Why are Google Ad Grants important for charities?

In an increasingly connected and noisy world, it can be excessively difficult for charities & not-for-profit organisations to get their message heard by the right people at the right time.

 

With limited budgets, and scrutiny upon spending, it is even harder for charitable organisations to justify extravagant marketing budgets to help generate this attention. They may be restricted instead to using strategies that can be employed on a shoestring, but which may yield more unsatisfactory results.

 

This is where Google Ad Grants can help. Every month, Google Ad Grants provide more than £7,500 per month of free Google Ads for eligible non-profit organisations.

 

Adverts created as part of the programme will appear in relevant Google search results and consequently boost a charity’s visibility to its key audiences at the precise time they are interested in its cause.

 

The programme is designed to better connect people with causes they care about, to make a greater impact on the world.

 

 

The benefits for charities

 

Through Google’s Ad Grants, charities are given a free marketing budget to reach out to new audiences and drive them to your website.

 

The more frequently an organisation’s ads appear at the top of Google search results, the more people will be aware of their cause. That can translate into more donations, support, and more volunteers — the lifeblood of every charity.

 

Organisations can use their Ad Grants budget on multiple campaigns, splitting it equally or giving a larger portion to campaigns that are more important for their goals.

 

Once set up, Google Ad Grants can even provide important information to shape future campaigns. When the ads are live, charities can use Google Analytics and conversion tracking to understand how their ads are performing. Which keywords are the strongest? Which ads are driving donations or recruiting volunteers?

 

 

Charities already helped by Ad Grants

 

The Access Group has worked with hundreds of charities to help them apply for and be successful with their Google Ad Grants. By using Ad Grants effectively and maximising the visibility of their causes, some of those organisations have seen website traffic increased by over 500% and monthly donation income by over 800%.

 

Crisis support charity Hestia, for example, grew its online audience from 3,000 visitors per month to an average of 15,000 during lockdown. After working with Access on driving traffic to its website, the charity also used Access’ NFP Ad Grants service to customise and adapt its campaigns to ensure as high a reach as possible.

 

“The Google Ads really does drive that additional online ‘footfall’,” said Josh McLean, Communications Manager at Hestia. “The lockdown period has been really challenging but because of the media that we’ve received, our SEO has increased massively. Compared to similar organisations, our ads keep us at the top of the search, which benefits us via the donations we receive.”

 

The Norfolk Hospice similarly benefited from Google Ad Grants, and Access’ application support. As a result of the scheme, the Hospice experienced a 113% increase in overall page views and saw its online income rise to £8,000, more than double what it received during the same period a year earlier.

 

One of the key successes of the campaign was the promotion of a local 10k run, with which the Hospice had an affiliation.

 

Through Google Ads, The Norfolk Hospice were able to appear above the event organisers at the top of Google’s search page, where previously they would not have appeared at all. This led to a significant uplift in runner signups compared to previous years.

 

Access has a 100% approval rate for Google Ad Grant applications and has written a handy guide for charities looking to achieve more with their Google Ads.

 

Organisations can find out more about Access Not-for-profit Ad Grants service via its free Ultimate Guide to Ad Grants, or by visiting the dedicated webpage here.