Just three weeks ago, schools resumed session and AdWords in the Curriculum embarked on a new semester. With a portfolio including a Google Grantee's site, mission statement and contact information, students are faced with the familiar question invoked by any assignment: where to begin?Read More

Just three weeks ago, schools resumed session and AdWords in the Curriculum embarked on a new semester. With a portfolio including a Google Grantee's site, mission statement and contact information, students are faced with the familiar question invoked by any assignment: where to begin?

The holiday season at the end of the calendar year is well known as the busiest time for both charitable donations to non-profits and sales for profit companies. Identifying strategic goals in September will lead to better outcomes in an end-of-year assessment of marketing success.

The most important place to start for any Google Grants recipient is deciding on campaign goals -- not keywords. What should the advertising accomplish? How will it improve your organization's exposure, and what audience are you trying to reach?

Starting a campaign without answering these important initial questions can lead to a hodgepodge of keywords, ad groups and ad texts that attempt to cram an entire mission into unstructured campaigns, potentially ineffective ads, and longer term struggles with determining whether the campaign is working.

After a set of goals are established, the next step is to determine a success metric to track. Is there a particular page that would be valuable for users to reach? Or is there an online conversion such as a donation, purchase or information request that you'd like to achieve? Determining success metrics will help non-profits determine whether the campaign is bearing fruit, or if it needs further refinement. This is especially relevant for campaigns that will run during the busy holiday season when you want to ensure your advertising is as effective as possible.

When creating your first AdWords campaign, also consider using the recommended steps available on the the 'Solutions for your advertising campaign' page to help generate ideas.

The work of both becoming experts in the AdWords program and helping with Google Grants recipients manage accounts and meet their goals is now underway for AdWords in the Curriculum students. Stay tuned for an end-of-semester update that will spotlight high performing AdWords in the Curriculum accounts for local non-profits in Michigan.

Posted by Anita Varma, Google Ann Arbor

In this week's speaker recap from last month's workshop, we highlight Direct Relief International, a long-time Google Grants participant. Alison Joyce, Online Communications Manager at Direct Relief International, joined our grantee panel to share her organization's experiences using their Google Grant over the years.Read More

In this week's speaker recap from last month's workshop, we highlight Direct Relief International, a long-time Google Grants participant. Alison Joyce, Online Communications Manager at Direct Relief International, joined our grantee panel to share her organization's experiences using their Google Grant over the years.

Here are several helpful strategies Alison offers to fellow grantees:

* Identify your organization's goals for your Google Grant early on, but also be flexible in adjusting your goals over time. For example, Direct Relief International was initially only focused on awareness with their grant, but later expanded their goals to program outreach and donation solicitation.

* Realize that the more time you put into your account, the more you get out of it! Be active with your account, blocking off time in your calendar each week (even 30 minutes) to refine keywords and improve ads with low CTRs.

* Don't be afraid to delete poor-performing keywords and ads, as they will drag your account down. Less is more here, as you improve your site traffic.

* Integrate your AdWords account into your overall communications planning, as this will push you to make time for it and have a sense of accountability for its performance. Treat it as a resource you are paying for.

* Incorporate other free Google for Non-Profit products into your online strategy: integrate Google Analytics and Google Checkout with AdWords and use other products like Google Maps and YouTube to further your mission.

For more best practices, you can watch Alison and the entire grantee panel here. You can also view all of the recordings from the workshop on the Google Grants YouTube channel. Over the next three weeks, we'll share more best practices from the other grantees on the panel. We hope that you benefit from the sharing of these strategies and that they help to make your Google Grant even more successful for your organization. See you next week!

Posted by Kristie Ferketich, Google Grants Team

Negative keywords can have a positive impact on your campaigns because they help you filter out irrelevant searches. When you include negative keywords, you're essentially requesting that the system does not show your ads against search queries containing those words. For example, if your organization works to prevent animal cruelty, you might want to add the keyword, adoption (-adoption) as a negative term. Why? Because you don't want your ads to show on queries such as "animal adoption" since you are not providing animal adoption services.Read More

WHY ARE NEGATIVE KEYWORDS GOOD FOR YOUR CAMPAIGNS?

Negative keywords can have a positive impact on your campaigns because they help you filter out irrelevant searches. When you include negative keywords, you're essentially requesting that the system does not show your ads against search queries containing those words. For example, if your organization works to prevent animal cruelty, you might want to add the keyword, adoption (-adoption) as a negative term. Why? Because you don't want your ads to show on queries such as "animal adoption" since you are not providing animal adoption services.

WHERE CAN I FIND NEGATIVE KEYWORDS TO ADD?

The Keyword Tool automatically gives you suggestions for negative terms, and the Search Query Performance report is another great way to find relevant negatives. The report shows all the various search queries that triggered your ads and generated a click. By reviewing these terms, you can identify any irrelevant keywords that trigger your ad and include them as negative keywords.

HOW DO I ADD NEGATIVE KEYWORDS?

Adding negatives is easy. You can manually add negative keywords to your keyword lists at both the ad group and campaign level. Simple add the irrelevant terms by placing a negative sign (–) before the word in your keyword list. Keep in mind that you can also add negatives as different match types. Here's how different negative match types work:

Negative Broad match: keyword (no punctuation)
Allows your ad not to show for searches on similar phrases and relevant variations of the term. For example, if you add -"adoption," your ad will not show for animal adoption, pet adoptions, animal adopted.

Negative Phrase match: -"keyword"
Allows your ad to not show for searches that match the exact phrase and terms that have the phrase in it for example if you add -"animal adoption" will not show for "animal adoption California."

Negative Exact match: -[keyword]

Allows your ad to not show for searches that match the exact phrase exclusively.

By adding negative terms to your AdWords account, you ensure that you're spending your Google Grant only on relevant clicks and improving your account's overall performance. Here's a great video on Negative Keywords that provides more tips.


Posted by Sherry Zarabi, AdWords Team

This week's speaker recap from our recent workshop shines the spotlight on Energy Action Coalition, a non-profit organization using multiple Google for Non-Profit products. At the event, attendees heard Danny Marx, Internet Manager at Energy Action Coalition, share his experiences working with free Google products including YouTube, Google Apps, Google Sites and more.Read More

This week's speaker recap from our recent workshop shines the spotlight on Energy Action Coalition, a non-profit organization using multiple Google for Non-Profit products. At the event, attendees heard Danny Marx, Internet Manager at Energy Action Coalition, share his experiences working with free Google products including YouTube, Google Apps, Google Sites and more.

Here are some best practices that Danny shared:

* Consider creating YouTube videos as a way to train volunteers
* Keep decentralized efforts in your organization coordinated with powerful tools like Google Apps
* Stay current on news in your space with Google Reader and Google Alerts
* Use Google's mobile tools to keep your information current, especially if you're out in the field
* Understand that the benefits of adopting Google tools often outweigh the temporary challenges of transitioning to them
* Be creative in using Google for Non-Profit tools in general; think about how they might help solve your organization's challenges

You can view Danny's entire presentation, including several amazing YouTube videos from his organization, here. Danny's slides are also available here. To watch other videos from the Google Grants Workshop, visit our YouTube channel. We'll see you next Tuesday with more best practices from another non-profit using Google products.

Posted by Kristie Ferketich, Google Grants Team

Attention all Spanish language NGOs: Would you like to receive advice about your website for Google Search?

The Spanish Webmaster Blog is looking for websites that might be good candidates for participation in an upcoming Site Clinic. These sites will be analyzed, and through a blog post write-up, receive tips and suggestions for improving accessibility and becoming more Google-friendly.

If you're interested in submitting your site for evaluation, visit the the original blog post for all the details about this Site Clinic and send us your site via the available form. The open submission period is between 9/15/09 and 10/15/09, and then three to five sites from the first 200 applicants will be selected.

Don't miss this opportunity - submit your site today!

Posted by Esperaza Navas, Search Quality Team

Read More

Attention all Spanish language NGOs: Would you like to receive advice about your website for Google Search?

The Spanish Webmaster Blog is looking for websites that might be good candidates for participation in an upcoming Site Clinic. These sites will be analyzed, and through a blog post write-up, receive tips and suggestions for improving accessibility and becoming more Google-friendly.

If you're interested in submitting your site for evaluation, visit the the original blog post for all the details about this Site Clinic and send us your site via the available form. The open submission period is between 9/15/09 and 10/15/09, and then three to five sites from the first 200 applicants will be selected.

Don't miss this opportunity - submit your site today!

Posted by Esperaza Navas, Search Quality Team

As you may have read in a previous post, we recently held a Google Grants Workshop on the Mountain View campus. At this 2-day event, several grantees spoke about their experiences using Google Grants and shared best practices for online advertising that have helped lead their organizations to success. Each Tuesday for the next several weeks, we'll share some of those best practices and tips here on the blog. We hope you enjoy reading about the strategies other grantees have put into action and consider implementing some of them in your own Google Grants AdWords account. Feel free to share your own experiences using these and other best practices on the ...Read More

As you may have read in a previous post, we recently held a Google Grants Workshop on the Mountain View campus. At this 2-day event, several grantees spoke about their experiences using Google Grants and shared best practices for online advertising that have helped lead their organizations to success. Each Tuesday for the next several weeks, we'll share some of those best practices and tips here on the blog. We hope you enjoy reading about the strategies other grantees have put into action and consider implementing some of them in your own Google Grants AdWords account. Feel free to share your own experiences using these and other best practices on the Google Grants User Forum.

The first grantee we'll highlight is DoSomething.org. George Weiner, CTO of DoSomething.org, explained some of the strategies his organization uses to get the most of their Google Grants account. Here are some of the takeaways from his talk.

High-Level Best Practices:
* Top non-profit mistake is asking for donations too soon; be sure to inform the user first
* Constantly refine your ads and keywords, see what works, then refine again
* Keep your users top of mind when creating ads and developing keywords
* Use Google Trends to find seasonal patterns that relate to your organization

Keyword Best Practices:
* To identify effective keywords, look at your site map and test terms to see if they stick
* Don't forget the long-tail keywords; common misspellings can drive significant targeted traffic

Ad Text Best Practices:
* Use your main keywords in your ad copy
* Create multiple ads and test, test, test!
* Link each ad to a relevant landing page on your site, not just to your home page

You can view the entire case study that George shared at the workshop here. You can also check out all of the other recordings from the Google Grants Workshop on our YouTube channel. We'll be be back next Tuesday with another grantee spotlight. See you then!

Posted by Kristie Ferketich, Google Grants Team

This month's resource round-up for September includes a handy summary of tips for the new AdWords interface, a reminder to vote on the HHS' Flu PSA contest on YouTube, a live radio segment featuring a few grantees and their use of Google Grants to run their non-profits, and a new SEM series highlighting FAQs about Google Grants.Read More

This month's resource round-up for September includes a handy summary of tips for the new AdWords interface, a reminder to vote on the HHS' Flu PSA contest on YouTube, a live radio segment featuring a few grantees and their use of Google Grants to run their non-profits, and a new SEM series highlighting FAQs about Google Grants.

AdWords sums up the new interface
If you haven't gotten up to speed on the new AdWords interface yet, now's your chance to get all your information in one place via the New Interface label on the Inside AdWords blog. Here, the AdWords team shares their favorite posts in the series.

Vote for the best Swine Flu PSA by 9/16
Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) "Flu PSA" Contest on YouTube is underway through 9/16/06, with the 10 finalists competing for a $2500 prize and to have their PSA featured on national television. More information about the background of this project can be found in this clip from Good Morning America.

Grantees on the radio
Save a Smile Foundation, CancerQuest and Owens Foundation for Wildlife Conservation join Atlanta Business Radio to talk about their experiences starting, developing and running non-profit organizations, including some discussion of their experiences with Google Grants.

FAQs for non-profits applying to Google Grants
A San Francisco SEM (search engine marketer) starts a blog post series to answer some of the frequently asked questions they receive about Google Grants.

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 discussion group so that everyone can benefit. If you'd like to review previous round-ups, just click here and read through previous months' 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

Read More

Thanks to all of you who expressed interest in attending the Google Grants Workshop, as well those who traveled and participated in this successful event. The workshop was a two-day event, attended by approximately 100 non-profit organizations in the Google Grants program. The first day focused specifically on Google Grants, while the second day catered to other Google for Non-Profit products, such as the YouTube Non-Profit Program, Google Apps, and more.



For those of you who could not attend the workshop, or for those in attendance who could benefit from a refresher, we are happy to announce that the videos from the workshop sessions are now live on our newly-launched Google Grants YouTube channel!



For your convenience, we have sorted our workshop videos thematically:



AdWords Tutorials - Where you can learn from Google Grants volunteers. Our in-house experts advise on how to manage, evaluate, and improve your AdWords account with tools like optimization, website optimizer, and Google Analytics.



Non-profit Case Studies - Where you can learn from your peers. Our grantees share success stories and how to cope with pain points through case studies and a grantee panel.

Other Google Products & Offerings - Where you can learn about other Google offerings for non-profits. Our Google Product teams offer additional strategies to reach organizational goals through programs like Google Earth, YouTube, and Webmaster Central.

We hope that you find these videos helpful in the ongoing management of your Google Grants account, as well as for insight into additional Google tools and programs available for non-profits.

Posted by AnnMarie Hill, The Google Grants Team