3 Reasons Every Nonprofit Should Start Running Google Ads
Ready to reach more people with your organization’s work? Let’s get started with Google Ads, a digital marketing tool utilizing Google’s search engine as the primary platform. After doing a Google search, that first page of results—especially before you scroll—is prime internet real estate.
With anywhere from 70-90% of clicks being on a Google search’s first page, you want your organization to have a presence there. As you can see in the image above, Google Ads can help your organization secure a spot right at the top of the search results with the corresponding label “Ad”. Keep in mind that the real estate that Google reserves for results labeled “Ads” is purely based on your Google Ads campaign, if you’re thinking about SEO, sites that optimize come after Google advertisements.
Reason #1: It’s free.
When was the last time you heard “free” and “advertising” in the same sentence? In a day and age where organizations often have to “pay-to-play”, free advertising is a joyful and unexpected surprise. Google provides qualifying nonprofits $10,000 per month in what they call Google Ad Grants. With no surprise, that’s reason #1 to start running Google Ads right now!
Whether you’re a small organization or a large one, as long as you have 501(c)3 status, you are eligible! Did you know? Microsoft offers an Ads for Social Impact program. Similar to Google Ads Grant, Microsoft provides nonprofit organizations its very own $3,000 on search ads on Bing, Yahoo, and their search engines. Learn more and apply today.
Reason #2: 5 billion people are on Google per day.
You read that right. Google handles an average of 5 billion searches per day. According to StatCounter, Google made up 91% of the search engine market in 2021. Pretty simply, Google has become the go-to resource for nearly every individual consuming digital content.
This is important for Google Ads when you want to reach the widest possible audience of anyone that might be interested in your organization’s work. From there, Google offers powerful segmentation tools to target your advertisements to the right individuals — whether it’s a geographical location, an age range, or even an interest or hobby.
Reason #3: You’re getting in front of a “warm” audience.
Instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media or hearing whatever ad comes next while streaming content, individuals that are using Google have intent. They are typing into a search bar exactly what they are looking for. When they type “best pizza in NYC” in the search bar, they intend on actually ordering and enjoying an amazing pizza.
Advertising through Google Ads is unique in this way. Your audience is already taking the first step in getting connected to your organization. When they search “top charity supporting refugees” (of course, replace this with terms that are relevant to your organization), they are on their search for your work already. You’re making it one step easier for them to find you.
Keep in mind that while a paid Google Ads account offers various types of advertisements including Search, Display, Video, Shopping, and App, the in-kind gift only applies to Google Search advertisements. Fear not, the average conversion rate on Search ads is historically higher than any other Google advertisement type.
Are you ready to get your hands on $10,000 per month for your organization?! Get started now! U.S. nonprofits qualify with 501(c)3 status and a website. You can begin the activation process with Google’s instructions, which include approval through Google for Nonprofits. Once activated, you can begin creating and running your ads immediately.
Need advice on how to get started or what your ads should look like? Talk to us! We offer Free Office Hours to all nonprofits and purpose-driven organizations. Pick a time to sit down with our digital marketing experts for one hour, free of charge.
