In my previous blog post, I discussed how Colorado nonprofits could take advantage of the Google Grants program. I also mentioned the one major "catch" as I see it with the program - the CPC (cost per click) values are extremely low. If you're a Colorado nonprofit, you may find that the keywords that you're interested in may have a CPC value of greater than the $1 CPC threshhold as laid out in Google Grants. Below, I describe how to use the Google AdWords Keyword tool to figure out if you may wish to pursue the Google Grants program.
How Colorado Nonprofits Can Use the AdWords Keyword Tool
To see if the terms you're interested in may qualify under Google Grants, your CPC must be less than $1. I'm going to now take you to the AdWords keyword tool to see approximately how much you could expect to pay for search terms related to your Colorado nonprofit.
1) Go to the Google AdWords Keyword Tool
The Google AdWords Keyword Tool.
2) Enter search phrases related to your nonprofit
Beginning the Search for Nonprofit Keywords for Google Grants
Here, I'm entering fundraising related keywords as opposed to service related keywords. The problem right now is that there are plenty of people looking for services, but resources are at a premium. A nonprofit could (and should) also enter service related keywords to help to ensure that people that needed their services would be able to find them.
The specific search phrases I entered were:
- nonprofit donations
- homeless donations
- homeless charities
Google will expand upon these search phrases as you'll see on the results screen after you click on the "Get Keyword Ideas" button.
3) Review and Customize Results
We're now at the results page. To be able to really make sense of what we're looking at, we're going to want to modify the results a little bit. The first thing to do is to select "Show All" from the columns option in the upper right portion of the screen results. Next, we'll change the match type to "Phrase" match. Finally, we'll click on the Local Search Volume text so that we can get an approximate idea of search volume for the phrases. These steps are all detailed below.
Modifying the Results Page in the AdWords Keyword Tool So It Makes More Sense
4) One Last Tweak
Looking at the results the way they are now, what we're seeing isn't very encouraging. What we'll want to look at first is the CPC column and the Search volume columns (both highlighted below). All of the competitive search terms have CPCs of way over $1 - which exceeds the maximum amount allowed for Google Grants. Fortunately, there still is hope. The CPC results as they are currently displayed are for ad positions 1-3 - the most competitive ad positions on a search engine results page. These ad positions are typically at the very top of the page.
Keyword Results Aren't Encouraging, But Are For High Ad Positions.
Let's see what happens if we adjust our CPC to $1 (as shown below) and recalculate the results.
Keywords Which Were over $1 for positions 1-3 are all under $1 for positions 4-6. These represent a great opportunity for a free, nonprofit advertising campaign.
What A big difference! The same keywords that were well over $2, and in some cases $3 for positions 1-3 are under $1 for positions 4-6 according to the keyword tool. That means that these keywords would be eligible for Google Grants as part of an AdWords campaign. Positions 4-6 on a search engine results page are still great ad positions and will appear on the first page of search results. They won't be as high up on the search engine results page, but they still have a chance to build brand recognition and bring in donations for your Colorado nonprofit.
Quick Caveat
The Google AdWords Keyword Tool is just that - a tool. Google doesn't publish exact search volumes for given phrases or exact CPC values. When you start working on AdWords campaigns, you'll notice that the data Google provides through its keyword tool won't exactly match what you experience as an advertiser. Use this tool as a guide to determine what keywords may fit in under that $1 CPC Google Grants requirement to bring in donations to your Colorado nonprofit.
How Does this Help Me Market My Colorado Nonprofit?
In a tough economy, nonprofits have more people utilizing their services, and less donations to support this additional demand. Google Grants is a great way to get a ton of free advertising for your Colorado nonprofit - up to $10,000/month. But, there are restrictions with Google Grants as far as how expensive your keyword phrase is. By using the techniques detailed in this blog post, you can figure out ways to effectively solicit donations - or promote your services online for free using Google AdWords.