Google Grants are available to members of Google’s Non-profit programme. Find out more about Google Ads and how your organisation could benefit from over £6,000 a month in free advertising with Google Grants.

What are Google Ads and Google Grants?

Google AdWords is an online advertising service which allows you to place adverts in the Google Search Engine when web-users search your chosen keywords. Your adverts will appear as a short piece of text and a sponsored link, usually at the top or side of the list of search results.

Here, the links in the red boxes are paid adverts which appear when we search the keywords ‘taxi Bromley’. The links in the blue box are ‘organic’ results.

Google Ad Grants let Non-profits advertise with Google AdWords for free. Eligible Non-profits are given an AdWords budget of US$10,000 (around £6,700) a month to promote their organisation, mission and objectives on Google.com

How it works

In the example above the websites in the red boxes have bid for the keyword phrase ‘taxi Bromley’ but will only pay for the advert if it is clicked on. This is known as pay per click (PPC)advertising. Different keywords and keyword phrases will cost different amounts – this is known as the cost-per-click. Google AdWords works like an auction – the higher your bid the further up the results you appear, although Google Grant holders will always appear underneath paying AdWords users.

Google Grant holders are restricted to US$2 (around £1.40) cost-per-click.

Why sign up?

While Search Engine Optimisation is a great way of pushing your content up to the top of Google’s search page it can take time to see the results of your work. With Google AdWords the results are instant and with Google Ad Grants it won’t cost your organisation.

There are many reasons you may choose to use Google AdWords. Think about what you want to achieve through advertising. It could be to:

Increase traffic to your site
Raise awareness of your organisation, services or campaigns
Encourage people to fundraise or donate (although Google Grant holders aren’t permitted to ask for donations in form of large goods such as cars, boats or houses)
Advertise products (as lon as 100% of the proceeds are going to your organistion. Google Grant holders are not permitted to advertise financial products).

How to Apply

You’ll need to apply for a Google for Non-profits account.

Setting up your first campaign

There’s a lot of advice online about setting up your first campaign. Here are some good places to start:

Top Tips

Pick the right Keywords

Use the Google AdWords Keyword Planner to build your keyword list and don’t forget to identify negative keywords (keywords to block). Think about which keywords will support each of your aims and make the most of long tail keywords.

Keep to the ad dimensions

Your advert must meet the following character limits:

Think carefully about what to include in the headline and description, as this will influence whether or not web users click on your advert. Make sure that you include a clear call to action.

Link to the right page

Be careful about which web-page you link your advert to. Avoid linking it to your homepage as this is penalised by Google and never link it to an external site (for example, your JustGiving page). Instead, link it to the most relevant page on your website. So if your advert focuses on getting people to donate link it to your donation page.

Target by area

As a local organisation the ability to target your ads by area is really useful. Find out how to target your ads by location.