Keeping these low impression keywords in your account will not hurt your account performance, but you should use the tips listed above to identify similar terms that will drive more traffic to your website. If you notice that certain keywords generate low impressions over a few months, you can assume that these keywords will never generate significant traffic and delete these terms.Read More

We often say that getting the most out of your AdWords account requires ongoing management, but what is the best way to manage your account? We're not talking hours of attention each day: An hour or two each month will go a long way.

In this post we're going to share how taking 10 minutes to set up a monthly keyword report and then taking some time each month to review it can make active account management quick and effortless. By the end of this post you'll know what a Keyword Performance Report is and how to set one up so that it's automatically delivered to your inbox on a monthly basis. More importantly, you'll know how to leverage this report to quickly and effectively manage your account. Let's get started.

The Keyword Performance Report

Keyword Performance reports let you view statistics on how your keywords are performing across all campaigns. You can schedule reports to be automatically emailed to you on a monthly (or weekly) basis - depending on how often you want to receive account updates.

To schedule a Keyword Performance Report, first log in to your account and click on the Reports tab. Then follow the instructions in the AdWords Help Center entry on scheduling Keyword Performance Reports. When scheduling the report, please note two crucial details:

1. In the "Advanced Settings - Filter Your Results" section, you'll want to click the check box to "Include keywords with zero impressions."
2. In the "Templates, Scheduling, and Email" section, make sure to click the check box for "Save this as a new report template" and then schedule the report to run automatically. Also remember to enter your email address!

Once you receive the report, there are several actions you can take to examine the data and make changes based on the keyword statistics that will likely boost the performance of your campaign. You can either study the data in the e-Report that is mailed to you or you can open it as an Excel file, whichever option is more comfortable for you. Now let's take a look at how we can use the Keyword Performance Report.

Quality Score

The AdWords system calculates a 'Quality Score' for each of your keywords. It looks at a variety of factors to measure how relevant your keyword is to your ad text and to a user's search query. A keyword's Quality Score updates frequently and is closely related to its performance. In general, the higher your Quality Score, the lower your cost-per-click (CPCs) and the better your ad position.

In your keyword report, you will see your keywords rated on a scale of 1-10, these numbers are a finer breakdown of our standard quality scale of 'Poor,' 'Ok,' and 'Great.' On this scale, 1 is the lowest rating, while 10 is the highest. 1-4 corresponds with Poor, 5-7 with OK, and 8-10 with Great.

To start, either in the e-Report or in the Excel report, let's sort the Quality Score column so that it's in descending order. If you're using the Excel file, you can enable auto-filters and/or whatever filtering option you use most often. This will allow us to quickly see which keywords are not currently performing well.

What to do:
You should be wary of any keywords with a quality score of 4 or lower. We recommend that you try to maintain all keywords at a Quality Score of five or above. To do so, you can delete or optimize keywords with poor quality scores as soon as you see them. Paying regular attention to keyword Quality Score will help the overall performance of your account whereas poor performing keywords, if left unchecked, can adversely affect the overall health of your account.

CTR
Next, let's sort the CTR column so that it's in descending order. As you may know, CTR refers to the percentage of people who have seen your ad on Google and clicked on it. A high CTR is good, while a low CTR can lead to a poor quality score, which can stop your ads from showing and jeopardize your account.

What to do:
Once you've sorted your report by descending CTR, you can start by looking at the keywords that fall below 1%. When keywords have a relatively low CTR (or that have a CTR of zero), this generally means that people are not finding what they are looking for and/or not responding when they see your ad. A low CTR usually indicates one of two issues. Take a look at the two most common issues below and take action to remedy the situation:

• Keywords that are too broad. It is likely that your terms are too broad. For example, the keyword 'donate' is likely too broad for any campaign. It helps to make these keywords more specific by adding more descriptive language to the term. If you run an Aids research non-profit, for example, you may want to use the term, 'donate aids research.'

• Keywords that are too loosely related to the ad text or not related at all. If you notice that your keyword does not directly relate to your ad text, you might want to consider moving this keyword to a more relevant ad group. Or, if you determine that this keyword is unrelated to your campaign as a whole, you can pause or delete this keyword.

For keywords with a relatively high CTR, you can use the Keyword Tool to generate variations and expansions of these high performers. You will want to continually re-evaluate your terms to weed out the keywords that are not driving traffic to your site and to expand upon those terms that are bringing more support to your non-profit.

Impressions
Lastly, let's sort the Impression column so that it is in descending order. Impressions refer to the number of times your ad has shown on Google.

What to do:
For this data metric, let's pay particular attention to the keywords that are receiving very few or zero impressions. When observing these low traffic keywords, look to see what the keywords have in common: Mostly likely, these keywords will be too specific. We can approach this issue from a few angles:

• Use a shorter variation of the term. For example, a term like "free after school programs to help my child succeed" could be shortened to "free after school programs"
• Use more the popular terms. As a specialist in a given field of interest, it is easy fall into the trap of using very niche terms. For example, if you are running a foundation to help save the manta ray population, Manta Birostris (the scientific term for manta rays) might seem like a common term to you, yet this term may not be used very much by the general public. You will want to make sure to use terms that would be known and recognized by your target audience. If you are unsure, you can use Google Insights for Search to gain some insight into the search volume of the keywords you use.
• Find relevant expansions: Use Keyword Tool to find expansions of the low traffic keyword. The Keyword Tool will show you overall search volume of the relevant expansions, thus allowing you to find similar, more high traffic terms. Please be sure to exercise caution when adding keywords - in general it is better to err on the side of being too specific and growing from there than it is to err on the side of being too general - which can cause larger Quality Score problems.

Keeping these low impression keywords in your account will not hurt your account performance, but you should use the tips listed above to identify similar terms that will drive more traffic to your website. If you notice that certain keywords generate low impressions over a few months, you can assume that these keywords will never generate significant traffic and delete these terms.

Using these three metrics to optimize your account on a monthly (or weekly) basis will help to ensure that you're getting the most out of your AdWords grant. For more tips on building an effective keyword list, please refer to the post in the Google Grants Help Center.

Posted by Maren, AdWords Team

Recently, social media experts and delegates from 17 international youth nonprofits met in New York City at the Alliance of Youth Movements Summit to discuss how young people can leverage social media and technology to end violence, oppression and human rights abuses around the world.Read More

Recently, social media experts and delegates from 17 international youth nonprofits met in New York City at the Alliance of Youth Movements Summit to discuss how young people can leverage social media and technology to end violence, oppression and human rights abuses around the world.

In conjunction with the event, Howcast -- the Summit's lead sponsor and one of YouTube's most popular how-to channels -- released a series of engaging videos that concentrate on using technology to movement-build and create social change:



If you've ever wondered how to build a movement using social media, stage a nonviolent protest or create a smart mob (or wondered what a smart mob is), I highly recommend taking a look at the Alliance of Youth Movements' YouTube channel.

Posted by Ramya, YouTube

Our resource round-up for February includes a series dedicated to AdWords for Grantees rather than for-profit businesses, a resource for your pressing AdWords questions and some video tips for telling your story, running an effective org and growing revenue during recession.Read More

Our resource round-up for February includes a series dedicated to AdWords for Grantees rather than for-profit businesses, a resource for your pressing AdWords questions and some video tips for telling your story, running an effective org and growing revenue during recession. 

 

• If you've ever wondered about the differences between a Google Grants AdWords account and a traditional paid AdWords account, this three part series discusses some of the differences and implications from an SEM's point of view. Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3

• YouTube for Nonprofits has had a busy month! Learn from other nonprofits and marketing firms on how to tell an effective story in 30 seconds, stay effective during the recession, and grow revenue. Have you updated your YouTube for Nonprofits channel lately? 
  
  
• Get inspired by Playing for Change, one of the most viewed Non-Profit channels on YouTube!  

If you come across resources that would be useful to the greater non-profit community, feel free to post it to the appropriate topic in our Help Group so that everyone can benefit. If there are some resources you'd like to see featured in these round-ups, let us know. If you'd like to review previous round-ups, just click here and read through previous month's round-ups or search for "resource round-up" from the search box at the top of the page.

Posted by Jessica, Google Grants Team

Hi, I'm Ramya, YouTube's Non-Profits and Activism Specialist. I'll be posting here regularly to highlight the most compelling uses of video by non-profits and to let you know about interesting new programs or features that non-profits can leverage on YouTube. And, if you're eligible but you haven't yet taken the plunge, make sure to sign up for our YouTube Non-Profit Program, which we mentioned here early last year. It gives you greater uploading capacity, full "branded" channels, and more. ...Read More

Hi, I'm Ramya, YouTube's Non-Profits and Activism Specialist. I'll be posting here regularly to highlight the most compelling uses of video by non-profits and to let you know about interesting new programs or features that non-profits can leverage on YouTube. And, if you're eligible but you haven't yet taken the plunge, make sure to sign up for our YouTube Non-Profit Program, which we mentioned here early last year. It gives you greater uploading capacity, full "branded" channels, and more.

Recently, ten young climate activists drove plug-in electric cars all over India to draw attention to Indian-made solutions to the climate crisis and inspire Indian citizens and companies to take action. They chronicled their entire 2100-mile trip on YouTube, creating 35 videos about how Indians were tackling energy problems in rural villages, on college campuses, and in overpopulated cities.

These activists, highlighted by Thomas Friedman in his Sunday New York Times column, belong to an organization called the Indian Youth Climate Network. As the group posted footage to YouTube, other people joined their movement. Says Friedman, "A Bollywood dance group joined at different stops and a Czech who learned about their trip on YouTube hopped on with his truck that ran on vegetable-oil waste."

Here's one of the more unique solutions the activists highlighted on their journey:



For full coverage, check out the Indian Youth Climate Network's YouTube Channel.

Posted by Ramya, YouTube Non-Profits and Activism Specialist

When I joined the Google Ann Arbor office more than a year and a half ago, our office’s opening was viewed by many as a ray of light during a bleak time for the state of Michigan. While this seems a familiar story now, at the time Michigan's unemployment rate was becoming a big problem as the Automakers fell into hard times and began laying off employees. I had high hopes, like many Michigan natives, about what Google Ann Arbor would mean for the place that I call home. Since joining Google Ann Arbor, I have not been disappointed by the my team's unique spirit.Read More

When I joined the Google Ann Arbor office more than a year and a half ago, our office’s opening was viewed by many as a ray of light during a bleak time for the state of Michigan. While this seems a familiar story now, at the time Michigan's unemployment rate was becoming a big problem as the Automakers fell into hard times and began laying off employees. I had high hopes, like many Michigan natives, about what Google Ann Arbor would mean for the place that I call home. Since joining Google Ann Arbor, I have not been disappointed by the my team's unique spirit.



From tearing down abandoned houses in Detroit with Blight Busters to constructing sculptures from donated canned goods for SOS Community Services, our office has shown a strong commitment to making Michigan, and the world, a better place. My first foray into the volunteer spirit that drives our office was with Google Grants. In part enticed by the promise of free pizza on Google Grants optimization nights, with time I found myself becoming more and more involved with the program.

Like many of the Michigan natives that work at Google Ann Arbor, I have personal ties to the non-profit community. My mother has worked for local non-profits throughout her life, and my sister is currently employed by an education based 501(c)(3) organization. Through their eyes, I understand the impact and value of our extra hours spent building Google Grants accounts and processing applications.

Especially now, when times are tough, I take away great meaning from volunteering with Google Grants. Although our office also supports grantees outside of Michigan, Ann Arbor volunteers have shown a community spirit that I find moving in a time of overwhelming concerns. Through the outreach efforts of our leaders and the commitment of tireless volunteers, Ann Arbor activated more than 700 Grantee accounts in 2008. In spite of the challenges we all face, I know that our team and the non-profits that we work with will persevere, making our 2009 accomplishments even greater.

Posted by Sarah, Google Grants Volunteer

Posted by Kristie, Google Grants Team Read More

Looking for a nice, easy way to keep track of your Google Grants account information? Want to improve communication about your grant among staff and volunteers at your organization? Well, we've put together a handy reference document where you can store your Google Grants AdWords account information. This document includes details about when the account started, how to access it, your organization's goals for the account, and more. We encourage you to take advantage of this resource by spending 5-10 minutes filling it out and sharing it with your team - either copying and distributing hard copies or emailing out soft versions. Please also have this document filed (online or as a hard copy) somewhere in your office where it can be included with other grant information or with new hire training materials. Doing this will help improve communication regarding your grant across your organization. And in the future, having this information accessible to others is particularly important should you leave your organization and need to help the new account contact easily get up-to-speed.

To make communicating this information (and any other documents your organization uses) even easier, you might also consider using Google Apps to store and share your information "in the cloud". By creating documents in Google Apps (which is currently free for eligible non-profits), your organization's staff and volunteers can share data online, access documents from any internet connection, and collaborate much more easily. To find out more, check out the Education Edition offer for non-profits on the Google Apps site.

Posted by Kristie, Google Grants Team

We want to take this chance, struck by the Valentine's Day spirit and the arrival of our one year blog-iversary, to tell you how inspired we are by the amazing work you do and how glad we are that you choose to join us here to find more ways to spread awareness about your cause.Read More

We want to take this chance, struck by the Valentine's Day spirit and the arrival of our one year blog-iversary, to tell you how inspired we are by the amazing work you do and how glad we are that you choose to join us here to find more ways to spread awareness about your cause.

And so, from our team to yours, a few reasons why we love our Grantees and non-profits:

You work day in and day out for the greater good, seeing the value of working for more than just yourself, even in these tough times. - Kristie

Because you are dedicating your lives to leaving this world better than you found it. - German

You address the world's social needs and make an impact! - DW

You are dedicated to working hard for causes that make our world a better place. - Thomas

Your eagerness to learn and master a complex online advertising product, while continuing to spread your good work locally and globally. - AnnMarie

You are "the change you wish to see in the world." - Rosalyn

You speak up for those who need a voice. - Jessica

You empower, give hope, provide relief and bring dignity to those most in need. - Chris

Happy Valentine's Day and One Year Blog-iversary!

Posted by The Google Grants Team

So you have come this far; you  started a Google Website Optimiser account, you  installed the JavaScript snippets (small bits of code) on the appropriate test pages and you ...Read More

So you have come this far; you started a Google Website Optimiser account, you installed the JavaScript snippets (small bits of code) on the appropriate test pages and you launched your experiment. You then allocated a percentage of your website's traffic to be exposed to the test pages and now the website optimiser is showing you results.

You are probably wondering, how do I take action from here?

Step 1.

View the results page of the Website Optimiser.

page h1
This is our landing page heading. According to the website optimiser, the best heading was: "Give Thousands Hope - Donate Today!" which improved conversions by 11.9%.

button
The button that improved conversion rates contained the call to action, "Help Today!"

image
When it came to images on our landing page, removing the image altogether caused a negative impact on conversion rate, so we determined that it was best to leave the original image in place.  Its relatively safe to assume that having an image will help improve conversion rates. You could consider rotating a few different appropriate images on the page and seeing which one has the biggest impact.

Note: The column variation only shows partial text. So headings are abbreviated.

Step 2.

Ideally, you should take the winning combination. When you view your reports overview, you will see which combination number had the highest result. You can use this combination to immediately improve your site's performance and then consider further improvements based on the results you'd like to achieve. 

However you are not finished just yet. You may have found a better combination than the original, but could you further improve the new version? Now that you know how to test and configure the Google Website Optimiser, put it to work again and see if you can improve conversion rates once again. You will need to launch a new experiment to do this. Remember you cannot edit an experiment once its running, you can only pause it.

Also remember the idea is to test, test, test and be willing to try new things. You might be surprised by the results. The more effective you make the pages on your website, the more visitors you will convert into customers, members, etc.

If you can get other work colleagues to input their ideas, have a competition and try to predict the winning combination. Your work colleagues may come up with fantastic ideas you never even thought of.

Summary

Improving your website through Google Website Optimiser has many benefits. Perhaps one of the most significant benefits is that the advertising you do will become more cost effective. This is because more of your visitors are becoming customers / members / contributors / donors or whatever you want to convert them into. This is much better than users just browsing your website and not taking action.

After improving the conversion rates of your website, you may find advertising that previously did not work or had very little impact in the past suddenly becomes much more significant or viable to you and your website.

If you need some ideas when it comes to improving conversion rates, Google has a library of helpful information called conversion university.

As a final note, testing can not only improve your bottom line (conversion rates), but improve the overall user experience derived from your website. A happy visitor is more likely to return in future and return visitors cost you nothing.

Posted by Gavin, Dublin Analytics Team

I am part of the Google Grants team, here, in Australia. As with most of us involved, it is a multifaceted role – all hands on deck to get things done. Therefore I work with the initial screening process, account set up, as well as account optimization. Why Google Grants, you may ask? The reason I love being a member of the team is completely selfish - it is because of the gratification it brings, in particular when it emerges in somewhat unexpected times and places.

Read More

I am part of the Google Grants team, here, in Australia. As with most of us involved, it is a multifaceted role – all hands on deck to get things done. Therefore I work with the initial screening process, account set up, as well as account optimization. Why Google Grants, you may ask? The reason I love being a member of the team is completely selfish - it is because of the gratification it brings, in particular when it emerges in somewhat unexpected times and places.

On a Saturday late last year, I found myself pondering these thoughts as I prepared for a children's party. As part of my effort to not only stay positive, but share that positive outlook with others, I sometimes embrace my magical side and entertain children as a fairy. Whilst tangled in glitter and tulle, I found myself chatting with a little boy lounging in his push chair. As he giggled and beamed, I realized that his mother was nearby talking about a support group that she had joined.

Her son, James, had Down Syndrome and his mother, Leeann, was part of a support group run by the organization Lifestart. Lifestart supports children with disabilities and their families, to achieve a good quality of life and as with many non-profit support groups, it was in a constant struggle to raise awareness and much needed funds. How fortunate that I knew of a great, effective way to support and boost Lifestart: online advertising!

I spoke to Leeann about Google Grants and their eligibility to take part in the program. Admittedly there was an initial look of confusion on her face as I, dressed in my online marketing fairy best, spoke to her about the online advertising opportunities via Google. Fortuitously, glitter aside, she put me in touch with Lifestart's head office and we worked together through the application process.

The fact that during this time of instability and uncertainty, we have the opportunities to make positive changes and impact important causes is truly a gift. The knowledge that I'm able to take just a few simple steps that help significantly benefit the life of someone else, makes me smile every day. That is why I love to take part in Google Grants.

For more information on the work of Lifestart please see: www.lifestart.org.au

Posted by Karina, Google Grants Volunteer