In an increasingly participatory and digital society, it is imperative for companies the promotion of social and environmental values, to be the spokesperson for what will go down in history as "the new philanthropy".  Google knows this well, which is why it has been supporting Non-Profit Organizations for years concessions and facilitations through Google Ad Grants.

Currently it was already granted to more than 35.000 organizations worldwide and there are many successful cases, such as Travel To Impact, GlobalGiving, MAD and many others. Let's go now to see the features, requirements and benefits of this important program and to discover the main changes introduced by Google on January 1, 2018.

 

 

Google Ad Grants: what is it?

Google Ad Grants is one concession for non-profit organizations, which makes available $ 10.000 USD per month of free advertising on AdWords, figure that reaches i $ 40.000 USD per month for GrantsPro program participants.

The basic idea is simple: free advertising as long as it is a charity work, supporting the community and the environment. The target? Grow nonprofits by spreading success stories and promoting user awareness.

Basically, Google Ad Grants aims at a greater involvement of Google users in humanitarian and environmental causes, giving free visibility to Non-Profit Organizations with the ultimate aim of increasing donations and the number of volunteers.

 

What are the benefits?

It is not difficult to imagine the potential and benefits of this facility.

There are four fundamental points: first of all, a budget that makes the difference: $ 10.000 USD per month of free advertising is undoubtedly an important availability, even more so if it is a non-profit organization.

Secondly, the Google quality and pervasiveness: Google is undoubtedly the first of the search engines and allows you to reach millions of people in a few seconds; using Google Adwords for free means being able to take advantage of its algorithms and have the ability to manage your advertisements in a professional manner.

Google also means optimization in terms di campaign customizationa and monitoring: it is possible to refine and customize your advertising campaign by selecting the place of diffusion and monitoring the results through Google Analytics, to always have detailed and updated information on its performance.

Finally, Google Ad Grants simplifies the process of donation, essential element to feed the engine of every Non-Profit Organization.

 

 

How to set up your advertising on Google Ad Grants?

Generally, Google Ad Grants is designed to satisfy every need and adapt to any kind of organization, whether small or large, regardless of its experience in the area of ​​digital marketing.

For those who want to take full advantage of this incredible facility, the most generic option AdWords allows you to use all the tools to customize your advertising campaigns by selecting different variables.

For the less experienced, and for those with less time to devote to it, Google also allows you to take advantage of the option AdWords Express; this does not require any type of customization other than the selection of the reference target, a few lines of information on the type of organization and the definition of a daily budget: Google will automatically set the time and place for displaying messages.

Although it may be a valid alternative if you do not have the time to manage an account, we would like to advise against this option in order to fully enjoy the benefits of this important concession.

In general, for a campaign with Google Ad Grants, there are some simple guidelines to keep in mind: first, it is textual advertisements, therefore, the use of graphic or multimedia elements is not envisaged; secondly, it should be noted that these are free classifieds and therefore placed in a secondary position compared to paid ads.

As for personalization, you can only take advantage of the targeting by option keyword (keyword).

 

 

Eligibility requirements: how to get the benefit?

In order to take advantage of the discount, you must first of all apply to Google for Nonprofits.

The eligibility requirements are different: first of all, belonging to one of the 50 countries where Google operates - on the official website you can find a complete list.

Second, it is essential to have a state of charity valid; moreover, the mere existence of a website is not enough: it must have meaningful content, that is, considered as such by search engines - it is therefore necessary, also in this case, a certain attention to SEO.

Finally, admission is conditional upon acceptance of certifications of Google regarding impartiality and donations.

To maintain eligibility, the constant compliance with the aforementioned standards , compliance to certain rules of conduct, of AdGrants and AdWords.

A footnote: government bodies and organizations, hospitals, schools, institutes and universities are not eligible, but their philanthropic branches are, if any.

 

 

What changes have been introduced since 1st January 2018?

The program rules were revised on 1 January 2018, with the aim of increasing its quality standards and providing greater clarity about the program and the eligibility requirements. In practice, this translates into a tightening of standards.

What are the main changes?

First, it was eliminated the bid limit of $ 2 per ad provided that adherence to an offer optimization strategy called “Maximize Conversions” is demonstrated. Through the latter, Google automatically sets bids through machine learning: instead of assigning a CPC (cost-per-click) bid below the market, as previously requested, the bid adjusts automatically in real time.

Of course, this has a fundamental implication: Non-profit organizations are now obligated to optimize your AdWords account.

Another important novelty concerns the minimum rate of 5% CTR (click-through rate), i.e. the percentage of clicks achieved by keyword or ads compared to the number of views.

This threshold, initially required only for Pro accounts, has been extended to all applicants: if not reached for two consecutive months, the account will be canceled.

Since the CTR is not static by definition but subject to fluctuations, this in practice requires professional management of search terms and ads, in order to optimize queries based on your target users.

This results in a 'account optimization, also through the use of geo-targeting, i.e. making the ads accessible only in the most relevant areas.

Although it is possible to re-create an account after cancellation, this would imply a major revision of the same and the pausing of keywords with low CTR, and is therefore not recommended.

Beyond the structural changes and the new specifications required for announcements, were also expressly introduced qualitative criteria: first of all, the keywords must now necessarily reflect the primary objective of the organization and be specifically linked to the programs and services offered.

In addition, the use of destination URLs that promote hatred, intolerance, discrimination and violence is now expressly prohibited, and has been made the purpose of charity is categorical, which must be exclusive - under penalty of suspension of the account.

 

Viva Digital: our experience

We at Viva Digital have had the opportunity to collaborate with various NGOs, reaching the GrantsPro facility on multiple occasions and successfully managing their AdWords accounts.

We offer our professionalism to Non-Profit Organizations, the result of experience in the sector gained over the years thanks to the collaborations obtained: we know how to deal with the most delicate topics.

If you are looking for a professional AdWords management service for your organization, do not hesitate to contact us!