The program had a soft-launch back on Thursday May 29th but we are officially allowed to discuss it now so here are the details.
The GrantsPro program is an extension on the standard Ad Grants program from Google that increases the current $10,000 per month in free AdWords advertising an additional $30,000 per month, for a total of $40,000 per month in free AdWords advertising.
Suffice to say, a nonprofit can do a lot of good with that kind of AdWords advertising budget. But to get to the GrantsPro level, you really need to be doing good with the existing $10,000 per month Ad Grant first.
To be eligible to apply for GrantsPro, Grantees must meet these requirements:
These new requirements also apply to existing GrantsPro accounts and emails have gone out notifying grantees with existing GrantsPro accounts of these new requirements.
If you are a nonprofit and need an introduction to
Similar to the previous GrantsPro program, applications are being accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis and the Ad Grants team will respond to applicants within 30 days of submission. However, unlike the previous version of GrantsPro, Google is no longer requiring grantees to take a quiz. However, Google is putting more emphasis on reviewing the application essays and quality of account, etc. Yes, the application does include essay questions but these are ones that your organization should be able to answer already. Such as:
Of special note, space is limited and Google may not be accepting every nonprofit who applies but it is great to have the GrantsPro program back.
If you need information about the Google Ad Grants program or need help in maximizing your Ad Grant to be eligible for GrantsPro, get in touch with us today. 425-405-0690
Join us for Google Partners ConnectWe’re hosting an exclusive Google event on May 21st, and you’re invited to join us.
It’s a great opportunity to learn from Google experts about how to grow your business. We’ll provide refreshments, all we need is your company.
Please RSVP as soon as possible. We’d love for you to come learn with us.
Help small businesses succeed on the web
Arjan, author of The Small Think Big Book, will share unique insights, inspirational stories, and actionable ideas to help small businesses thrive in a hyper-connected marketplace.
Maximize your business online
Fred will examine how businesses can navigate online advertising and expand their online presence through smarter insights—leading to greater customer engagement with digital ads.
Work and win with an agency
Ben will discuss how small businesses should approach working with an agency, what resources the Google agency team provides, and the importance of working with an online professional.
Where
Snoqualmie City Hall – Council Chambers
38624 SE River Street Snoqualmie, 98065
RSVP
Call 425-405-0690
or email me by 05 19, 2014
Could Google Glass help your nonprofit better achieve their mission?
If so, here is a *GREAT* opportunity that you really need to check out.
“Individuals who work at US-based nonprofits are eligible to receive a pair of Glass, a trip to a Google office for training, a $25,000 nonprofit grant, and access to developers to make your Glass project a reality.”
Are you a nonprofit with an idea for how to amplify your impact with Glass? Submit your idea by 5/20 at g.co/givingthroughglass
As the Top Contributor over at Google’s Official Ad Grants Help Forum for the past several years, having helped hundreds of nonprofits and answering thousands of questions regarding Ad Grants, there are certain areas that I have seen grantees struggle with. The following list will help you avoid many of the pitfalls that nonprofits and Google Ad Grant managers often run into when setting up and managing a Google Ad Grant account.
Bonus Tip: If you are not sure what AdWords best practices are, then look to hire a professional to manage the account for you. Working with a professional will not only save you time, but it will also help you get the most out of your AdWords Grant account. By Google’s own admission, the typical Grantee only spends a small portion f their $10,000 per month grant – about $300. In contrast, Kinsey Street client’s utilize over 20x more of their AdWords Grant.
With all the talk about Super Bowl commercials, we are proud to announce our first commercial for Kinsey Street… ok, it is really not a commercial, it is just a brand new video that tells you what we do in a simple yet informative manner. We hope you like it.
Oh and ‘Go Seahawks’!
The Benefits Of Hiring A PPC Agency
[KGVID poster=”https://www.kinseystreet.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/MD-mp4-encode_thumb4.jpg” width=”960″ height=”540″]https://www.kinseystreet.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/MD-mp4-encode.mp4[/KGVID]
Long-tail keywords are great…. as long as they have search volume. Which admittedly most do not, especially when it comes to what might be relevant to a nonprofit account. Another problem with long-tail keywords is that most account managers add them into the AdWords account without any thought to the actual landing page. I mean, sure, the landing page might be about donuts but is it really about “pink icing donuts with rainbow sprinkles”? In most cases, no, far from it.
About 10 years ago, I was interviewing with a major agency here in the Seattle area and one of the questions the interviewer asked me was, “what is one of the first things you do when you take over an existing account?”
My answer was “delete keywords that are generating wasted spend”.
To which the interviewer replied, “but as an agency we want to expand our clients keywords to increase ad spend.”
“If you are increasing the keyword list just to increase ad spend, then you are doing your clients a disservice, ” I said.
Needless to say, I didn’t get the job. And while a lot has changed in our industry over the past 10 years, one agency mantra still remains the same, “expand the keyword list and add long-tail keywords.” And the myth of chasing the “long-tail” to AdWords success still remains. Why? One reason is because agencies get rich off of long-tail keywords and expanded keyword lists. This is because more ad spend often translates into more revenue for the agency since many agencies charge a percentage of ad spend. So they espouse the benefits of long-tail keywords to their clients and publish blog articles about them. It is a regurgitated “best practice” that has went on since the days of GoTo.com. (I know, I was there.)
But another reason why the myth persists is because there is a glimmer of truth to long-tail keywords. You see, fewer advertisers advertise on long tail terms so the bids are often less – an important consideration for those with Google Grant account. Although lower bids do not necessarily mean fewer advertisers in the auction mix because you are also bidding against all of those short-tail variations of phrase and broad match.
Another sparkle of glimmer is that when the content is in place, lang-tail keywords can have very high quality scores. Again, this is another important consideration to all AdWords advertisers but most especially to Google Grantees.
So you see, there is some truth to the greatness of long-tail keywords and I do not have anything against them but long-tail keywords are NOT a means to success with AdWords, at least not by themselves. You MUST have relevant content to support your keywords, regardless of how many words are in your keyword phrase. That is because adding long-tail keywords, without the content on the landing page is like putting the cart before the horse… it just doesn’t work, regardless of how many horses you add.
A one-word broad match keyword with a landing page with good relevant content will (in many cases) out perform an exact match 4 word long tail keyword with a landing page with poor content. And while this is true with any AdWords account, it is doubly true with Google Grant accounts.
So, my suggestion, is to focus less on adding long-tail keywords and focus more on adding the right keywords, regardless of how many words are in the keyword phrase. And remember, adding the key phrase of “pink icing donuts with rainbow sprinkles” is only appropriate if you have a page offering “pink icing donuts with rainbow sprinkles”.
With budget cuts in school districts across the country, field trips are beginning to go the way of the dinosaurs.
Google decided that if students leave the classroom to go on field trips, why not bring the field trips to the students there in the classroom. Today, Google is launching Connected Classrooms which provides students with virtual field trips via Google+ Hangouts to places like the Seattle Aquarium, San Diego Zoo, The Smithsonian, Philadelphia Museum of Art, NASA and a growing list of other education experiences across the country.
According to Google:
“Connected Classrooms is a program from the G+ Education team to provide teachers with the resources to connect their students with experiential learning opportunities, like virtual field trips, on Google+. With internet access, webcams and inquisitive minds, the possibilities are endless.”
Without a doubt, teachers and educators should look into this great resource to bring the World to their classrooms. connectedclassrooms.withgoogle.com
Google Ad Grants | AdWords for nonprofits
The Google Grants program changed its name to “Google Ad Grants” this week. Nothing else is changing with the program, just the name. The main reason behind the change is to clarify what the program offers, ($10,000 per month in free AdWords advertising) since Google is also known for offering several other types of grants. According to the Google Ad Grants team, the Google Grants site, Google for Nonprofits site, Help forum, applications, etc have all been updated to reflect the new name.
If you are a nonprofit and have not taken advantage of this great program by Google, we at Kinsey Street strongly encourage you to learn more about it. Contact us today and we can help you get the application submitted and your AdWords account set up and running in before the holiday season hits. Once you are all set up, we can provide full service Google Ad Grants management.
While Google Grants has been available in many countries around the world for several years now, Google’s full-suite of tools for nonprofits has only been available to US-based organizations. That all changed today with Google’s announcement that they are launching the Google For Nonprofits program in the UK starting in England and Wales.
The Google For Nonprofits has been a stellar success for nonprofits in the US and with today’s UK launch it is an indication that Google wants to make it’s full suite of nonproft offerings available to more countries. The program provides charity organizations of the UK free access to a wide variety of products including:
Dan Cobley, managing director of Google UK, said, “Through Google for Nonprofits, we want to support the incredible work of charitable organisations in the UK by eliminating some of the technical challenges and costs that they face. We hope our technology will help them to reach more donors, improve operations and raise awareness so they can focus on changing the world for the better.”
Kinsey Street has worked with nonprofit organizations around the world and is excited to see Google continuing to expand their programs. If you are a nonprofit based in the UK we strongly encourage you to apply to join the program today. If you need assistance, please feel free to reach out to us.
Google+
