Google Ad Grants for Charitable organizations in United Kingdom

Free Advertising for Nonprofits

Do you work for a company that pursues charitable purposes in the United Kingdom? Do you want more donations, more volunteers, and more goals? What do you think about running free advertising worth up to $ 10,000 / month under the Google Ad Grants program? In this article, you can find out what Google Grants are and what requirements are necessary for them.

Nonprofits can use the Google Ad Grants program for a variety of goals and purposes. These include, for example, increasing awareness, the number of registrations, donations, or download of information.

What exactly is Google Ad Grants?

This is a program from Google, which is aimed at all non-profit organizations. With Google Ad Grants, non-profits receive a monthly budget of USD 10,000, which can be redeemed as a kind of “voucher” for Google Ads. To qualify for the program, companies must apply to the Ad Grants program.

How do I apply as a non-profit company?

1. Check Eligibility: Is the Grants Program offered in your company’s country like the United Kingdom? Does the company meet the conditions of participation?
2. Application to Google as a non-profit company

• The company must have recognized non-profit status legally in London, UK. The exact guidelines differ from country to country. The following applies to the United Kingdom: Organizations currently have to be registered with HMRC as tax-exempt or (OSCR) and (CCNI). Organizations must be (1) companies with tax advantages, (2) non-profit associations without economic profit targets, or (3) non-profit foundations without economic profit targets.

1. Participation in the Ad Grants program

• Here you can choose whether the Google Ads account is operated normally or as a Google Ads Express account. With a Google Ads Express account, the ads are automatically managed (where and when they appear). All you have to do is define the target groups, three lines of text for the organization, and the daily budget.

1. Creation of a Google Ads account 
2. Submit account for review

In addition to observing the general application process, every company should set a goal and choose an account manager with sufficient expertise. The time to be taken into account per month for maintaining the account is around 10 hours. 

What do you have to consider during the Application Process?

1. The currency must be set in USD, regardless of the country in which the company is based.
2. Payment settings can be ignored for the time being
3. Set timezone correctly (ATTENTION! Time zone can only be changed once per account)
4. In order for the account to be checked for the requirements at all, at least one campaign must be created with an AdGroup, a keyword, and an ad
5. Google Ads customer ID must be specified in the application process
6. The following organizations are excluded from the grant program: Government companies, hospitals or medical associations, schools, kindergartens, daycare centers, academic institutions, universities

What to look out for in the account:

• The existence of a functioning website with detailed information on the non-profit organization.
• The organization must own the domain.
• Monosyllabic keywords need to be specific.
  • Keywords consisting of one word that are too generic (eg current news, historical events, ..) are only of limited use
  • Exceptions: own brand, medical problems, keywords directly related to charity
  • Here is a list of allowed monosyllabic generic keywords.
• Ads must be text-based and campaigns must be keyword-based.
• Brands that the company does not own itself, foundation partners, and competitors may not be booked as keywords
• Keywords with a Quality Score <2 are not accepted and should be paused
• All campaigns must be location-based.
• Each campaign must contain at least two active ad groups, site link extensions, and ads.

Google Grants Pro

In the Grants Pro program, nonprofits receive $ 40,000 per month instead of $ 10,000. The following requirements must be met for this:

• Conversion tracking must be implemented (e.g. newsletter registrations)
• In at least two months out of the last six months, over USD 9,900 must have been spent
• The CTR must be greater than 5% across all campaigns (tip: bidding on the brand)
• Submitting an online application for the program, explaining what the additional budget will be used for
• The guidelines for Google Grants must be observed
• The Grants Pro Account must be assigned to a person who actively manages the account; changes must be made at least every 14 days
• An annual survey must be completed and consent to share the conversion data must be given

Conclusion

The Google Grants Program offers non-profit, non-profit organizations the chance to get more out of their program. It can become a relevant source of website traffic and conversions, as well as being an important part of the overall marketing strategy. Google recommends some best practices that are based very much on automating account management, but certainly, simplify monitoring for Google Ads beginners. Overall, the program could be a great way for all nonprofits to better achieve their corporate nonprofit goals.

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