Are you looking to market your charity or not for profit online? Did you know that you can do this for free on the Google AdWords platform? The Google Ads Grant provides free AdWords advertising of up to $10,000 per month.

What is AdWords?

AdWords is a form of online marketing commonly referred to as paid search or PPC (pay-per-click). The biggest appeal of paid search is that it allows you to gain high visibility in search engine results without the need for a naturally high ranking website.

So, how does it work?

The AdWords system is built around ‘keywords’ – words and phrases which users might use to enter a search query into Google. The key to success with AdWords is effective keyword research. If the right keywords are targeted, if the sweet spot between high search volume and low competition is achieved, then you will be able to drive high volumes of relevant traffic to your website.

So, for example, if your charity is related to mental health, then you may want to target keywords such as ‘mental health support’ or ‘mental health donation’. In theory, when an individual enters either one of those search terms into Google, your ads will be triggered, and will appear at the top of the search engine results page above the ‘organic’ results.

Unless you’re already ranking in the top two or three organic results for your keywords then the chances of someone reaching your website through organic search for broad terms like these is very low. With the use of Google’s Ad Grant, however, you can begin to appear for key terms related to your charity, without paying a single penny!

Is My Charity Eligible?

Just like anyone else using the AdWords platform, Google Ad Grant recipients have to build and maintain their own accounts, or choose to commission someone to run them on their behalf. Before you begin, however, there are some terms and conditions that you should be aware of.

• The daily budget is limited to $329, which equates to roughly $10,000 per month.  
• The maximum cost per click bid for each keyword is $2.
• Advertising is limited to the Google Search Network (so no Display Network, YouTube or Remarketing)

The Google Ad Grant is available to charities and not for profits in over 50 countries, including the UK and the US. You can check your eligibility and apply here.

If you’d like assistance in setting up or maintaining your AdWords account, then please don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01603 343477.