There was a time when all the tech team at a nonprofit needed to do to get the organization on the first page of Google was good search engine optimization (SEO) and a few solid back-links from reputable websites. Those times are long gone. The age of paid search is upon us.
Proper SEO, such as title and image tags, can still be important especially for social media. But paid search is no longer optional if search results are the goal. This is largely due to the expansion of paid search results during the past decade, slowly edging out organic results. Ads on Google in particular have become so prominent over the years, that today the first organic search result will appear well below the fold, and often at the very bottom of the page.
One striking example of this phenomenon was given at one of the sessions during the recent Nonprofit Technology Conference in Denver presented by NTEN, entitled “Paid Social and Search: Worth the Investment for Nonprofits.” Steven Bond, managing director at Forum One, explained that due to paid search expansion, “Even if you are the first organic search result on Google, you will still get less than 30% of the total clicks from the first page.”
According to Forum One’s data, nonprofit ad spend on paid search and social media is expected to grow 10% annually through 2027, and the competition is expected to grow with it. In that environment, it’s crucial to know how to position your organization to ensure you receive the most search clicks possible, as well as maximize your reach on social media through digital advertising.
Here are 5 tips for paid social and paid search suggested at the session:
- Never boost posts to your audience. Although only about 5% of your Twitter followers see your posts, it’s almost always more beneficial to grow your audience than to try to reach people who already know you exist.
- Use Google Search Console to see who viewed your ads but didn’t click on them.
- For Facebook, use the ad library to see what your peers are spending on ads, and what kind of creatives are converting for them.
- Never bid for clicks, instead bid on conversions or landing pages. There are too many accidental clicks that you end up paying for, especially when others know this trick.
- Always have an advertising presence on search, even if your bids are low.
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Darryl Canfield is the Digital Director of The NonProfit Times
