Are you a registered non-profit? Google AdWords Grants gives $10,000 of in-kind search advertising every month (that's a potential $120,000 a year!) to non-profit charitable organizations in Canada.

To qualify for the program you must:

• Hold valid charity status in as a Canadian Registered Charity, Canadian Federal Nonprofit or Canadian Provincial Nonprofit.

• Acknowledge and agree to Google’s required certifications regarding nondiscrimination and donation receipt and use.

• Have a live website with substantial content.

 A straightforward application process can provide your organization with placements at the top of Google search results. Recent changes to the program's ongoing performance criteria (more about that below) mean that management by a certified AdWords Pro is your best way to utilize the Grants program to it's fullest. 

How does it work?

Google AdWords is a system of keyword-based advertising and pay-per-click ad placement at the top of search pages. 

Keyword-based advertising appears when a search term matches the specific word or phrase, the ads listed are those that are most applicable to what a user is searching for. 

Pay-per-click refers to the advertising model where you pay a budgeted amount when a visitor clicks on your ad. As the account is funded by Google, there's no cost to the organization.

For example, if you are a children's medical charity, your keywords would be search terms that people associate with your organization (e.g. “children's charity, “childrens medical help”, “donations for children”). When your keyword matches someone’s search terms, your ad may appear at the top of the search page.. If someone clicks on the ad, they will be taken to your website.

How to get started?

AdWords account setup involves some initial exploration of your organization's website and content. Once an account is setup with applicable keywords, text ads and relevant links to your website, it's ongoing management builds a consistent flow of interested user traffic to your website. Google asks that in return for their in-kind offering, that your accounts maintain over a 5% monthly CTR (click-thru-rate) and include only keywords and ads that are closely associated with your organization.

For many nonprofits, the issues with Ad Grants comes somewhere in the setup and maintenance phase, in figuring out how to best use the allocated funds and the struggle to make AdWords truly effective. Often failing to identify keyword opportunities that drive relevant audiences and donors to websites, the Google Grants system is designed to incentivize quality AdWords strategy and campaign builds.

Google wants to see charitable organizations tracking conversions (submissions, contacts and donations) and ensure an understanding of the revenue and impact an oganizations Google Ad Grant account is generating.

Proper account management is key to optimizing and maintaining AdWords, and has the benefits of being a recurrent, predicable marketing cost. In following the guidelines and rules of the program, an organization can access what's almost a limitless digital ads budget provided and paid for by Google.

What can you use it for?

Google grants for nonprofits are excellent for events, fundraising campaigns, cause donation and better public visibility. Depending on how your website is organized and what your foundation goals are, you can increase awareness, highlight seasonal or special campaigns, promote events and highlight areas of your organization that may need more attention.

As a certified Google AdWords Partner, I love building active, successful traffic flows and helping organizations get the search recognition that makes their websites a success.

Get in touch about a new AdWords Grant PPC setup or about existing accounts that you'd like managing. 

For more information about AdWords Grants straight from Google - https://www.google.com/grants/