Hopefully by now you’re aware of the Google Grants program for non-profits. If not, check out my post Google for Non-Profits. In it I review all the great tools Google offers your non-profit for free. One of the best benefits is $10,000 a month of in-kind media to spend on the AdWords ad platform. This is a tremendous benefit for an organization trying to capture awareness, leads and donations.
Google has sweetened the pot with Grantspro. Qualifying non-profits can apply to receive $40,000 a month in in-kind media. Does this sound too good to be true? For many organizations the criteria to apply might make this seem out of reach.
Here’s what you have to do to be eligible for Grantspro:
- Have an actively managed Google Grants account
- Track conversions
- Maintain a 1% or greater click through-rate (CTR) over a 6-month period
- Spend $9,900 twice across a 6-month period
- Apply for Grantspro
This is no easy feat for most non-profits, but the benefits are worth the work of getting your Google Grants program working for you. Here are a couple tips to help you start maximizing your Google Grant.
Get comfortable with the settings
The most difficult criterion to reach is spending $9,900 a month. The first place to go is the AdWords settings. Most people don’t spend a lot of time here because it can seem confusing. But a couple tweaks in your settings can make all the difference for getting to Grantspro.
1. Daily Budget — Set each Campaign to $329
This one can be a little confusing. The typical approach is to cut your total Daily Budget up evenly by your Campaigns, possibly shifting more dollars to important Campaigns. But since your Daily Budget is already limited by Google and since you’re likely not spending all $329 a day, you’re better off setting each Campaign to the max so you never risk being limited by budget.
2. Cost Per Click Bid — Set each keyword $2
Pay Per Click is a bidding game, trying to limit spending on poor quality keywords and bidding on ones you know will get you leads. Except when you’re spending Grant money and your objective is to spend as much as you can. To that end bid $2 on every single keyword. This will help to ensure your placement. Which will mean more clicks and more money spent.
3. Delivery Method — Set to accelerated
The Standard Delivery method is helpful if you’re managing to a budget. It distributes your spending evenly across the day so you don’t run out of budget too early. But in this unique case, running out of budget is exactly what you want to do, why hold on to a bit only to discover you couldn’t spend it all.
Are you maximizing your Google Grant?
We’ve helped many organizations figure out how to maximize their Google Grant and apply for a Grantspro that helps them do even more good. If you’re having a hard time getting your Grant to work for you, we’d like to give you a free review of your Grant.
To get started, enter your information below and a Google Certified Grants manager will be in touch with you.