Are you someone who works in the nonprofit space? If so, you likely have a lot on your plate. Nonprofit employees are some of the hardest working and most dedicated people there are, often working for far less money than they could earn at a comparable job elsewhere. And since nonprofits—especially smaller nonprofits—don’t always have the funds available to hire marketing professionals, marketing tasks can often fall on employees with little experience with this type of work. But as nonprofit employees do, they work hard to figure it out! They do the best they can with the budget they’re given and often come up with creative solutions that don’t cost as much as typical marketing strategies used by businesses or larger nonprofit organizations.
In their research on affordable, effective marketing strategies for nonprofits, many people come across the Google Ad Grant. At first, it can sound too good to be true. Free advertising on the world’s largest search engine? There’s no way that can be legitimate, right?
In this blog post, we want to address some frequently asked questions about the Google Ad Grant to help you gain a better understanding about the program. We hope it will help you determine if it’s right for your nonprofit organization, and if it is something you think you should pursue further, do you also need Google Ad Grant management?
Is the Google Ad Grant a Scam?
First, let’s address the question that many nonprofit employees have probably asked either in their head or out loud: Is the Google Ad Grant legitimate?
We are here to tell you that, yes, the Google Ad Grant is 100% real! Here at Beeline, we work with nonprofit organizations every day who have qualified for the Google Ad Grant and are utilizing Google Ads as a part of their marketing strategies. There actually is completely free advertising available for qualifying nonprofits from Google!
It’s not a bait-and-switch type of thing either. In other words, Google doesn’t promise free advertising, only to then require you to “upgrade” your account in order to get any real benefits. Nor do they only give you a month or two of free advertising and then start charging your credit card. Nonprofits can continue to get free advertising for as long as they meet the program’s eligibility requirements (or until Google discontinues the program).
Of course, if you want to advertise with Google through a regular Google Ad account, over and above the free advertising they make available through the Google Ad Grant, they will happily take your money, but you aren’t required to do so.
The Google Ad Grant is about as good as it gets when it comes to free marketing resources for nonprofits!
Do Regular Nonprofits Actually Get the Google Ad Grant?
As we mentioned before, we have worked with many nonprofits who have received the Google Ad Grant. It’s not just the large, well-known organizations like the Red Cross or Meals on Wheels that qualify either. Small- to medium-sized nonprofits that work in a single community or provide a very niche service can qualify as well.
We’re not going to lie, though. The application process is a little bit involved. Google isn’t just handing out advertising grants to any nonprofit that asks for one. You have to go through a process that involves proving that your organization meets Google’s standards for a qualifying nonprofit. You also have to have a secure, high-quality website to which the ads will link. The entire process takes some time, and Google may ask for some information that you don’t know how to provide, but most nonprofits manage to get through it eventually if they stick with it!
What Is the Google Ad Grant?
Maybe we should back up a little bit for those of you reading this who aren’t familiar with the Google Ad Grant. The Google Ad Grant is a program run by Google that provides free, text-based advertising to qualified nonprofits. Nonprofits can get up to $10,000 per month of in-kind search advertising on Google! (To be clear, Google isn’t sending $10,000 checks to nonprofits. The $10,000 is given in the form of an advertising credit that can only be used on Google.)
Of course, just like any grant, there are limitations on who can receive it. Google has decided not to give free advertising to educational institutions, government entities, or hospitals or health care organizations (although charitable organizations related to healthcare may be eligible). Unless your nonprofit falls into one of those categories, it is likely eligible for the grant.
With this free advertising, your nonprofit can reach people who are searching on Google for organizations like yours or for the services you provide. When someone does a Google search using the keywords you have targeted in your Google Ad campaign, your ad will be shown to them. You can use your free ads to target potential clients, donors, volunteers, and more. Ads that are run through the Google Ad Grant program will typically appear just below the sponsored (paid) ads in the Google search results.
When someone clicks on the ad, it will take them to your organization’s website, where visitors can find out more about your nonprofit.
The advertising credit you receive through the Google Ad Grant does not roll over from month to month. It’s “use it or lose it.” In other words, you can’t “save up” your advertising credits for a big end-of-the-year fundraising campaign. Any unused advertising credits will disappear at the end of the month, and you will start fresh with a new advertising budget in the new month.
What Kinds of Ads Can a Nonprofit Run on Google with the Google Ad Grant?
There are some guidelines about the types of ads you can run and the types of keywords you can target, but in general, the language in your ads is up to you!
Say you run a food bank in Smalltown, USA. You could run ads asking for donations of nonperishable food items from the community, and at the same time, run ads stating that you are giving out free food boxes to those in need. You can even run ads related to a fundraising campaign or fundraising event to help bring in more donations!
Running Google Ads Seems Complicated. Should My Nonprofit Even Bother Applying for the Google Ad Grant?
Some nonprofit leaders—especially those at smaller nonprofit organizations with limited staff—wonder if applying for the Google Ad Grant is actually worth it. They like the idea of free advertising but have heard that running Google Ads can be quite complicated, and they don’t think they have the expertise or manpower to really take advantage of them.
It’s true that navigating the Google Ads environment can be a bit involved. It’s also true that keeping the Google Ad Grant requires a nonprofit to stay on top of their ad campaigns, but we still believe that Google is one of the best advertising platforms there is for nonprofits!
Through Google Ads, your nonprofit can reach people it probably wouldn’t be able to reach otherwise. And because you can run targeted ads on Google, the people who will see your ads will be those who are conducting an internet search related to your organization or the services it provides. This is very different than just sending out a blanket mailer, for example, where most of the people who see your printed ad will have never expressed any interest in what you do.
The fact that the Google Ads you can run through the grant program are targeted ads really makes them worth pursuing!
How Can Google Ad Grant Management Help?
What if your nonprofit really doesn’t have the capacity to take on the management of a Google Ad campaign but also doesn’t want to leave free advertising on the table? That’s where a company like Beeline can step in with professional Google Ad Grant management. On our team, we have people who are experts in Google Ads in general, as well as those who are experts in Google Ad Grants specifically. Here’s how the team at Beeline can help your nonprofit with Google Ad Grant management:
First of all, if you are struggling with the Google Ad Grant application, we can help walk you through the process. Some nonprofits get stuck when they realize their website isn’t up to Google’s standards. We can help you make the changes necessary—or refer you to someone who can. Sometimes, it’s as simple as changing some of the verbiage on your website’s home page, while other times, there are some technical changes that need to be made (such as making sure your site is HTTPS-secured). We’ve worked with many nonprofits to help them meet the eligibility requirements for the Google Ad Grant so they can take advantage of this valuable resource.
Once your nonprofit has been approved for the grant, we can then help you establish an advertising strategy. This is important. You don’t just want to start throwing together random ads and running them on Google. You want to make sure you carefully consider what keywords to use (based on what people are actually searching for) and how to word your ads for maximum effectiveness.
Beeline can also work with your nonprofit on what are called “landing pages.” A landing page is the page to which your ad will click through. The landing page could be your website’s home page, or it could be a specially designed page that relates specifically to the ad on which the visitor clicked. You could have different landing pages for the different types of ads you decide to run.
Let’s go back to the Smalltown, USA food bank example. Say you decide to run ads asking for nonperishable food donations. When someone clicks on that ad, it could take them to a specially designed page that has a list of the specific items your food bank is looking for. It could also have detailed instructions on where and when to deliver the donations (or how to arrange for their pickup). In addition, it could have some information about how their donation will impact those in the community who are most in need of assistance. The most important part of a landing page a clear “call to action,” or “CTA” for short. There should be no confusion about what you want the visitor to do in response to clicking on the Google Ad.
Finally, when you work with a company like Beeline for your Google Ad Grant management, we will monitor your Google Ad campaigns. We will track each ad and provide you with a monthly report that includes analytics and an easy-to-understand summary of all campaign results. We can also recommend changes to any campaigns that aren’t performing as well as expected. This might mean a slight change in the ad’s verbiage, targeting new keywords, or focusing on a different geographic location.
It’s important that your Google Ad campaigns are monitored because Google can actually revoke your Google Ad Grant if your ads aren’t performing well. For example, nonprofits receiving the Google Ad Grant must maintain at least a 5% click-through rate (CTR). If your rate drops below that for two consecutive months, you could lose your Google Ad Grant. Beeline will help ensure this doesn’t happen! Conversely, if no one is keeping an eye on your Google Ad campaigns, you would have no idea how your ads are performing. Then, one day you could come to realize that your free advertising is gone!
Is Google Ad Grant Management Expensive?
Google Ad Grant management doesn’t have to be expensive! Here at Beeline, we recognize that most nonprofits are operating with very limited marketing budgets. That’s why we do our best to keep our services as affordable as possible, including our Google Ad Grant management services.
One way we do this is by customizing our services and allowing you to do as much in house as you can handle (and actually want to do on your own).
Instead of offering “do-it-for-you” services, we offer “do-it-with-you” services. In this model, your nonprofit gets all the benefits that come with having a team of marketing experts on your side handling everything you don’t have the capacity to do in house. In addition, your team can receive professional training from Beeline to do the things that are in their wheelhouse. For example, the Beeline team can handle the crafting and monitoring of your Google Ads, while your team designs and builds customized landing pages on your organization’s website.
There are not many other nonprofit marketing firms out there that will empower your own team the way that Beeline does, while still taking responsibility for the results of your marketing campaign.
Our approach to nonprofit marketing has proven to be very effective at getting great results for our nonprofit clients at a price they can afford! You can read some testimonials here, and get a more in-depth look at how we’ve help nonprofits through our case studies.
What If Our Nonprofit Wants to Advertise More Than the Google Ad Grant Allows?
If, after some time, you decide that you really like the results that your Google Ads are delivering and want to invest more, we can help you venture into the world of paid advertising on Google. Paid Google Ads can allow you to target additional keywords and reach even more people. Paid ads will also appear higher up in the Google search results than ads that were initiated through the Google Ad Grant program. In addition, paid Google Ads have fewer restrictions than the ads you run through the Google Ad Grant program.
Using a combination of free and paid Google Ads can be an effective strategy for some nonprofit organizations. Beeline can help you determine if you are one of them.
How Can the Google Ad Grant Support Our Nonprofit’s Other Marketing Strategies?
While Google Ads are great, they shouldn’t be the only marketing your organization is doing. Instead, you should use them to support your nonprofit’s other marketing efforts. For example, many of our clients have used Google Ads to help them bring in more subscribers to their email lists. Then, they communicate regularly with those new subscribers to inform them about what their nonprofit is doing and to offer them ways to get more involved.
It has been estimated that a person needs at least seven “touches” before they will decide to donate to a cause. A “touch” is a single interaction between a person and a nonprofit. That first touch could be seeing a Google Ad that leads them to your nonprofit’s website where they sign up for your email list. The subsequent email they receive from your nonprofit could be the second touch, and then seeing a social media post by your organization could be number three. Attending an open house event could be the next touch. A follow-up phone call from a volunteer would be the fifth touch. You get the idea. But that chain of events—which could eventually lead to someone becoming a donor to your nonprofit—is initiated by a Google Ad they saw.
You can also use Google Ads to make the community aware of the services you provide so those who need them most can take advantage of them. Let’s return to the food bank example one more time. Maybe you’ve been advertising your free food boxes for those in need through flyers placed at local churches. Well, there are some people who will never go to a church to ask for help in person, but they might do a Google search for “food assistance in Smalltown, USA.” You can reach a whole new audience that you would never have reached through other marketing efforts by employing this additional digital marketing strategy!
Need More Information about Google Ad Grant Management?
If you’ve read this far, you probably have at least some interest in learning more about Google Ad Grant management for nonprofits, and specifically, some interest in learning if Beeline is the right nonprofit marketing company to help your organization. We would love to answer any questions you might have, as well as learn a little bit about your nonprofit!
If you’re looking into multiple nonprofit marketing agencies that offer Google Ad Grant management, we want to encourage you to take the time to find one that is a good fit. By that, we mean a company that can not only meet your needs, but that also helps anticipate them. You want to find a team that is intimately involved in helping you develop a successful marketing strategy specifically for your nonprofit.
You also want to make sure you work with a company that will take your calls and answer your emails in a timely manner. You’re likely going to have questions—especially in the beginning—and working with a company that will answer your questions and address your concerns is crucial! Working with a big marketing firm is not always the best way to go if you want personalized attention.
We’d love to connect with you! There are three ways you can reach out to us at Beeline to learn more about the services we offer for nonprofit organizations, including Google Ad Grant management:
- Give us a call at 818-797-5323. If we don’t answer, leave us a message, and we will get right back to you!
- Email us at [email protected]
- Schedule a Zoom call with someone from our team through our Contact page.
We hope to hear from you soon to see if our company is a good fit for your nonprofit’s marketing needs!
