Google Grants - Driving Growth for Nonprofits
There is arguably no better program for a 501(c)(3) organization than the search advertising and marketing grant offered by Google. This program is perfect for the cost-conscious not-for-profit to help spread the message of the company and drive website visits and donations.
In today's blog, we will be reviewing all aspects of the Google Grant including how to apply, what the qualifications are to maintain your grant account and how to best set up your campaigns for success. Let's start with the basics, what does a Google Grant provide?
What Does a Google Grant Provide?
Google Grants provide up to $10,000 a month in free advertising dollars to leverage Google search campaigns through Adwords. Many not-for-profits are driving serious web traffic and donations, some over $1,000,000 annually by fully leveraging this fantastic program. However, there are some restrictions that are important to note, especially after the recent changes Google announced in January 2018. We'll touch on those specific restrictions and how to maximize the effectiveness of the grant later in our blog. But first, let's talk about how to apply!
How to Apply
Thankfully Google makes the application process really easy to get started with a Google Grant. There are just a few steps you need to take to get this off the ground and ready to be reviewed by Google. The first step is to check your eligibility:
Check Your Eligibility
If you are a registered not for profit organization it is very likely that you will qualify for the grant. There are only a few restrictions which are that your organization is not run by a governmental entity, a hospital or medical group or a school or university. To be sure, you can check your eligibility here.
Register with Google For Nonprofits
Registering with Google For Nonprofits is required as part of the Google Grant application process. You can sign up by visiting the Google For Nonprofits website. Another benefit of signing up for Google For Nonprofits is access to several of their other programs including free G Suite for Nonprofits, the YouTube Nonprofit program, Google One Today and Google Earth Outreach.
While this blog won't be covering the additional services in detail, they can be extremely helpful for organizations. G Suite can help with e-mail, file and collaboration management while the YouTube program can unlock the ability for you to add donation cards to your video content and Google One Today can help get your mission in front of people searching for charitable causes to donate to. Be sure to check out each of the programs to see if they might be helpful for your business.
Create Your Adwords Account
Once you have registered with your Google Nonprofit account you will want to set up your Adwords account as this step is necessary to get your grant approved. There are several steps here and we recommend you follow Google's guide to be sure you've set up the account properly. Note: Be extra sure that you do not add billing information to the account as that will make the account ineligible for the grant.
Once you have created your Adwords account simply return to the Google Nonprofits website, log in and click on "Enroll" next to the Google Grant option in the enrollments area of the website. You will need to provide your Adwords account number.
Now that we've talked about what the program is and how to apply, let's review some of the restrictions with a Google Grants account and how you can best leverage the program for the success of your organization.
Restrictions
- Grant dollars apply only to search campaigns on Google
- Does not apply to display or YouTube advertising
- Bids are capped at $2.00 per click (Exception for campaigns optimized for conversions)
- *new* Must maintain a click-thru rate of 5% or higher or risk having account disabled
- *new* Campaigns must be properly geo-targeted to show only in an area you serve
- *new* Must include 2 ad groups per campaign, 2 versions of ad text and 2 sitelinks
- *new* Any keywords with a quality score of 2 or lower will not trigger ads
Many of the new restrictions including the click-thru rate minimums will make this program difficult to manage for most nonprofits who may have been handling the grant internally. For this reason, we highly recommend that you work with a qualified agency who can maximize the potential of the program and keep you compliant with Google's new rules.
Conclusion
The Google Grant program is essential to leverage in order to maximize the growth opportunities for your nonprofit organization and can open up enormous potential. However, with Google's new rules and restrictions around the program, it is extremely important that you either have a dedicated and experienced individual in-house to manage the program or that you outsource your management of the grant to a professional agency. With proper management, consistent optimization and best practice implementation you will be on your way to experiencing the incredible growth this program can provide.
Interested in learning more about how Trustworthy Digital can help you maximize your Google Grant so you can get the absolute most out of the program? It would be our pleasure to speak with you. Simply fill out our contact form below and we will get back to you to discuss how our team can help.