The Google Ad Grants Program allows charities and non-profits the chance to advertise using Google Ads for free. In fact, qualified organisations can get up to $10,000 (£7,500) free advertising each month to help towards reaching new users, donors, volunteers and campaigners.
There is a strict criteria that your charity or non-profit needs to fall into before you can apply though and we will look at this in more detail. Using up to $10,000 each month for a charity can go an extremely long way but it is important to use the budget wisely in order to reap the rewards from it.
So, Are You Eligible?
To be eligible for Google Ad Grants your organisation must:
- Hold current and valid charity status (i.e. Registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales; and/or Registered with HM Revenue & Customs as a charity for tax relief.)
- Acknowledge and agree to Google’s required certifications regarding non-discrimination and donation receipt and use.
- Have a live website with substantial content.
On the flip side of this though, there are organisations that cannot apply currently and these include:
- Governmental entities and organizations
- Hospitals and medical groups
- Schools, childcare centres, academic institutions and universities (philanthropic arms of educational organizations are eligible).
Your charity or non-profit organisation will need to first apply for the grant and can check if you’re eligible or not by following the steps here: https://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/grants/how-to-apply/
Where’s The Catch?
As with everything that sounds too good to be true, there are restrictions that apply. These restrictions are relatively fluid but we have listed some of the important guidelines that you must follow when using a Google Ads Grant, and these include:
- Must maintain a click-through rate (CTR) of 5% or higher each month (if the 5% standard isn't met for two consecutive months, the account will be cancelled).
- Your maximum cost-per-click (CPC) will be $2.00 USD – this can get lifted if you install Google Ads tracking though.
- Ad Grants accounts must have geo-targeting to show ads in relevant locations.
- Must have at least 2 active ad groups per campaign each containing a set of closely related keywords and 2 active text ads
- At least 2 sitelink ad extensions
- Keywords with a Quality Score of 2 or less
- Single-word keywords excluding your own branded words and/or recognized medical conditions.
There are a lot of restrictions around Google Ads Grants but as Google Partners, we’re specialised to help optimise your account to best practices and work with Google to ensure you meet their requirements each month.
If you’d like to find out more about how we have helped charities with their Google Ads advertising,
contact us today.
