Amid intensifying competition in the higher education sector, institutions are increasingly turning to digital marketing to attract and engage prospective students. This study examines how key components of digital marketing, including Institutional Websites (IW), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Paid Online Advertising (POA), and Social Media Marketing (SMM), influence Chinese students' decisions when selecting higher education institutions. Drawing on Social Influence Theory and adopting a quantitative research design, data were collected from 385 Chinese students through a structured questionnaire. Covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) was conducted using AMOS. The findings show that IW, POA, and SMM have significant positive effects on students’ choices, while SEO has no significant impact. These results suggest that higher education institutions should strategically focus on enhancing their websites, online advertising, and social media presence to improve the effectiveness of student recruitment.