Google provides valuable support to non-profit organisations and charities through its program called Google for Non-Profits.
This program grants eligible non-profits access to a range of Google products and services that assist in addressing organisational challenges such as finding donors and volunteers, enhancing online fundraising efforts, improving efficiency, and mobilising supporters to take action.
What are Google Ads?
Google ads are the paid listings on Google’s search results. These come in many forms, but common ones include text ads (labelled ‘sponsored’), Shopping listings for products and even highlighted pins on map listings.
The Google ad grant for charity deals allows you to run text ads only for your non-profit, helping drive traffic to your website for free!
How Does the Free Google Ads Credit Work?
The Google Ad Grant offers select non-profits $10,000 USD (roughly converted as £8,000) of in-kind advertising from Google each month. This advertising budget can be used to create effective search campaigns that promote the organisation’s mission, initiatives, and goals.
By utilising a Google Ad Grant account, non-profits can display text ads on Google’s Search Engine Results Pages, enabling them to attract donation, raise awareness of fundraising events and simply spread awareness of your charity or non-profit.
Is your Charity Eligible for a Google Ads Grant?
For UK charities to qualify for a Google Ad Grant, organisations must meet the following criteria:
- Be a registered UK charity or non-profit – in England or Wales this means you must be registered with the Charity Commission and in Scotland and Northern Ireland pass the ‘Charity Test’ as outlined by the OSCR. Non-profits must have charitable tax-exempt tax status with HMRC.
- Not be a governmental entity or organisation, hospital, school, academic institution or university.
- Agree to the terms of service for Google for Non-Profits and Google Ads.
- Have a high-quality website with content that complies with Google’s website policies. This means that the website must be secured with HTTPS; not contain any broken links; have unique content; have clear descriptions of your organisation and its goals; clear navigation and calls to action.
How to Apply for a Google Ads Grant?
Setting up a Google Ad Grant account for your non-profit or charitable organisation can be easily done via Google for Nonprofits – after providing details of your organisation, one of their verification partners will verify your organisation’s charity status.
Once you have been approved as a non-profit organisation you will be able to access a number of other benefits from Google products alongside the ads grant including:
- Free Google Workspace usage
- Exclusive Youtube features such as Link Anywhere cards linking supporters directly to your website
- Google Earth and Maps credits to display interactive maps on your website
Once verified it’s time to set up your ad campaigns. This involves identifying popular keywords, writing ad copy and setting bids for these terms.
Conversion actions will also need to be set up for the site. Is it possible to do this yourself? Yes! Is it possible to do this yourself effectively? That’s another story!
Option One: DIY Ad Campaign Setup
When you first log in to Adwords you will be guided through the setup process to set up you ads. These tips will help you get the most from your ads:
- Choose Relevant Keywords: Select keywords that are relevant to your organisation’s non-profit offering. Use Google’s keyword planner tool to discover new keywords with high search volume.
- Target Your Ads Effectively: If you are targeting a certain demographic more than others (age, gender etc.) you may want to increase the bids for these people. Similarly, you are able to limit your ads to certain locations – helpful for local charities targeting a specific geographic area.
- Write Effective Ad Copy: Create compelling ad copy that references your keywords, highlights your benefits, and includes a strong call to action. Test different variations of ad copy to determine what resonates with your audience.
- Monitor and Tweak your Campaigns: Regularly make changes to your grant account and aim to optimise it as much as possible to ensure copy remains updated, keywords are targeting the right terms and the campaigns are bringing in conversions effectively.
Option Two: Have a Google Ads Agency Set it up for you
If you are confused by Google Ads or just want to improve the performance of your account, Search Hog can help. We have a successful track record of managing Google Ad Grant accounts for non-profit clients, helping to raise record amounts for fundraising and increasing visibility across the Google search network. We also work with charities and non-profits on their Search Engine Optimisation, helping to drive traffic organically to their website.
You can find out more about our PPC services or get in touch to have a chat and discuss your charity campaign.
Need Help With your Google Ad Grant Setup? Get In Touch
Search Hog are SEO specialists for charities. Get in touch today to see how we can help you make the most of the Google Ads grant and unlock a world
