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Google Ad Grants

Google Ad Grants Management

What Does It Take To Learn Google Ad Grants Management?

Google Ad Grants ManagementManaging Google Ad Grants is an art and science. At its core, it’s a technology platform that presents small text ads to people searching online with Google. The ads are only presented to the specific individuals who are using keywords related to the ads. For example, someone searching for red shoes, would see ads related to red shoes, as well as the organic, non-ads that have to do with red shoes. That’s an over-simplification, but it does outline the key advertising process.

Yet, to be more factual, a better description would need to include important nuances, such as the fact that not all ads may be shown for any given search, even if the keywords are perfectly matched, since other advertisers also have ads they want displayed at the same time. It’s a competitive process. And to make things more interesting, even if there were no competition, some ads might still not be shown, if Google deems them to be low quality. In other words, someone could be searching for red shoes, and even if there are only a few advertisers, Google might show only the best ad, even though they have space to run more ads (especially for any business that elects to bid less, or pay less, for the keywords).

In the commercial world, since businesses are paying to show the ads related to the keywords (more accurately, they are paying for people to click on ads related to specific keywords), those who are paying for the keywords will only run them for some amount of time if the ads are not profitable. So, there’s a self-selection process. If the ads don’t make money, the business will stop paying for them or will continue to do the necessary work to improve the ads. (Technically, the ads themselves are only part of the process. There is important work in managing the keywords and other factors related to the ads).

On the other hand, in the nonprofit world, there has been a tendency for nonprofits to continue to run low-quality ads indefinitely — since Google was footing the bill.

No more.

That changed in 2018.Read More »What Does It Take To Learn Google Ad Grants Management?

Search Volume with Google Ad Grants

One Term That Will Boost Your Google Ad Grants Performance

Search Volume with Google Ad GrantsOK, I get it. You don’t have the time or resources necessary to manage your Google Ad Grants more effectively. Yet, your board of directors is wondering why you can’t get more value from the $10,000 per month ad grants, when you’re only spending a fraction of the money. What’s up with that?

And to make matters more interesting, the rules for Google Ad Grants changed on January 1, 2018 to make it more challenging.

Sure, there’s a lot you can know to be truly proficient with these ad grants. (And the more you learn, the better!) For starters, just what’s needed to keep your account compliant (so you don’t lose your Ad Grants), is mostly technical. Although having a compliant account may not seem so satisfying when it’s not doing much for you, just realize that plenty of nonprofits are losing their Google Ad Grants because their accounts do not live up to the new rules. So, if you haven’t lost your ad grants, you’re in better shape than others.

But what about actually making Google Ad Grants perform more for you?

What’s one thing you can do to get more value from Google Ad Grants that’s not so technical?Read More »One Term That Will Boost Your Google Ad Grants Performance

Google Ad Grants Changes

Google Ad Grants Changes

Google Ad Grants ChangesThese past 2 years, and especially here in 2018, have seen the most significant changes that Google has implemented for their Ad Grants program since it was established in 2003. Not all are happy with the changes. In fact, many have lost their Google Ad Grants.

But by using Google Ad Grants per their requirements, you’ll be able to continue to reap the benefits of their advertising into the future. Just manage your Google Ad Grants as if you were the one spending the money.

GOOGLE AD GRANTS MODIFICATIONS

In 2016, over Labor Day weekend, Google discontinued their “Grants Pro” program, which provided $40K/mo in Ad Grants to qualified nonprofits. (In brief, nonprofits needed to prove they were using the $10K/mo ad grants appropriately, over time, to be eligible for the $40K/mo. Hence, most nonprofits were never eligible for Grants Pro anyway).

On January 1 of 2018, Google introduced more stringent requirements to continue to receive their $10K/mo Ad Grants. And here, in the middle of 2018, many nonprofits have lost, or will be losing, their Ad Grants. But keep in mind, it’s only those nonprofits that are not maintaining compliance with Google Ad Grants rules who are at risk.Read More »Google Ad Grants Changes

Nonprofit Marketing Performance: First Step

Marketing is the lifeblood of any nonprofit organization. But how can you increase the effectiveness of your nonprofit’s marketing performance?

Of course there are many marketing channels available. Even if a nonprofit’s “marketing” might be as simple as the benefits of naturally occurring word-of-mouth promotion (which relies on the propagation of a story through personal contacts), there are always ways performance can be improved. For example, word-of-mouth promotion could be improved by something as simple as establishing a memorable and concise message (tag line) that supporters could readily repeat to others. Although this can be quite effective, it is limited in range and speed.Read More »Nonprofit Marketing Performance: First Step

Google Ad Grants Story Triangle

Google Ad Grants Story Triangle

Today we’re going to talk about successful use of Google Ad Grants with the right story.

Successful use of Google Ad Grants breaks down into two main areas:

  1. Mechanics (the nuts and bolts of Google Ad Grants)
  2. Creative Strategies (includes story development, the main topic of today’s message)

“Mechanics” can be learned. In fact, the mechanics of Google Ad Grants will need to be learned to take advantage of these ongoing grants, in the same way a person would need to learn to drive a car to use it for transportation.

Having said that, it’s the “creative strategies” that will generate results. This boils down to “What will be advertised?” This is a huge topic, and it all begins with your unique, nonprofit story.Read More »Google Ad Grants Story Triangle

The Art and Science of Google Ad Grants


Learning and applying the Art and Science of Google Ad Grants for fundraising and telling your story is one of the most powerful online promotional opportunities available to your nonprofit.

Google Ad Grants is for nonprofits only. Google Ad Grants provides a $10K/mo advertising budget for use on their Google Adwords platform, which is an online service that places advertisements near the list of search results. Stated another way, Google Ad Grants is the nonprofit version of AdWords, which is Google’s online advertising service and Google’s primary source of revenue.Read More »The Art and Science of Google Ad Grants

Keywords with Google Ad Grants

Keywords with Google Ad Grants represent a fundamental foundation of online nonprofit marketing.

Keywords are not only the very foundation of Google Ad Grants, Google Adwords and Pay Per Click advertising, they are a vital aspect of Internet marketing, in general.

Keywords represent the language that you and I are using to search for things online. In fact, the term “Keyword Phrases” would be even more appropriately descriptive, since we often search with more than one single word.Read More »Keywords with Google Ad Grants