More traditional means of promotion like leaflet and free magazines are often perceived as a nuisance by the very audience it attempts to captivate. However, search engine marketing targets ‘engaged’ users, those who are actively looking for that product or service to solve their problem. It ultimately enhances their online search experience and provides advertisers more data to improve their ads.
Did you know that each Search Engine has its own online advertising platform?
Adwords
AdWords is an ‘online’ advertising platform that is run by Google and it can help you drive people to your website. Adverts appear above, below and to the right of the results when people search on Google.
In a Google campaign you can
• Set keywords (words that describe your charity, the sector you work in or the fundraising activity)
• Create your ads
• Identify actions (i.e. donate, sign up, download)
• The locations in which people will see your ads i.e. a city, country or worldwide
• Then submit your first ad for approval (this can take up to six weeks)
You then bid against other advertisers for spaces on your chosen keywords. This works by bidding an amount you are willing to pay Google out of your budget (grant money) when someone clicks through to your website (a maximum of £1) via each keyword.
If you’re still a bit confused here’s a useful video that gives you further info:
What is Google Grant?
Google grants is an Adwords scheme for charity organisations. Google is currently offering charities a bit help and charities that are accepted receive free AdWords advertising on Google search pages. They can build and manage own their AdWords accounts similar to other advertisers, but participate with restrictions.
For this blog post, I am going to advise on the criteria for UK organisations.
Google are offering £5,890 per month for PPC (pay-per-click) advertising on their platform Adwords. It is available to any charity that fits Google’s criteria and roles, regardless of size. If you are a charity trying to generate more brand awareness it represents the quickest and easiest and the most cost-effective means. Sadly the grants are only offered in $ though, so the exchange rate may affect the month-on-month value of the grant. The charity must fill out an online application to apply for the grant and then get approved.
Your application can take up to 3 to 4 months to process, although some grants have been approved much quicker. Once your application has been reviewed, the email submitted to the application will receive an approval email with set up information on how to create an AdWords account and guidance to help you make the most of your grant.
full list of eligible countries and their Google grants application process can be found here.
Organisations NOT eligible for Grants:
● Governmental organisations
● Hospitals
● Medical groups
● Schools,
● childcare centres
● academic institutions
● universities
If you’re a school in a similar need, Google has programmes for educational institutions. Visit Google Education section here
To be eligible you must:
● Hold current and valid charity status,
● Acknowledge and agree to the application’s required certifications regarding non-discrimination and donation receipt and use.
● A functioning website with substantial content
Google Ad Grants programme guidelines for staying eligible:
• Daily budget set to $329
• Maximum CPC limit of $2.00
• Your ads must only link to the 1 non-profit website URL (this would be approved in the application.)
• You are required to be actively managing the AdWords account by logging in monthly.
• Ads must reflect the mission of the approved non-profit organisation and your keywords must be relevant.
• Strictly commercial advertising is not allowed through this programme. If you intend to promote products or services, 100% of the sales and/or proceeds must support your programme.
• Ads cannot link to pages that primarily link to other websites. (redirect)
• Ads offering financial products or those requesting car, boat or property donations are not allowed.
• You cannot display Google AdSense ads or affiliate advertising links while participating in Google Ad Grants.
Why you may need an Account Manager in place
You can run your Google Ad Grants account internally but I would recommend employing a specialist or a Digital Marketing Agency.
Raising the profile of your organisation via Ad Grants requires:
● Strategy
● Planning
● expertise (experience)
And that’s where a PPC Ad Agency or a Digital Marketing Agency (like us!) comes into play. The agency would ultimately be responsible for the continued optimisation of the account, Ads and increasing ROI.
Another benefit is that not only will they adhere to the guidelines and restrictions but they will also keep your account optimised for new updates by Google. Ensuring that your Ad Grant is not rescinded.
Like a lot of people, you are probably thinking “Ad Agencies are expensive”. You have to weigh it up. If the agency provides you with a positive ROI, then it’s more of an investment for your marketing. You will have a dedicated highly experienced Adwords account manager and be able to see the results immediately plus you can stop any time.
Do remember though – if you are a charity then the Ad Grant provides you with £5,890 of FREE advertising per month.
How do you apply?
Just visit this link and click on ‘Apply Now.
Tip:
To make the most of your campaign try linking your AdWords account to Google Analytics so you can focus on what it is delivering and data coming from your visitors
Conclusion:
If you really care for and nurture your campaigns you can really make the most out of Adwords. Before long you’ll be using up your monthly budget so be smart with it and don’t waste budget. It might still sound too good to be true but Google Grants is real and is working for many charities out there. If you don’t have one but meet the requirements my advice is to apply.
If you love the sound of the Google Grants Program but you’re just not too confident with Adwords or the work involved, MPH offers a PPC management service and if you meet the requirements for the grant we can apply for you, making it a lot easier to focus on your business. Why not get in touch and enquire about it today?
This post was originally posted on MPH Creative Blog as a guest post by myself
