Five Tips to Get Started with Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits

Does your nonprofit have a Google Ad Grants account? Learn how you can make the most of this incredible program with the following helpful tips and tricks.

If your nonprofit currently participates in the Google Ad Grants program, then you already know how valuable this fundraising resource can be. With $10,000 in ad credits awarded to your account each month, your organization can increase its reach to potential stakeholders.

However, once you’ve set up your account, there’s still more work to be done in order to maximize the impact of the funds you receive. Taking the time to refresh your content and manage your account properly can truly make the difference in getting the most value from your Google Ad Grant.

To help you take advantage of this incredible marketing opportunity, we’ve come up with five essential Google Ad Grants tips for nonprofits:

1. Choose the right keywords.
2. Optimize your website’s landing pages.
3. Track your progress.
4. Maintain compliance.
5. Work with a Google Ad Grants agency as needed.

With these tips in mind, your nonprofit can use its Google Ad Grant to its fullest potential. Let’s get started!

1. Choose the right keywords.

While keyword selection may seem simple, it’s important to dedicate some thought to the keywords you choose. The right keywords can have the power to maximize your content’s reach to the right audience. Depending on the aim of your ad, this could mean more volunteer sign-ups, donations, or overall clicks.

When developing your Google Ad Grants keyword strategy, make sure your keywords are:

• Relevant to your nonprofit’s mission. The ultimate purpose of the Google Ad Grant is for nonprofits to gain exposure online. Therefore, your organization must be upfront about what it represents so it can attract people interested in your mission.
• High in search volume. While you want your keywords to be specific, you don’t want them to be too specific. To ensure you’re choosing keywords that people are actually searching for, take advantage of resources such as Google Trends, Search Console, and Moz.
• Relatively low in competition. The tricky part about choosing keywords with high search volume is that many other organizations may also use them. For best results, try to find keywords that are low in competition like long-tail keywords, even if you have to sacrifice high search volume a bit.

With a little keyword strategizing, your organization can make sure its ads are more likely to reach prospective new supporters. That way, you can truly maximize your Google Ad Grant results.

2. Optimize your website’s landing pages.

Once you’ve successfully directed traffic toward your site using the right keywords, users will visit your landing pages. For example, Double the Donation recommends linking your Google Ads to your matching gifts information page to drive awareness of this valuable giving opportunity. Other examples may include online donation or volunteer registration forms.

By optimizing your website’s landing pages, you can increase conversion rates and ensure an excellent user experience. Tips for website optimization include:

• ensuring pages load quickly;
• making any necessary forms accessible and easy to complete; and,
• featuring a clear call to action on each page to let visitors know how they can get more involved.

Once you choose keywords that attract people to your page, you’ll want to make sure they stick around. Ensuring everything on your website runs smoothly allows you to provide a better user experience, thus increasing conversion rates.

3. Track your progress.

No matter how much effort you put into choosing your keywords and optimizing your landing pages, it means little if you just leave it at that. Maximizing your Google Ad Grant entails tracking your progress so you can alter your approach as necessary.

Getting Attention’s Google Ad Grants guide provides several tips for measuring campaign performance effectively. First, set up conversion tracking and data analytics. Next, you’ll need to go into Google Analytics and create at least one goal.

There are two main types of goals: monetary and non-monetary. An example of a monetary goal may be to encourage donations while a non-monetary goal may be to increase volunteer registrations.

Once you set up conversion tracking for each goal, you’re good to go! Just remember to check the results every so often so you know when to change up your ads.

4. Maintain compliance.

Just as there are extensive nonprofit compliance rules for joining the Google Ad Grants program, there are also many requirements for staying in the program. You’ll want to make sure your account is compliant so you can continue to leverage your Google Ad Grant.

The program’s compliance requirements include:

• adhering to minimum click-through rates;
• avoiding overly generic or single-word keywords; and,
• establishing conversion tracking.

It’s good practice to check the program’s rules every so often to ensure that your account is compliant with the latest requirements.

5. Work with a Google Ad Grants agency.

If your organization doesn’t have the time or resources to maximize the impact of its Google Ad Grant, you might want to consider enlisting the help of experts. Working with a Google Ad Grants partner can take the burden of managing your grant off your shoulders and help you achieve a higher return on investment.

There are several benefits to working with a Google Ad Grants agency. For example, they can:

• create, manage, and report on your marketing campaigns;
• optimize your website’s landing pages; and,
• maintain account compliance.

Leaning on the help of a Google Ad Grants agency can help you get the most out of the program while conserving time and resources for other projects.

When it comes to promoting your nonprofit online, there’s no better resource than the Google Ad Grant. With the help of the tips we’ve gone over, you’ll be able to take full advantage of the program.