Google Ad Grants is a grant of $10,000 to use on Google Ads, a form of advertising also known as pay-per-click (PPC). It’s only available to charities (nonprofit organisations), and you must be enrolled on the Google Grants programme to receive it.
SEO services are not verified or endorsed by Google.
Google Ads – and this potentially game-changing grant – should be a valuable part of the marketing mix for every charity. Currently, over 40,000 charities globally are taking advantage of the grant. But as impressive as this figure is, it remains a small percentage of the total number of charities that could benefit.
What I charge for this service depends on the charity/non-profit size and budget; pricing will include GST for Australian-based orgs with a minimum 3-month contract term. Book a Free consultation to see if I am a good fit with your team.
Google Ad Grants is completely free to use, but if you don’t have enough time or knowledge to use Google Ads properly, you can work with me; I can manage, optimise and ensure your charity’s compliance with the very strict rules Google imposes on grant holders. Google is continually improving its platform, and it gets easier to use every year.
The toughest part is staying on top of the latest features and changes to the platform and ensuring you follow a robust strategy to drive good-quality traffic and increase your results. Ad Grantees also have several compliance requirements, and failure to adhere to the programme policies can result in your Ad Grant account being suspended.
The process is as follows.
To qualify for Google Ad Grants, charities must begin by applying to Google for Non-profits. To do this, they must hold valid charity status.
For organisations in England and Wales, this means being registered with the Charity Commission. To do that, income must exceed £5,000, and organisations must satisfy the definition of a charity set out in the Charities Act.
To be eligible for a Google for Nonprofits account, an organisation must:
- Be registered as a charitable organisation in one of the countries listed below. All organisations must be verified as nonprofit organisation by TechSoup or the local TechSoup partner.
- Healthcare charities are not eligible (ie NHS trusts that are a charity); however, charitable arms or foundations associated with healthcare organisations are eligible.
- Start the application process here after you have your Techsoup verification https://www.google.com/nonprofits/eligibility/
After an organisation is enrolled in Google for Non-profits, it will need to get approved through the Ad Grants pre-qualification process.
This means having a high-quality website that meets the Ad Grants website policy.
Google defines a high-quality website as meeting the following criteria:
- Have a robust and clear description of your organisation, mission, and activities. It must have substantial content, updated events and information, clear navigation, and clear calls to action for a high-quality user experience
- Content must be unique to your organisation
- Load quickly, not contain broken links and (for new accounts or new domains) be secured with HTTPS
To maintain eligibility in the Google Ad Grants programme:
- Your ads must only link to the ONE nonprofit website domain that was approved in the application.
- You’ve got to maintain a minimum 5% click-through rate (CTR) in your account. This means you’ve got to focus on the quality of the keywords you add to your account.
- Each Ad Group (where your keywords live) must have at least 2 active and unique ads.
- You must actively manage the AdWords account by logging in monthly and making at least one change to your account every 90 days, based on a review of your account performance.
- Your account is subject to automatic pausing or cancellation without notification should you fail to make any changes in your account for over 90 days.
- You must have at least 2 unique site link ad extensions in place – these little beauts will help make your standard ad stand out on the page. They allow you to explain your cause and how people can get involved.
- Your ads must reflect the mission of the approved non-profit organisation, and your keywords must be relevant to the non-profit’s programmes and services.
- Strictly commercial advertising is not allowed through this programme. 100% of the sales and/or proceeds must support your programme if you intend to promote products or services.
- Your Google ads cannot link to pages primarily linked to other websites.
Ads offering financial products (such as mortgages or credit cards) or those requesting car, boat or property donations and related keywords are not allowed. - Your website cannot display Google AdSense Ads or affiliate advertising links while participating in Google Ad Grants..
- Automated bidding strategies (like Maximise Conversions or Cost Per Acquisition) can break the $2.00 bid maximum.
- No using single word keywords, except for those on this list, and no using overly generic words. Another one-word keyword exception is your own branded keywords, but bear in mind that you are forbidden from using competitors’ branded keywords.
- The account must have specific geo-targeting.
Google Ad Grant Grantees found violating any of these guidelines are subject to removal from the programme. Google reserves the right to grant or deny an organisation’s application or participation at any time, for any reason and to supplement or amend these eligibility guidelines at any time. Selections are made at Google’s sole discretion and are not subject to external review.
Master the basics
When it comes to Google Ads, the core focus should be quality – does the website have the answer or piece of information that someone is searching for on Google? Then, does the ad best represent the landing page with site links, making it stand out amongst the other listings?
Optimising an ad is important in order to adhere to Google’s requirements – quality score and click-through rate being the two metrics to focus on. A cheat code for click-through rate (CTR) is a strong brand campaign, which should have a CTR of above 20%, bringing up the average of the whole account.
Using Google’s search terms report will identify any keywords that need to be set as negative. Navigating these keywords can be performed at the account level, with the purpose of the exercise being to not appear for any keywords that aren’t relevant to the charity. Broad keywords often mean appearing for searches that aren’t relevant. Having a negative keyword list with the keywords which don’t apply to the website will improve the quality score.
To run a successful Google Ads account, focus on the website content and where calls to action appear to be added as conversions. Selecting the correct automated bidding strategies at the campaign level will give charities the best opportunity to appear at the top of Google search results for audiences that aren’t aware of their cause.
What exactly can I use the Ad Grant for?
Here are a few ideas:
Help your organisation get found by people who are actively searching on the issues in which you’re involved, for example, “Cancer charity”, “Human rights”, “Fight Heart Disease” and so on…
- Generate leads for conversion as part of your fundraising programme.
- Support activity you’re running in other channels, for example, Social media, print ads, radio and general PR – ALL of these activities tend to drive response through search.
- Boost your petition and lobbying campaigns by reaching people actively seeking information on the topic.
- Help shape perceptions of your cause and the issues you’re involved in. For example, if you’re a mental health charity, you can get in front of people who might need help dealing with depression, or if you’re there to support people with a physical illness, you can provide them with information and support.
How much do you charge to set up and manage Google ad Grants Accounts?
Fees are structured on a minimum contract basis for Standard Google Ad Grant accounts.
Includes:
- Google Ad Grant application from start to finish.
- Account set-up or troubleshooting.
- Campaign creation and optimisation.
- Google Analytics integration.
- Conversions set up.
- 1-2 hours of 1:1 basic online training.
The Minimum Set Up fee, including one month of management, is $750AUD, Including GST
Initial Google Ad Grant account setup requires time spent in research and planning. This includes but not limited to:
- account/ad/keyword optimisation
- keyword research
- compliance checks
- ad creation
- setting up conversion goals with already present Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Ongoing Monthly Google Ad Grant Management
Includes:
- Development of a strategic plan.
- The setting of goals and objectives.
- Ongoing campaign management and optimisation.
- Google Ad Grants policy compliance checks.
- Monthly performance reporting/call.
The minimum charge for this service is $750 AUD, Including GST with a minimum 3-month contract term.
As your account grows and uses more of the ad grant, it will take more time to ensure complete compliance and maintain your Click Through Rate (CTR).
The minimum 3-month contract is due to the time it takes to optimise the account, research, and create ads. It takes time for most Google Ad (AdWord) Grant accounts to grow the account to a $10,000 ad spend.
Need more help? Expert Google Ad Grant services can be provided a la carte.
Expert Google Ad Grant Management requires more advanced skill levels (JavaScript, PHP, and other web technologies).
If your website needs to be improved for your ads to be accepted, or you do not currently have any analytics and conversion tracking installed and set up to enable you to capture conversions from your ads.
It also requires access to your website’s code. Therefore, per-hour billing for advance services is $75 AUD, including GST per hour.
There is no minimum monthly ad spend minimum with Google Ad Grant accounts. The goal is not ad spend but conversions for nonprofits. Training can be provided.
Google Ad Grant Training
Training is tailored to your needs; however, it can include:
- Why quality scores and good content are important.
- Your Google Ad Grant strategy.
- Google Ad Grant compliance.
- Conversion tracking.
- Keyword research + match types.
- Creating campaigns + ad groups + ads.
- Optimisation.
Training is delivered online via Zoom / Google Meet / Teams
From $1000 AUD, Including GST
Additional services:
Digital Strategy, Website Design, Email Marketing, Paid Advertising (PPC), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Google Analytics G4A, Google Tag Manager, Google Data Studio. Social Media Management, Community Management, Email Integration, Mailing List Segmentation & Management.