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If your church or organization hasn't heard of Google Ad Grants, then I am excited to share this news with you.

Or, if you have heard of this program but have not tested the waters yet, I'm here to inform you that with each day that passes in which you haven't applied, you are losing out on hundreds or potentially thousands of free Google Search Ads.

Yes, it's rather dramatic but also incredibly true. Let's talk more about the program and how you can get involved.

What are Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits?

Great question! I'm glad you asked.

The Google Ad Grant is free Google Search Ads for nonprofit organizations. 

Per Google, "Google Ad Grants offers eligible organizations access to up to $10,000 USD per month in Search ads shown on Google.com to help them connect to people searching for their mission, raise awareness, attract donors, and recruit new volunteers."

Pretty gnarly, right? I would say so.

What are the Program's Qualifications?

There are a few different items for criteria your organization must meet to be eligible for the Ad Grant:

1. Be registered as a charitable organization in an approved country. You can find the full list here (and yes, the United States is on there).

2. Meet the eligibility terms for that country. In the United States, that means your organization is registered with the IRS as exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3). 

3. Agree to the program's additional terms of service. You can find more info on those specifics on Google's list here.

If your organization fits that criteria, then you have a great chance at being approved for the ad grant. 

Fishhook has gotten Ad Grant approval for many of our clients. If you'd like to hear more about how we can help you get approved, check out more of our resources or let us know if you want to chat.

My organization has been approved for the Google Ad Grant. Now what?

Now the real fun begins! Once your application has been approved by Google, you'll be given a Google Nonprofit Ad account that is connected to the grant. Here, you'll be able to set up and manage all of your free Google Ad campaigns.

What should I use the grant to advertise for?

Here are a few ad campaign ideas you could pursue:

• Your church's location and services
• Big events happening at your church (Christmas, Easter, community events, etc.)
• Preschool, daycare or children's programs
• Felt need resources including sermons, videos, blogs or any other content to meet people's needs or help them grow spiritually
• Connections to pop culture and trending topics
• Tools for parents or leadership resources
• New initiatives or programs to get people engaged
• Or anything else your church or ministry is passionate about

Once you've decided the topic you want to begin promoting, it's time to get into the weeds with executing your campaign successfully.

This starts with keyword research.

Keyword research is the process of learning more about the terms and phrases people are searching for related to your topic. 

If you were hoping to promote some leadership resources your organization has developed, some possible keywords could include: how to become a leader, what is leadership, how to be a better leader, or leadership definition. There are a ton of great tools like Wordstream or SEMRush that you can use to establish these keywords.

Once you have your search terms, it's time to start writing. Bring your keywords into the copy and make it sound appealing and authentic to someone browsing the web. Make sure you're formatting things based on Google's Search Ad template. You can find those guidelines here.

I recommend finding a template, like in Google Docs or Sheets where you can write, edit and keep everything in one place before you ad them into your Google Ads account. That way, everything is finalized and ready to be sent out into the vast expanse of Google.

I've launched my first Google Ad Grant campaign! Now what?

First of all, congrats! That's an awesome accomplishment. 

Once you've launched, you'll want to make sure your account is continuing to meet Google's program guidelines to keep things running smoothly. A few examples of this include account activity, ad campaign structure, meeting the Click-Through Rate (CTR) threshold and more. Here's Google's full list of account requirements.

Not only can Fishhook help you apply and get approved for the grant, we also manage our clients' ad grant accounts by strategizing with you, completing keyword research, writing ad copy and building out the ad campaigns in your account. We'll also monitor and report on campaigns and verify you're always meeting Google's program criteria. If you'd like our support, just let us know and we'd be happy to chat all about it. Just click the button below to get started!

Now get started!

Getting this process started can seem scary. There's a lot of rules and guidelines for the program that need to be followed, not to mention you'd be adding one more thing to manage to your plate. But I promise, it is worth it. It can take a lot of time and energy to get started, but once you have ad campaigns rolling they will pay dividends over time. 

And if you love the idea but hate the thought of doing it alone, don't fret! Our Fishhook team is here to support you along the way. We actually find the process sort of fun (yes, we're kind of nerdy).

So, yes Google Ad Grants are worth pursuing for almost every church or ministry. Every day that you're a part of the program you'll be getting free ad dollars and reaching more people for your church and ultimately, Jesus. Take the plunge today and see how it can help your ministry grow.