Using their power for good, Google has launched a campaign aimed at raising the awareness of charities. Using their own Google AdWords programme, this grant entitles selected not-for-profit organisations to have free advertising alongside the usual relevant organic search results.
In the past, these ‘pay-per-click’ – or PPC – adverts have been restricted to companies with a larger marketing budget whilst charities lose out on both exposure and potential subsequent donations. But with this Google Grants campaign, charities are entitled up to $10,000 worth of free AdWords advertising per month that can not only enhance awareness, but also encourage potential volunteers to step forward who are just as valuable as monetary donations.
How Google AdWords work is really very simple. A company (or in this case, a charity) selects certain keywords and phrases their potential audience is likely to search for in Google. Then, when a Google user searches, for example, ‘cancer treatment’, an ad for a relevant charity such as Cancer Research will appear in a prominent position next to the organic search results. This means that the charity only reaches targeted and relevant audiences who are likely to be interested in the organisation.
These keywords and phrases can be changed at any time to reflect both on- going and temporary campaigns running via their charity’s website. Words cannot, however, be used if they do not reflect the charity’s primary focus or links that don’t lead to their own website. Other than that, the charity has free reign to choose and change their most important and useful keywords to attract Google users.
As well as other criteria, Google also offer Grantspro which is basically Google Grants for advanced charities that regularly reach their $10,000 monthly cap. If this figure is consistently reached and the charity abides by a couple of other qualifying terms, their AdWords monthly budget can be extended up to $40,000, sky-rocketing the charity’s online presence and potential donations and volunteer pool.
Applications are constantly being accepted by Google, so get in touch today to see how your charity or not-for-profit organisation could benefit from their Google Grants scheme.
