Posted by Kristie Ferketich, Google Grants Team
We know that most people reading this blog are already participating in or have applied to Google Grants. However, maybe you personally haven't yet applied or perhaps you have a colleague at another non-profit who's interested in the program. If so, you may be interested in attending a free teleconference geared for groups interested in Google Grants, titled "Using Search for Fundraising and List-Building: How Google Grants Can Bolster Your Bottom Line".

The teleconference will be held Tuesday, May 5 at 1pm EDT and will cover the basics of the Google Grants program, including eligibility, application procedures, and best practices for making your campaign meet your organization's goals.

For more information and to register, please visit the teleconference description page. Please also be sure to visit our website and the 'Not yet a grantee?' section for more helpful information.

Posted by Kristie Ferketich, Google Grants Team
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You may have noticed the new AdWords interface when working in your Google Grants account. It should feel faster, clearer and more intuitive and we hope its making it easier for you to navigate your account and make changes on the spot.

You may have noticed the new AdWords interface when working in your Google Grants account. It should feel faster, clearer and more intuitive and we hope its making it easier for you to navigate your account and make changes on the spot.

If you'd like to read periodic in-depth coverage about different aspects of the new interface, hop on over to the AdWords blog on Thursdays (or subscribe to its RSS feed) for the weekly installment of New Interface Thursdays. The blog posts will cover all kinds of helpful information about the interface and how you can use it to more effectively manage your AdWords account.

So far, they've covered:

Videos and resources on the new AdWords interface website
Using keyboard shortcuts
Using filters

If you run across something that you think would be uniquely useful for Grantees, please feel free to start up a conversation in the Google Grants Discussion Forum and share it with your fellow Grantees and non-profits.

If you want to try the new interface, but don't have access yet, you can sign up from the new interface website. During the beta, you can switch between old and new interfaces, so you'll still have access to the full range of AdWords tools and reports, if needed.

Posted by Jessica Vaughan, Google Grants Team
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Today the Google Grants Team sent out a brief, but mandatory survey for all grantees based in the United States. We would like to encourage all US grantees to please take the time to submit a complete survey so that we are able to confirm your continued interest in the Google Grants program as well as acquire information that will enable us to provide better support to our grantees. Since the survey was released we have received two questions, which we would like to address below.
Today the Google Grants Team sent out a brief, but mandatory survey for all grantees based in the United States. We would like to encourage all US grantees to please take the time to submit a complete survey so that we are able to confirm your continued interest in the Google Grants program as well as acquire information that will enable us to provide better support to our grantees. Since the survey was released we have received two questions, which we would like to address below.

Is this survey really from Google Grants?

Yes. The survey sent out today (4/28/2009) is from our team and is not a phishing attempt. Please note that the Google Grants team will never ask you for your account password or credit card information.

How do I know if my response was received?

Once you have successfully submitted your survey, you should reach a thank you page with the following message: "Thank you for taking the time to complete our survey, your response has now been submitted." If you did not receive this confirmation message after clicking 'Submit', we ask that you resubmit your survey.


Posted by German Freiwald, The Google Grants Team
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Posted by Jessica Vaughan, Google Grants Team

Last year's elections represented a big moment in American history, and for one of our grantees, Rock the Vote, it also represented an opportunity to reach a new segment of young tech-savvy voters. By making the most of seasonality, educating themselves on the tools at hand and setting strategic goals, Rock the Vote was able to engage an important target audience and leverage their Google Grant to successfully incite young people to vote. We're excited to share some of their best practices with you here.   

 

Know your audience and keep messaging timely


Focus your budget to reach engaged users 

Keep indirect keywords on pause unless your highly targeted keywords aren't maxing out your budget

  • Rock the Vote only advertised on "voter registration"-related search keywords because those were more relevant to their strategy, even though keywords like "barack obama" or "john mccain" would have generated a lot of traffic. They kept these indirect keywords on pause in case their highly targeted keywords stopped maxing out. 

 Use your most action-oriented ad text toward the end of season

  •  In the final months before the election, Rock the Vote only used their “register before the deadline” ad and paused everything else. 

 

 

Leveraging Google Analytics and AdWords


Own the success of your program and do some analysis of its performance to develop your online strategy

  • Rock the Vote appointed a volunteer to manage the campaign who then spent a few weeks analyzing results from the previous months in order to plan their program.

Educate yourself with existing resources

  • They then reviewed the training materials provided in the AdWords Learning Center to understand the fundamentals of search engine advertising. The Google Grants Beginner's Guide can also be a helpful resource for getting started with your account.

Set specific goals

  • Based on the analysis they did at the outset of the project, they set a campaign goal for youth downloads and then proceeded to meet that target almost exactly. Because they also equated each download to Grant dollars, they were able to track their results to find that, in the course of the campaign, they reduced their dollar per download (or cost per conversion) by 80%. Some examples of the goals resulting from their new plan were: train staff, track downloads, increase funding, optimize website, target ads and evaluate progress.
           
Track keyword searches to know what terms are most common and strategic to your account
  • Three searches alone accounted for 81% of their total search campaign, with about 150 other keyword combinations contributing to the remaining 19% of searches. Knowing what keywords your visitors use to find your site helps you optimize your campaigns. Add irrelevant terms (example: "American Idol") as negatives in your campaigns or give more budget to highly relevant and popular terms (example: "register to vote online"). You can use either Google Trends for this information or the Keywords report in Google Analytics.  

Link your AdWords and Analytics accounts 
  • Linking analytics directly to your AdWords account provides more accurate business intelligence and allows you to correlate your Grant dollars to your org's strategic goals.

 

Rock the Vote uses music, popular culture and new technologies to engage and incite young people to register and vote in every election. Rock the Vote has been a participant in the Google Grants program since 2007 and uses Google Analytics as part of its online marketing program. 

 

If you have your own best practices or experiences that you'd like to share with other grantees and nonprofits, we encourage you to strike up a conversation with other members in the discussion forum and possibly submit your testimonial to our team.


Posted by Jessica Vaughan, Google Grants Team
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I've been a Michigan resident for almost 20 years and have worked for Google in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for two years. The landscape has changed before my eyes, both physically and economically. It seems that nothing has hit Michigan harder than the recent troubles facing Detroit's automotive industry. 

 Despite these troubles, or perhaps because of them, it's easy to spot promising initiatives within our community. These bright lights are non-profit organizations that power through the trying times and aim not only to put some life back into our economy, but to grow the next generation of Michiganders into creative, thoughtful and socially conscious adults. 

 826michigan is one of these bright lights in our Ann Arbor community. While attending the University of Michigan, I spent some time volunteering with this organization. On its website, organizers explain that they "are dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write." I'll also add that the way in which they support students is free and, equally as important, fun!

In college, I helped 826michigan with various projects and volunteered at odd hours. But after graduating and finding a job, it became more difficult for me to find time to man their Robot Supply & Repair Store (a clever storefront facade that camouflages the tutoring sessions that happen in the back) and support their in-school initiatives. I didn't realize at the time that I might be able to marry aspects of my new job to the nonprofit initiatives I cared about - and then I discovered Google Grants. 

 When I first started at Google, I was awed and inspired by the company's dedication to non-profit work. Google highlighted ways we could participate in our local communities, coordinated weekend volunteer off-sites and offered non-profit organizations free advertising through Google Grants. Like most Googlers, I had a heart for non-profit work and couldn't wait to get involved with Google Grants. 

 It came full circle earlier this year when organizers from 826michigan approached me to ask how their organization might forge a closer relationship with Google. I introduced them to the Google Grants program, and they immediately applied. Google Grants opened the door for me to reconnect with my favorite local organization in a significant and meaningful way. And who knows? Maybe I'll find a couple hours on the weekend to sell spare robot parts.

Posted by Elyse Guilfoyle, Ann Arbor AdWords Team


I've been a Michigan resident for almost 20 years and have worked for Google in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for two years. The landscape has changed before my eyes, both physically and economically. It seems that nothing has hit Michigan harder than the recent troubles facing Detroit's automotive industry. 

 Despite these troubles, or perhaps because of them, it's easy to spot promising initiatives within our community. These bright lights are non-profit organizations that power through the trying times and aim not only to put some life back into our economy, but to grow the next generation of Michiganders into creative, thoughtful and socially conscious adults. 

 826michigan is one of these bright lights in our Ann Arbor community. While attending the University of Michigan, I spent some time volunteering with this organization. On its website, organizers explain that they "are dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write." I'll also add that the way in which they support students is free and, equally as important, fun!

In college, I helped 826michigan with various projects and volunteered at odd hours. But after graduating and finding a job, it became more difficult for me to find time to man their Robot Supply & Repair Store (a clever storefront facade that camouflages the tutoring sessions that happen in the back) and support their in-school initiatives. I didn't realize at the time that I might be able to marry aspects of my new job to the nonprofit initiatives I cared about - and then I discovered Google Grants. 

 When I first started at Google, I was awed and inspired by the company's dedication to non-profit work. Google highlighted ways we could participate in our local communities, coordinated weekend volunteer off-sites and offered non-profit organizations free advertising through Google Grants. Like most Googlers, I had a heart for non-profit work and couldn't wait to get involved with Google Grants. 

 It came full circle earlier this year when organizers from 826michigan approached me to ask how their organization might forge a closer relationship with Google. I introduced them to the Google Grants program, and they immediately applied. Google Grants opened the door for me to reconnect with my favorite local organization in a significant and meaningful way. And who knows? Maybe I'll find a couple hours on the weekend to sell spare robot parts.

Posted by Elyse Guilfoyle, Ann Arbor AdWords Team
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Our resource round-up for April includes an Italy relief update, upcoming free webinars, tips on using Google Analytics to improve your AdWords results, an announcement from New York's Mayor and a great example of how to use video to get your public service messages out to a larger audience.
Our resource round-up for April includes an Italy relief update, upcoming free webinars, tips on using Google Analytics to improve your AdWords results, an announcement from New York's Mayor and a great example of how to use video to get your public service messages out to a larger audience.



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 Vaughan, Google Grants Team
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  • Be careful about responding to emails that ask you for sensitive information.
  • Go to the site yourself, rather than clicking on links in suspicious emails.
  • If you're on a site that's asking you to enter sensitive information, check for signs of anything suspicious.
  • Be wary of the "fabulous offers" and "fantastic prizes" that you'll sometimes come across on the web.
  • Use a browser that has a phishing filter.
As you know from our recent email and blog post, we are now requiring organizations participating in Google Grants to actively manage their account and login at least once monthly. Please note that we will never email you with a link to your Google Grants AdWords account unless we are replying to an email you sent our team directly; you should always login on your own at adwords.google.com and never click on a link contained in an unsolicited email to access your account or update any personal information.

We've received reports from concerned grantees regarding a recent email asking the recipient to login to their AdWords account from a link included in that email. Please do not click on this link to access your account. Emails such as this are not sent by our team but are instead phishing emails from illegitimate sources. Also, keep in mind that emails from our team will always come from an email address with the google.com domain. Notice that we do not use a gmail.com domain, nor do we use a googlegrants.com domain when sending out emails to our grantees. Please review more information and tips to avoid getting hooked by phishing attacks on the Official Google Blog. Here are a few high-level tips to steer clear of phishing attacks:
  • Be careful about responding to emails that ask you for sensitive information.
  • Go to the site yourself, rather than clicking on links in suspicious emails.
  • If you're on a site that's asking you to enter sensitive information, check for signs of anything suspicious.
  • Be wary of the "fabulous offers" and "fantastic prizes" that you'll sometimes come across on the web.
  • Use a browser that has a phishing filter.
Posted by Kristie Ferketich, Google Grants Team
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Since the launch of the YouTube Nonprofit Program in 2007, one of the primary things non-profit organizations have asked for is the ability to drive traffic off-site to pages where they can collect donations, signatures and email addresses.
Since the launch of the YouTube Nonprofit Program in 2007, one of the primary things non-profit organizations have asked for is the ability to drive traffic off-site to pages where they can collect donations, signatures and email addresses.

Last week, we launched a new feature for all YouTube nonprofit partners, which allows them to do exactly that. The feature, called "Call to Action," gives nonprofits the ability to use InVideo overlays (transparent ads that show up during the video) to drive traffic to an off-YouTube web page. Already, we're seeing organizations use the feature with great success.

On Sunday, to commemorate World Water Day, we featured a video from charity:water on the YouTube homepage. The video included a Call to Action overlay that encouraged YouTube users to donate money to help build wells and provide clean, safe drinking water for those who don't have it.



The response from the YouTube community was overwhelming and charity:water was able to raise over $10,000 in one day from the video. That's enough to build two brand-new wells in the Central African Republic and give over 150 people clean drinking water for 20 years!

Interested in adding Call to Action overlays to your organization's videos? It's easy -- just go to "Edit Video" and fill out the fields in the section marked "Call to Action overlay." All you have to do is include a short headline, ad text, a destination url, and upload an optional image, and the overlay will appear whenever someone watches your video.

Posted by Ramya Raghavan, YouTube Team
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On our last birthday, we took you on a little trip down memory lane and shared  the history of Google Grants. This year we'd like to take this opportunity to share our vision for the future of Grants, and how you can become more closely connected with the program and your peers.

On our last birthday, we took you on a little trip down memory lane and shared the history of Google Grants. This year we'd like to take this opportunity to share our vision for the future of Grants, and how you can become more closely connected with the program and your peers.

In the last year we redesigned our website as the first step in this direction. The new site illustrates how we are working to make the program more valuable and accessible to non-profits and grantees.

With our grantee base growing at a steady pace and more applications coming in every day, we're focused on improving your experience with AdWords and Grants regardless of the size of the program. We're developing more educational resources, building out our Help Center, posting to this blog and hosting an active discussion forum so that you can get the information you need from a variety of sources at any time of the day. 

No more waiting on an email when all you want to know is how to apply for a grant or link to your accounts.

Our vision for the future of Grants is to be able to provide all grantees, regardless of number, with the most effective resources so that you can be successful with AdWords and your organization can realize its mission.

As we step into our 7th year, we invite you to join us in developing the program by discussing your experiences, asking questions and perhaps sharing the way you find success with Google Grants. 

We look forward to sharing the future of Google Grants with you and hope that you'll join us in blazing this trail together.


Posted by Jessica Vaughan, Google Grants Team
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