getting social with google ad grants

www.mediacause.org/blog | @MediaCause, @GoogleAdGrants

Getting Social With Google Ad Grants

Eric Facas @EricFacas eric@mediacause.org

What is a Google Ad Grant?

A Google Ad Grant is a $10,000/mo - $120,000/yr in-kind grant; free advertising for nonprofits on Google.com.

Grantspro gives qualified nonprofits $40,000/mo -$480,000/yr in free advertising on Google.com.

Review eligibility requirements and apply IMMEDIATELY at Google.com/nonprofits

Your Mission, If You Choose To Accept It

We only need 2084 nonprofits to spend their maximum Grantspro budget – Sign up & share with friends!

What if we spent $1 billion per year promoting the organizations that make the world a better

place?

Thank You !!!

What About Facebook?

Sign & share the petition for #FacebookAdGrants

http://Change.org/facebookadgrants

Do you have an active Google Ad Grants Account?

Are you spending the full $10k/mo?

Let’s Start With Some Questions

Raise Your Hand

Overview

1. The Fundamentals: Spend Your Grant

2. Integrated Approach: Create Tangible Value

3. Google Ad Grants + Communication = $ (Case

Study)

Ad Grants/AdWords 101 – The Nuts & Bolts

Taxonomy

Campaigns: Top level account structure (tied to programs or goals)

Ad Groups: 15 - 30 Keywords (clusters of similar words/phrases)

3 Text Ads & Landing Pages (test & measure)

Ads are served in a real-time auction (below paying advertisers)

Max Cost Per Click (set by advertiser) x Quality Score = Ad Rank Quality Score is comprised of the following:

- Click through rate (CTR)- Quality of landing page- Relevance of ad text- Historical keyword and account performance

Minimum CPC can be as low as $0.01, maximum CPC is $2.00

Search Is Only As Effective As Your Website

If your site doesn’t have a lot of content that educates & inspires action and gives people easy ways to get involved, don’t bother investing time and resources in Google Ad Grants.

Vs

Quality Score is calculated at the keywords level. Test different combinations of keywords, ads and landing pages. If that doesn’t work, it’s not relevant -- remove it.

Relevancy is Everything

Account Structure Matters

Campaigns should align with programs and goals Ad Groups should have 15-30 very similar keywords that align to a specific page on your site Quick launch tip: mirror your website navigation

58% of searches use between 2-4 words

Average Global Search Phrase Length

SOURCE: Experian Hitwise – Oct 2009

Build Your Keyword List w/ the Long Tail

Local orgs should aim for 1,000+ keywords National orgs should aim for 5,000+ keywords

Add Keywords Without Hurting Relevancy

FIND MORE KEYWORDS Google Suggestions

(below search results) Keyword Planner

(in AdWords) Any thesaurus

OPTIMIZE Remove poor

performing keywords once a month

Test new ones

Family Abuse Facts

13

Family ViolenceLearn More - Get the latest family violence facts here.www.futureswithoutviolence.org

3.32% CTR

Family AbuseGet the facts on family abuse here & learn how you can help stop it. FuturesWithoutViolence.org

5.56% CTR

14

Headline should be hyper relevant to the query – include the exact keyword

Include an informative and empowering call to action

Test 3-4 variations at all times

Remove the worst performer every month

3.32% CTR

5.56% CTR

Family AbuseGet the facts on family abuse here & learn how you can help stop it. FuturesWithoutViolence.org

Family ViolenceLearn More - Get the latest family violence facts here.www.futureswithoutviolence.org

How to Write Effective Ads

Conversion Rate = <1%

Conversion Rate = 12.59%

Homepage Vs Targeted Landing Page

Is all this information necessary at this point in the relationship?

4 fields is the ideal length

Conversion Rate = 50%

Conversion Rate = 74.6%

Keep Forms as Short as Possible

Next Steps: Resources

Google Ad Grants Help Center

(https://support.google.com/adwords)

Google Adwords Certification

(https://www.google.com/partners/)

Google Ad Grants Whitepaper

(http://help.mediacause.org/google-grants)

Ask Anything @GoogleAdGrants

(https://twitter.com/googleadgrants)

#BetterTogether

An Integrated Approach: Google Ad Grants & Email

People Rarely Search For Places to Give $

There are two exceptions: Brand terms & disaster relief

Nonprofits search for donors, not the other way around.

What Are People Searching For?

MEA

SURE

& O

PTIM

IZE

PERFO

RM

AN

CE

Monthly Google Search Volume (Per Campaign)

“About The Rainforest” – 5,000,000

“Deforestation” – 457,000

“Save the Rainforest” – 33,000

“Rainforest Charities” - 880

Information!

Get involved, volunteer, share+ Email, social engagementDonations, membership

Information based searches

+ “Creative” email capture

Sign a petition, learn more+ Email, social

follow/share

A Better Approach: Build Communities1. Meet, ask permission

to continue the

conversation over

email & social media

2. Connect on issues the

community cares

about; Share content

that informs and

inspires

3. Celebrate wins,

progress and

challenges together

4. Ask for participation

What is an Email Worth?

www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2009/11/11/whats-an-email-address-worth-just-calculate-it.html

Prominent Placement for Newsletter Signups

Highly visible, above the fold Test different button colors & calls to

action

Messaging Matters, Test & Measure

Test “newsletter” alternatives like Get Involved, Stay Informed

Incorporate Advocacy Campaigns

Peel Ads can be added throughout a site to drive petitions signups or other actions

Slide-Ins / Pop-ups for Engaging Content

Blogs are a great place to recruit supporters, but set frequency caps

Email Gates for Best Digital Content

Use AdWords and Google Analytics to determine the most popular content

Mobile Is No Longer The Future

20% - 50% of site traffic is likely from

mobile

> 50% of email are opened on phones

Test emails on all devices and platforms Don’t just look at your website on a phone,

try to donate and sign up for your email list

Case Study

Getting Social With Google Ad Grants

Case Study – Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Initial Strategy

Googled “screech owl” and landed on the AllAboutBirds.org species account

Saw a picture, maybe listened to the owl call, then left

Community Building Strategy in Action

Web VisitorsCapture Emails Donors

It’s all about email capture and turning anonymous traffic into supporters

Create lead capture opportunities based on what visitors are looking for… pull them in for more information

Create A Value Exchange

Segmentation & precision targeting lead to greater success.

Nurture New Supporters

A “Welcome Series” triggered by filling out a form: Immediate - thank you email 3 days later – More Owl Sounds, Macaulay Library

“Voices of North American Owls” 6 days later – NestWatch Build an Owl Nest Box,

YouTube Eastern Screech Owl and Barred Owl videos 12 days later – Invitation to Join the Lab

Ongoing communication: New supporters are added to monthly eNewsletter Fundraising campaign appeals and membership

drives (periodic)

Strategy in Action

Google “screech owl” and land on the AllAboutBirds.org species account

Donate/Join for the first time via email

Begin receiving monthly eNews and email solicitations

Learn more about the Lab through triggered emails

See offer to download owl sounds in exchange for email address

Don’t forget to say THANK YOU!

Year One Results

Increased email capture rate from 0.2% to 5.98%.

Increased our email file by 56% (522k as of 4/1)

Doubled online fundraising over prior year

60% of first-time donors are coming from online

54% of online revenue was in response to email solicitations

Average “sales” cycle – 78 days from lead to donor

Eric Facaseric@mediacause.org@EricFacas

Thank You! Questions?

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@MediaCause@GoogleAdGrants