How to get Google Free Ads Grants Program – Today in this article we will provide information about Google Free Ads Grants Programs. The days are gone where people only used direct mail and door to door solutions to know more about an organization. But in reality it is identified that the nonprofit advertising is becoming more complex with every passing day. It has also been identified that nonprofits do not have enough funds to help out the people or find solutions to the problems. As stated by websiterating.com, most of the people are likely to press Google ads 4 times in comparison to other advertising networks. If you are looking for the Google Free Ads Grants program then you are at the right place.
There are a lot of non-profit organizations that are unable to advertise because they have a very limited fund. But there is nothing to worry as the Google Ad Grants provide opportunity for the nonprofits. Google Ads has become a strong foundation where most of the organizations can put up their advertisements. Google ads are a virtual free advertisement portal that helps the nonprofit organization to get hold of website users and that will have a great impact. Unlike other grants, the Google ads grant follows a basic application process that is needed to be completed by the applicant.
As we all know that every non-profit organization has an aim and objective. Some nonprofits want to build awareness on something, some recruit volunteers and some want to attract donors or increase donations amounts. Google ad Grants can help the nonprofits to achieve anything they want. In this article we will guide you about Google Ad grant management especially for the nonprofits. What are you waiting for? Go and start setting up your Google Ad Grants accounts and get all the benefits of the programs.
Highlights of this Post
What do you mean by Google Ad Grants?
The eligible nonprofit organization can get approximately around $10,000 every month from Google Ad Grants offer. The daily limit is set to $329 USD which can be used on Google search ads. The nonprofit tech can also get an amount where you can target more than 60,000 website visitors each year. Google defines its Ad Grants program “Google Ad Grants provides up to $10,000 USD per month of free Google Ads advertising on Google search result pages to eligible nonprofit organizations. The program is designed to help people connect with causes to make a greater impact on the world. The program is open to organizations who join Google for Nonprofits, meet Ad Grants’ eligibility and program policies, and are approved through the Ad Grants pre-qualification process.”It has already been mentioned in the definition the first step to get the grant amount for the nonprofits is to join Google. Precede further to get more information on Google Ad Grants. We all have a favorite non-profit organization as they provide and contribute a lot to the community and are very close to our hearts. The nonprofits have always played an important role in helping the needy people with almost everything. It is important for Non-profit to be visible in today’s digital age technology but they are currently suffering as they lack time, expertise and money. The Google ad grants can help them in solving the problem as they offer an amount that can be used for advertising in Google on a monthly basis.
Google has mainly initiated the grants program to help the non-profit organization, there are many nonprofits that have highly flourished and progressed because of Google Ad Grants. The Google ads are quite similar to the regular PPC ads. Non-profit organizations generally use those ads to target the traffic into their sites. However, there are some restrictions on Google’s PPC ads. You should understand that Google Ad Grant adverbs are only in text. It is mandatory for all the non-profit organizations to complete the application process to get Google ad grants.
The Procedure To Apply For Google Ads
The procedure is quite simple as you just have to visit the Google website page. You need to login in the website page using the nonprofit account using a relevant TechSoup token. We have mentioned some important steps that you need to follow to apply for the Google ads.
Step 1: First, you need to set up your Google Analytics on your nonprofit website.
Step 2: In the next step you need to register your nonprofit on TechSoup
Step 3: Then you need to sign up for Google using your nonprofit account.
Step 4: You need to fetch a token from TechSoup.
Step 5: You need to add the token in the sign-up page on Google for your nonprofits.
Step 6: And at last you need to apply for the grant on the Google Ad Grants application form.
Google For Nonprofits
It is important for you to meet the eligibility requirements for Google for Nonprofits so you can easily use the feature of Google Ad Grants. Google for Nonprofits has helped a lot of nonprofits as they can use Google’s technology to make a better world for everyone. Using Google for Nonprofit gives you access to some resources that have been listed below.
- Google Earth and Maps
- YouTube Nonprofit Program
- Google Ad Grants
- Google Workspace for Nonprofits
It is important for you to be eligible for Google for Nonprofits. Some ways that can help you to be eligible for it.
- It is important that TechSoup verifies all the applying organizations as non-profit organizations.
- It is important to agree with the terms of service of Google for Nonprofits.
- Meeting all the additional eligibility requirements in their home countries.
- You should understand that an organization will not be eligible for it if it is a government organization or entity, healthcare, hospital, academic institution, university or school.
Who is Eligible for The Google Ad Grants?
If you want to be eligible for the Google ad grants, the organization must have the following:
- It is important for the organization to have its own website that is functioning and can provide all the needful data.
- It is also important to acknowledge and agree to the terms of Google Grant’s on the process of receiving and using the donations that are obtained from the grant.
- It is also mandatory that the organization hold current and valid charity status. If your organization is located in the United States then it is important for you to have a current 501(c)(3) If it is not located in the United States then you can check your countries’ definition here.
We have listed some type of organization that is not eligible for the Google Ad Grants:
- Universities, Academic Institutions, Childcare Centers and Schools
- Government organization and entities
- Hospital and other medical groups
It is identified that Google had changed its grant account policies in early 2018. Google started cracking down the grants accounts that will help in increasing the quality of the advertisement. It is found that more than 35,000 organizations use the program.
Some Best Practices That Will Help You in Utilizing Google Ad Grants
Here are some best practices that can help you to make the best out of Google Ad Grants. Scroll down and check them out.
Pay High Attention To Campaigns and Groups
It is important for you to organize the keywords into a general category. A rule that must be followed is that all ad groups that operate within a campaign will lead to the same landing page. This process will help in building and increasing relevant customer journeys for the audience. It is important to understand that Google Ads contain one or more ads that all share a specific keyword. However, it is between an individual ad and a campaign. At the ad group level you can try setting up:
- The specific location where you want your ads to show at the ad-set level using specified topics, placements and keywords.
- You can also set the demographics of your targeted audiences that consist of their age, gender, household income, parental statues and many more.
You should also know that each ad group carries its own bid and therefore it depends on the highest amount that is paid to get the ads within that specific group. However, in search network campaigns the number would be on the maximum cost-per-click or also referred to as Maximum CPC. However, be informed that bidding strategy, overall budget, geotargeting, start and end dates can only be set at campaign level not on the ad group level.
Nail The Keywords
Be sure that you do not waste your time on specified keywords like “nonprofits”, “donation” or “NewYork”. Remember there are already many big organizations that have already bid for the same keyword and it is very likely that your ad won’t be recognized. It is also important for you to focus from quantity to quality. In your Google Ad Grants strategy you can try using long-tail keywords. You should also understand that Quality Score and CTR is measured by the relationship between the targeted keywords. It is also important to look at the ad copy and content that will be presented in the landing page. It is also recommended to create highly specific campaigns that will help in utilizing the long tail keywords and will also provide the idea of a clear landing page in mind.
So, you need to find your keywords by brainstorming a selected list of topics that is very vital for your organization. The topics can be anything that your organization is trying to solve, it can be the community you are serving, services that you are offering, problems that you are tackling. It is also recommended to conduct data-driven keyword research that will improve the ad quality. You can try entering your keywords in Google’s Keyword Planner. Apart from it you can also use tools like Keyword Tool, Ubersuggest and many others. By following these tools you will be able to create a list of keywords that will be very relevant to your topic. Once you get used to it, you will focus on the keywords in every topic. It is also necessary that your research involves SEO tools, web analytics data software and also has the ability to engage with the customers.
You should also understand that you need to highly focus on the keywords as more exact keywords will help in building your ad rising at the top in a specific market. We have provided some of the tips on it below:
- It is vital for you to place the keyword in the page title (H1)
- You should use the keyword in your URL. For example, www.website.org/freeutilityassistance/lowincomepeople
- It is also recommended for you to use the keywords in the meta description.
- You should also rename the image file names (alt) to mirror the keywords effectively.
- It is also important for you to use the keyword in the body of the text.
- You need to lay focus on one keyword that is used as the main theme in your article and then further you can include two or three keywords that are relevant with the main theme.
Rightly Use The Targeting
Even if you do everything correctly still your ad will not perform up to the highest level if it does not appear in the right locations. It is important for you to use the geo-targeting correctly. It is necessary because your ad should be shown to the relevant searches on the basis of location you prefer. As defined by Google “Google Ads location targeting allows your ads to appear in the geographic locations that you choose: countries, areas within a country, a radius around a location, or location groups, which can include places of interest, your business locations, or tiered demographics.
So, you should understand if you are working with families in San Francisco then there is no need to serve ads to the searchers of New York or other states. It is important for you to use geo-targeting to only serve ads to the searchers that are located in San Francisco. But if you are a large international non-profit then it is vital for you to target searchers from multiple countries. You can also try a more precise targeting system if your non-profit organization only runs their program in some specific regions and states. Your ad will certainly want to focus your searchers that are in a certain area. It is also important to target radius around a location when your non profit is locally based that will help in targeting supporters and beneficiaries from that relevant location
Eliminate The Negative Keywords
It is important for you to avoid negative keywords as these keywords can create confusion and the keywords might be irrelevant to the purpose of your organization. Negative keywords are exactly the opposite keywords. So, if you are using any negative keywords it might eliminate the number of searchers who are not looking for any programs or services from your organization. So, you need to research a bit and add some related search terms in the “negative keyword” list. In the next step you need to visit “search terms” and look for searchers that are increasing traffic in your website but however they are not relevant to your organization’s content or purpose.
For example if you are running ads on the keywords like “house shelter” to attract searchers that are interested in finding a house for themselves. You might be facing other keywords in the search terms like “ how to build a house”. So, it is important for you to eliminate those keywords by adding them in the negative search term list. Once your ad is relevant your ads will be automatically improved and your audience will find the ads more relevant and interesting. Wasted impressions will be good for you as it will increase the quality of the ads and also help in building high conversion rates and CTR rates. Once the CTR increases your quality score will automatically improve.
Landing Pages Are Pivotal
It is very important that the messaging and purpose of the landing page must be relevant to the keyword and the ad copy. Your landing page must reflect the contents that match your ad. It is also necessary for you to enhance the landing pages so they are relevant, functional and quick. You can also run continuous tests of the ad copy that will help in improving expected click through rates. It will also help the keywords to have a quality score of 2 or more than that. You should be driving all the traffic in your home page that will make the website more congested.
Once you make sure the landing page is relevant to the keyword it will help you in getting the highest quality score from Google Ads. However, if you do not have them, it is necessary for you to work on that and build them to improve your quality score. You should also understand that the audience will first view the headline of the page. So, you need to optimize it by including the target keyword in the headline and also include some specific numbers where it is necessary. Building the website landing pages for specific keywords will also benefit SEO.
It will help in adding content rich pages and search engines like seeing new entries into your website that will specially improve the quality of the website. You can improve the quality by sending the searchers to visit the best pages of your site and those pages must be relevant to your promised ads. You can send the visitors to specific pages like an event page, a donation page, a newsletter sign up page and a volunteer page. But everything will be based on the keywords that are used in the ads
Tips to make a right landing page:
- You need to speak directly to the searchers that will click on your ads.
- It is important for you to have a clear and relevant title and logo.
- The pages should have no links or buttons that will redirect to other pages.
- Must include one image.
- Need to have a strong call to action (CTA).
- Need to have other forms of social proof or testimonials.
Measure, Analyze and Repeat
You should understand that great campaigns are simply built on accurate and clear data. It is important for you to analyze the results of your advertising and identify if the quality score is increasing. You should also try linking Google Ads account to Google Analytics as it will help you to analyze whether your campaigns along with the keywords are performing or not. You can also plan to pause or eliminate any irrelevant keywords that are currently overspending.
It is better to exchange the paused keywords with a new one. In most of the cases it is seen that pause keywords cost a lot but the conversion rate is very low. In Google ads, you should be looking at the search terms and try to include or add high performing keywords. According to the grant requirements it is needed to have at least two ads per ad group, so it makes things easier for you as you can test an ad copy.
With time easily you can find out which ad has the best CTR. Once you find out that you need to replace those low performing ads with high performing keywords. You can build better quality ads by continuously measuring and evaluating the success of the ad campaigns and change it whenever required. You can also appoint an accountant who can audit your organization every 6 months that will help in determining the progress and performance of the ads.
Conversions should be Focal Point
The main objective of Google Ads is to improve the conversion rates of the website. The Google ads mainly focus on driving high-quality traffic into your website rather. They simply believe in quality over quantity. It does not matter what your CTA is that might be newsletter sign up, donation, and volunteer application or any other. Google simply wants to take advantage of the bidding strategies that includes Enhanced CPC, Maximize Conversions and Target CPA.
These strategies have helped in optimizing the conversions. You can collaborate with your team to know about the effective steps that can help in driving the visitors to the preferred page. However, you should not forget to set up the conversion tracking as it will help in measuring the visitor’s journey through Google Ads. It will help in understanding the pattern of visitor’s journey from the moment they click on the ads and complete all the relevant actions like donating and signing up for the newsletter.
How To Get Free Advertising on Google
Here are some tips and ways that can help you to get free advertising on Google.
- First you need to visit https://www.google.com/business and then click on the Start Now option.
- In the next step you need to search for your business to verify it and if your business is not listed in that list you need to enter detailed information about your business.
- Then all you have to do is follow the simple steps as provided in Google. They can complete the verification process as you get a code in your mailbox. There are also other methods like text, email, phone call and Google search console. If you find any such options you can try it to verify your business. You can also read the instructions to get detailed information about it.
- You need to verify your business within 30 days. To get additional information you can check the FAQ.
- That is all, now you can easily get access to free advertising on Google. You can also edit the listing by visiting back to the “My Business Page” in Google.
Additional Tips
- You can also try swapping your Gmail with any other email in case of any urgency.
- You can also create your own business website using Google where you can add photos and additional information.
- It will also help you to learn about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
These are the ways , I hope now you will be able to enjoy free advertising on Google.
Know The Basics of Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits
It is important for you to know the basics of Google Ad grants for your nonprofit. Check the points below that might help you out.
- It is important to maintain a 5 percent account CTR.
- You must have at least 2 active ad groups in each campaign.
- It must also have at minimum 2 sitelink ad extensions.
- The quality scores cannot be less than 2.
- Your account should be geo-targeting for specific locations or searchers.
- It is also to have automated bidding strategies that includes Cost Per Acquisition and Maximize Conversions. These strategies can help in breaking the $2.00 bid maximum.
- It is also important that the account must be logged in once every month and must also implement changes every 90 days. Remember that if you do not show any active management, Google will straight away suspend your account and then you have to again request them to withdraw the suspension.
- You should also avoid using single-word keywords and except the keywords that are in this list. You should also avoid using overly generic words. There is another exception is your own branded keywords but do not use the keywords that are used by your rivals.
In the starting of March 2022, Google has updated its sitelink extensions that has helped the nonprofits to engage and increase their supporters using automated extensions. The automated extension plays a wide role in managing the extensions quite easily.
What are the Requirements to Get Free Advertising on Google?
- To get free advertising on Google you need great a Google Account
- You need to provide the phone number, address and any other additional information you want to advertise in the section.
- You need an address to verify your current address.
- You also need a logo and image of your organization and products but this is optional.
How To Use My Google Ad Grants Account?
Once you have created a Google Ads account, it is time for you to know the benefits and on how to launch your own free ad campaigns. It can be quite confusing to set your ads. We have provided some tips that can help you out.
- At first you need to login in your Google Ads account and then you have to go to the “campaigns” page. There you can find a “new campaign” option. You need to click it.
- After that you will find an option stating “Select the goal that would make this campaign successful for you.” Another option you will find is “Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance”.
- In the next step you have to select your campaign type. You can find it in the “smart option”.
- After that you need to decide what action you want from your customer. Then proceed with the “continue” option.
- You need to then describe your business. However, it is pretty simple as you need to enter your organization’s details along with the website URL of the nonprofit. You can also add any additional information on the section. Then click on “save”.
- Then you need to go to the “Where are your customers?” page. This page will help you make customization in your campaign in your local radius or specific area that you choose. You need to choose a language and select your business category.
- In the next step you will be seeing a heading that states “what specific products or services do you want to promote in this ad?” Here you need to provide all the details of your services that are offered by your non-profit organization. You can also use the auto-suggested keywords. You can find this option under the “suggest for you” heading.
- Then you have to click “next” and choose the budget. However, it is important to set it to a maximum of $329 daily.
- Again press on the ‘next’ button that will redirect you to the review page. In this page you can change your ads, before clicking the ‘next’ option once more.
In this way you can easily set up your campaign page.
Conclusion
I hope this article has provided you with all the information on Google Free Ads Grants Program. It has been identified that most of the non profit organizations are unable to compete with the marketplaces of digital advertising and social media as they do not have high funding. The Google Ad Grants has been very effective to help out a lot of non-profit organizations by reclaiming their spot in the minds of the searchers or followers. For over a decade this grant has helped the non-profit organization to play a vital role in the online dialogue. The Google’s Ad Grants program also helped the eligible non profit organization to gain more attraction from the donors, gain more visibility and also carry on the recruiting process effectively. The Google Ad Grants is seen as an ideal place to begin for the non-profit organization. Generally the non profit organizations do not have any digital marketing strategy as their budget is quite limited.
The Google Ad Grants is one of the most effective ways that can help your organization to target an audience according to the requirements of the organization. You can also use it to increase the number of audiences to increase donation amounts, sign up for newsletters, raise awareness and increase product sales. It will also help in sending new audiences to your site every month. Do not worry if you get confused or have difficulty in understanding something. You can get a lot of resources from Google that can help you with solutions. If you know any non-profit organization that is looking for Google Ad Grants please share this article with them. I hope you have a great day ahead!
Frequently Asked Questions
We will be answering some of the most frequently asked questions about the Google Free Ads Grant Program. Go through the question and answer as it will provide you additional information that might be helpful to you.
What do you mean by Google Ad Grants?
Google Ad Grants mainly connects people and organizations with great causes. They provide $10,000 USD each month to the eligible organizations and that amount can be spent on advertising.
How actually the Google Ad Grant Program works?
If you have a Google Ad Grants account you can easily create ads that will be visible in the Google Search. The best thing about the grant program is your organization’s ads will be appearing independently below the paid advertisement in Google. These ads are mainly text-based that will appear on the search result pages.
Is it possible to compete with large organizations on Google.com , especially when you are a small nonprofit organization?
Yes, it is possible. You should understand that Google ads reward relevancy. Anyone can use the platform and the local non profit organization and other firms use location-specific keywords that differentiate them from the large organization. However the large organization targets searchers globally but the local organization only targets a group of searchers from a particular location. It is important for the small nonprofit organization to target the crowd especially in the year ending season. It is always wise to invest on a standard Google ads account that will help in reaching more searchers and also improve the traffic.
Is it possible to show my ad in a particular location?
Yes, it is possible with the help of Geo-Targeting which can be used to set your ads in a specific location. The best thing about Geo-targeting is that you can select the states, provinces, countries, metro areas, cities and regions according to your requirements. However, you need to be sure about the geo-targeting requirements when you are choosing the specific target location for your campaigns.
What is the cost of Google ad grants?
You should understand that you do not have to pay anything for the Ad Grants campaigns. Once you are eligible for the program, you will be getting an ad budget up to $10,000 USD each month. In this proposed budget you need to run ads in various types of campaigns that consist of donations, and sign up for newsletters. You should also note that the funds do not roll up if you do not use them. After you activate your ad grants, the advertising budget will be automatically redirected to your account and you do not have to send any request to Google about it.
Is it mandatory to spend $10,000 every month to keep the Ad grants account active?
No, it is not mandatory to spend $10,000 every month.
How to apply for the Google ad grants?
To apply for the Google ad grants you need to meet the eligibility requirements and you need to submit your application on Google for nonprofits. You can also watch this video to understand the overall application process from beginning to the end. We have already mentioned the application process in the article. Scroll above and check it out.
What is the process to login into Google ad grants?
If you have already accepted Ad Grants then the process to login is quite simple and easy. You just need to access your account using the Google Ads platform. You can also visit ads.google.com and then you need to sign in with your email which was used to sign up for Google for nonprofits. The login process has already been described in the article comprehensively; go through it to get additional information on the process.
