$10,000 worth of free marketing a month? How to take full advantage of your Google AdWords Grant for nonprofits

Last year, Lisa wrote a blogpost on Google AdGrants. As we head into the new year, our team wanted to highlight this unique tool to kickstart your 2017 marketing plan.

ArcStone has been working with local nonprofits for many years. The work these nonprofits accomplish in the community continues to inspires us. However, it’s always surprising to see how little nonprofits are using AdGrants. Your nonprofit may be doing amazing work, but if you’re not able to communicate this to your audience, you’re likely missing out on gaining their support.

The primary pushback we hear regarding AdWords is that it’s too complicated, too time consuming and/or administrators may be locked out of their account. We understand that tools like AdWords can fall to the bottom of your priorities considering your long to-do lists, but implementing AdWords into your plan could cause a significant spike in site traffic and save you effort in the long run.

So what are Google AdGrants exactly? And how would they help you? Lisa, our own Google Partner here at ArcStone, breaks it down by eligibility, limitations and how we can help. 

Eligibility

The first step is finding out whether your nonprofit organization is eligible. To qualify, your organization must:

1. If you’re located in the United States, you must be a registered and recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit
2. You need to acknowledge and agree to the application's required certifications regarding nondiscrimination and donation receipt and use
3. Your nonprofit website needs to be up and running, with substantial contentS

You are not eligible for a Google Ad Grant if your nonprofit is:

1. A governmental entity and organization
2. A hospital and/or medical group
3. A school, childcare facility, academic institution and university. One exception of this rule is if your educational organization is philanthropic, you may be eligible.

Restrictions

Google Ad Grant recipients receive free AdWords advertising on Google Search results pages with the following restrictions:

1. There is a monthly budget of $10,000 or $329 per day
2. The maximum cost-per-click (CPC) limit is $2.00
3. Ads run only on keyword-targeted campaigns (not location, language, device or audience targeting)
4. Ads will only appear on the Google Search results pages. Display, video & remarketing campaigns are not part of the program at this time
5. Only text ads are eligible

How ArcStone can help

Even if you’re already taking advantage of Google Ad Grants, you may not be leveraging it to its full capacity. According to Google, most recipients only spend $330 per month. That’s $9,670 of advertising dollars that your organization could be using to reach its goals!

Don't miss out. If you’d like more information about Google Ad Grants, or need help optimizing your existing campaigns, contact us today for a free AdWords audit. If you're a nonprofit interested in receiving monthly updates on the latest marketing news, sign up for our newsletter, The Nerdy Nonprofit.