relationship with Cialfo.
If you are a Counselors you do not need to configure or enable banners- they appear automatically for eligible students
If a banner displays incorrectly (wrong destination, broken image, or incorrect targeting), report it via Chat with Cialfo with
Where Do Promotional Banners Appear?
Promotional banners can appear in several locations across the platform:
The student Home page dashboard (top or mid-page banner slots)
The Universities search and browse pages
The Bookmarks and Applications sections
Contextual placement within the Blog section (e.g. TOEFL banners within TOEFL-related articles)
Why Am I Seeing (or Not Seeing) a Promotion?
Promotional content is targeted based on student profile attributes, such as graduation year, country of interest, grade level and application stage. Not all students will see all promotions. If a specific promotion is not showing for a student who should be eligible, this may be a targeting configuration issue contact Chat with Cialfo with the student's details.
What Happens When I Click a Promotion?
Clicking on a university promotion will typically redirect students to the university's profile page on Cialfo, a dedicated landing page for a campaign, or an external university link. If a promotional link is broken or leads to an error page, please report it via Chat with Cialfo.
Asset Banners on the Student Applications Page
Cialfo allows admins and counselors to publish asset banners on the student applications page to communicate important information, promote resources, or surface relevant calls-to-action (CTAs) to students.
Best Practices for Counselors for Application Page Banners
Test your CTA link in an incognito window before publishing to students.
Ensure the destination URL is accessible without login if students need to visit external pages.
Avoid setting up multiple banners targeting the same page at the same time to prevent display conflicts.
Troubleshooting & FAQ's
How do I report a promotion issue?
How do I report a promotion issue?
If you encounter any of the following, please contact Chat with Cialfo with a description and screenshot:
A promotional banner leading to a broken or error page.
A promotion appearing for students who should not be in the target audience.
A promotion not appearing for students who should be seeing it.
Any unexpected behaviour when interacting with a university promotion.
What Should I Do If a Banner CTA Link Is Not Working?
What Should I Do If a Banner CTA Link Is Not Working?
If students click a banner CTA on the student applications page and nothing happens, use the steps below to confirm the banner is configured correctly and reapply the settings.
Check that the CTA link URL is correctly formatted (should include https://).
Try republishing the banner asset from your admin/counselor dashboard.
Refresh the applications page and Confirm only one instance of the banner appears.
If the issue continues, contact Chat with Cialfo and provide the banner name, expected CTA destination, and a screenshot if available.
Why Are Campaign Impressions or Clicks Not Appearing as Expected?
Why Are Campaign Impressions or Clicks Not Appearing as Expected?
If you notice discrepancies in campaign performance data, such as impressions or clicks not appearing as expected, contact Chat with Cialfo and provide:
Campaign name
Details of the discrepancy
Screenshot (if available)
Why Isn't a Promotional Banner Responding When Clicked?
Why Isn't a Promotional Banner Responding When Clicked?
Promotional banners and asset tiles are designed to be clickable across their entire surface. If clicking a banner does not open the expected destination:
Refresh the page and try again.
Verify that the destination URL is configured correctly.
Test the banner in a different browser.
If the issue persists, contact Chat with Cialfo and provide a screenshot along with details of the affected banner.
Need More help?
Our Client Support team is available via Live Chat 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday, so you can get help anytime during the work week through Chat with Cialfo.
If you're unable to find a solution in our help articles or need further assistance, you can contact the Cialfo Support team via Live Chat or email us at [email protected].