Posted on November 25, 2019 by Aaron Johnson
Shout out to all non-profit organizations! Looking to enhance your advertising efforts without breaking the bank? You’ll be happy to learn that Google Ads has an initiative called the Google Grant Program. This amazing opportunity provides non-profits with a chance to advertise on their platform for free.
Yep! Sounds made up, right? But it’s true. In case you didn’t know, Google Ads used to be called Google AdWords. It’s a frequently-used online tool with a range of paid ad campaign opportunities.
It’s used by everyone from small businesses to conglomerate corporations. Google Ads is an invaluable resource that can change the game when it comes to advertising. This makes the Google Grant Program all the more exciting.
There’s a lot to learn about this program and its eligibility requirements.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty details, we should mention that Social Link has a history of working with many different non-profits.
We proudly offer 10% off labor rates for qualified non-profit organizations, because we know how hard you work. What your company does is important, and we appreciate all you do.
If you’re interested in learning more, check out our work or contact us. We’d love to hear from you.
Now let’s go ahead and dive in.
As previously mentioned, the Google Ad Grants Program gives non-profit companies the ability to advertise on Google Ads with no price tag attached. Qualified, Google-approved organizations receive $10,000 USD per month in Google Ads dollars. This marketing spend helps the non-profits carry out their mission and promote their initiatives.
Google isn’t just throwing out money to any organization that calls itself a non-profit. In order to qualify, companies must go through an application process. Once the grant is received, the program regulations must be followed, otherwise the non-profit could lose the grant. You gotta play by the rules if you want to keep that $10k!
To be eligible for a Google Grant, non-profits need to apply to Google for Non-profits. The specific offerings, requirements, and resources Google for Non-profits provide are available on their page. Non-profits also need to make sure their company meets the following criteria:
Governmental entities and organizations as well as hospitals and medical groups are all ineligible for the grant. The same goes for schools, childcare centers, academic institutions, and universities. The only exceptions are the philanthropic arms of educational organizations.
The good news is educational entities can still find resources and other forms of support through Google. Visit here for more information.
Congrats! You’ve got your grant. Now what?
Non-profits must abide by Google’s Grant Program policies in order to maintain grant eligibility. An Ad Grant mission-based policy compliance guide is available online. In addition, Google provides organizations with plenty of online resources to guide them through this journey.
Failing to do any of the above may result in account deactivation.
All the ads in must link to your non-profit URL. This is the URL that was approved in the earlier application process.
Non-profits need to log into their Google Ads account monthly to stay active and properly manage their ads. Otherwise, Google has the right to pause the account with zero notification.
The promoted advertisements must reflect the non-profit’s mission. Products for sale can be advertised only if 100% of the proceeds go to support the organization.
The ads cannot point visitors to pages that send users to other sites. This isn’t time to have sponsored links on a page and send people down an Internet rabbit hole.
It seems obvious, but it should still be stated that financial products like mortgages, loans, or credit cards cannot be advertised.
Organizations are forbidden from asking users for large donations in the form of cars, boats, or property donations. Keywords related to any of these activities are also not allowed.
The website cannot display ads from Google AdSense or other affiliate advertising links while participating in Google Grants.
Any violation of these guidelines means Google can remove the offending account from the grant program. They also reserve the right to supplement or amend the eligibility rules and regulations at any time.
Non-profit recipients of a Google Grant receive free advertising, as we already know. However, the ads will only be displayed on Google.com. This means no Search Partners and no Display Network ads. Keep in mind that the Grant ads are text only. If you’re interested in having an ad with imagery, graphics, etc., this program will not fulfill that want.
Ad Grants ads don’t compete with paid Google Search campaigns. The Grant ads appear only on Google’s search results pages, either independently or in positions beneath paid ads.
Each non-profit is in total control of their account, from building to managing the ads. Google will not manage it for anyone, even if an organization wanted them to.
In terms of budgeting, non-profits have a max daily spend of $329 per day. This equates to around $10,000 per month.
For manual bidding, there is a maximum cost-per-click (CPC) limit of $2.00. Smart Bidding strategies Maximize Conversions, Target ROAS, and Target CPA can bid over $2.00 in an effort to gain more conversions, if appropriate to a non-profit’s account goals. Please note that other Smart Bidding strategies are capped at $2.00 CPC.
One crucial thing to remember? If you don’t use it, you lose it. Eek! Yes, that’s right. If non-profits fail to spend the $10,000 per month, they lose it. It doesn’t roll over to the next month or go to another organization. It’s gone. Use that money wisely, and make sure it doesn’t go to waste. That being said, there is no penalty or requirement for not spending the full $10,000 each month.
All this information might seem overwhelming, especially to non-profits who don’t spend a lot of time on advertising strategies. It may be intimidating to get into the marketing frame of mind. However, it isn’t as intense as it may seem. With some time, research, and practice, non-profit organizations can take the Google Grants world by storm and find success! Here are a few assorted tips and tricks that may be helpful.
This is just an overview of the initiative, so if you want to get more into the nitty-gritty, feel free to explore Google’s resources.
For more details and specifics on the Ad Grants program, please visit the Ad Grants Help page.
Good luck with your advertising journey! Thanks for stopping by to learn more about the Google Ads Grant program.
Don’t forget that Social Link offers discounted labor rates for qualified non-profit organizations.
Take advantage of our wide range of services if you’re looking to ramp up your advertising efforts, rebrand your website, create killer content, and more!
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