Imagine having $10,000 every month to advertise your Non-Profit, regardless of the size of your organization. You could have the ability to reach more donors and drive more awareness to your cause than ever before...
...Well there’s no need to imagine anymore!
The Google Ad Grants Program does exactly that, and if you have a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, you may want to join the many successful companies who have been utilizing this resource to grow their cause.
Free Advertising What is the Google Ad Grants Program?
The Google Ad Grants program offers 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations $10,000 in free advertising every month through Google Ads, an online pay-per-click (PPC) advertising solution from Google.
You can put this free ad budget to work for you in many ways such as:
Below is an example of where your ad would show up. In this specific case, we're looking at the first page of Google for the phrase, "cancer charity" which over 6,000 people search for every single month!
How It Works Using This Program to Fuel Your Non-Profit's Mission
In order for your company to qualify for the amazing advantages this program offers, you simply have to:
a) Apply to become a Google Ads non-profit partner.
b) Partner with an advertising account manager (like Webgrowth) to build and manage your ad campaign.
That's it!
Google wants to help your Non-Profit obtain high-quality traffic that converts - and so do we!
You'll want to spend as much of the monthly grant as you can each month because if you don’t use it, you lose it! That said, you should make the most of your advertising grant and utilize it in the most advantageous way.
Keep in mind there are also many rules and restrictions on how you set up your Google Ads campaigns that an experienced account manager can help you navigate.
For example, here are some of the rules Google will require you to follow to stay in the Google Ad Grant Program:
Compliance Guidelines
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- All of the ads in your account must send traffic to the website you listed in your initial application.
- Someone must log in to the account on a monthly basis and make changes a minimum of every 90 days.
- Your ads must reflect the mission of your non-profit and targeted to a specific geolocation.
- You must sustain a click-through-rate of at least 5% after the initial 90 days of the grant. This is to ensure a good user experience for people searching on Google.
- Some additional guidelines may apply.
PPC Ad Management Maximizing The Benefits Of Your Grant
While there is clearly a ton of opportunity with this program, succeeding with Google Ad Grants is not as simple as just writing an ad, turning it on, and achieving amazing results. There’s a lot more that goes into creating a successful Google Ads campaign.
In order to make the most of your Google Ad Grant and get the best possible results for your Non-Profit, there are some best practices you should follow:
Website Design
It’s very important to have a well-designed website that has a professional layout and is user-friendly, informative, and aesthetically-pleasing.
You can drive a ton of traffic to your website with your ads, but if your website isn’t the best representation of your Non-Profit, then it is unlikely to accomplish your goals.
You might also consider creating a dedicated landing page on your website specifically for these ads.
Here's an example of a page we built that clearly requests the user to sign up for their fundraiser, subscribe to their newsletter, and/or donate to their cause:
Keyword Selection
You’re going to determine who will see your ads by bidding on specific keywords, so you want to make sure you’re selecting these keywords carefully to ensure you’re getting in front of the right people.
The three primary deciding factors when selecting your keywords are cost (per click), competition, and relevance.
Another aspect of this is negative keywords and keyword match types, which are ways to further control the search queries that trigger your ads.
Ad Copy
You will want to test several different versions of your ads to see which ones perform the best.
Your ads should reflect your brand’s voice, effectively communicate your cause, and include a prominent call-to-action, whether it’s making a donation, subscribing to your newsletter, or volunteering for one of your events.
Conversion Tracking
When this is set up properly, you will be able to know exactly which keywords and ads led to someone calling your organization or submitting a form on your website.
This information is vital for understanding what works and what doesn’t, and for optimizing your campaign to perform even better in the future.
Next Steps Are You Ready To Take Advantage of this Program?
This all might seem a little daunting if you are not familiar with Google Ads.
At Webgrowth, we can help you with everything from applying to Google Ad Grants, creating an effective website and donation system, setting up your Google Ads campaigns, and more.
Remember - the more frequently your ads appear on Google, the more people will be aware of your cause. This can translate to more donations, volunteers, and brand advocates – the lifeblood of every nonprofit.
Partner with one of our advertising account managers to get the most out of your $10,000/mo grant. We offer:
Contact us today to see if you qualify!
Contact us to learn more about the Google Ad Grants program and other creative advertising tactics we use to grow our clients' brands online.