SEO site optimization is needed by everyone: from the mass media to stores. But nonprofits should pay particular attention to optimizing their website. News and products are of interest to people by themselves, but to sell social initiatives to them, you have to try harder. And SEO optimization is one of the key components of success.
Now we will tell you why website optimization is especially important for NGOs and what you should pay attention to when optimizing non-profit organizations.
What are the benefits of SEO for NGO
Getting organic traffic
The main goal of site optimization is to attract new users in an organic way – through search. If shops or mass media sites can use other methods of attracting users, for example advertising, there is no such option for NGO.
More precisely, it exists, but most likely you will spend more on advertising than receiving donations from users, and there will be nothing left for the activities of the NGO itself.
In turn, organic traffic allows you to form a high-quality base of users who are interested in your organization’s field of activity, and therefore will be loyal and help financially.
Site optimization to attract local users
Most often, NGOs deal with local problems in one country or even a region. That is why it is very important to attract local users who will be more interested in solving the problems of their country.
Search engines pay a lot of attention to the user’s location when they return search results. With good site optimization, the system will give the user exactly your information if you are nearby.For example, if your organization is engaged in cleaning the forest from garbage in the Dnipropetrovsk region, then a user from Dnipro who is interested in ecology will see your site and will be more motivated to help you.
Site optimization to attract users from abroad
No, this point does not contradict the previous one. If you make an English-language version of the site (which is not very difficult), you will be able to attract donations from users from abroad.
This is useful in modern times, when news about Ukraine interests the whole world and many people show a desire to help. With good optimization, a user from Europe or the USA, when searching for news about Ukraine, will see your site and may be interested in your activities, if they are focused on humanitarian aid or military support. Europeans often choose the first, and Americans the second.
Google Ad Grants
High-quality site optimization, the result of which meets Google standards, will help you qualify for help in promotion. NGOs that meet the requirements of the Google Ad Grants program receive $10,000 in advertising budget per month.
Such help will be very useful for any organization and it is quite simple to get it. We provide services for the adaptation of NGO sites to the requirements of Google Ad Grants. To contact us for help, leave your contact details at the link.
Site optimization: useful SEO tips
It makes no sense to write huge manuals on site optimization: SEO specialists already know how to do it, but you, most likely, are simply not interested in it. Instead, we offer useful tips that not everyone knows about. And knowing about them, you can demand the fulfillment of the points below from your SEO specialist, which will greatly improve optimization.
Social networks
Promotion in social networks should not be neglected. You need to maintain an NGO account regularly, but the benefits of social networks exceed the costs. Social networks have an active and young audience that is open to social initiatives, and recommendation algorithms promote interesting content for free.
Read a separate article, where the topic of integration of social networks for NGO is disclosed in more detail.
Mobile version
Most people spend time on the Internet through a smartphone – it is more convenient and available at any time. That is why it is important to create a mobile version of the site – most likely you will get most of the traffic from it.
The mobile version is even more relevant if you promote the organization through social networks. People feel more comfortable in social networks, so they are more willing to support social initiatives – they go to the site and use the convenient mobile version. Promotion should work in a complex way and the mobile version is an important component of this process.
Content
Invest in content – Use non-obvious keywords that are relevant to your topic to increase traffic. It is also very useful to link content together – insert links in some articles to others or create clusters of articles (for example, this article is part of a large material “Site for NGOs”.
Feedback element
Google “loves” when a site accepts feedback and responds to user reviews. Add a small window for feedback to the main page – this way you will improve the conversion rates and increase the chances of receiving Google Ad Grants.
Technical optimization of the site
This is the base. The site should work perfectly: load quickly and have high functionality. NPO sites are often not very large, so optimization and testing do not take much time. Remember: if the user cannot click on the donate button because it does not work, this is a fatal error.
Avoid “cannibalizing” keywords
Don’t create content that matches the same keywords – this way different pages of your site will compete with each other instead of competing with other sites.
Pop-up windows
This is a useful tool that should be used with caution. Do not make more than 1 pop-up window per page – this way you will convey the necessary information to the user, but without discomfort.
The same goes for banners – they do increase donations, but overusing them will alienate users.
Foreign language version
As we wrote a little above, it will be useful to attract donations from abroad to your project. It is enough to analyze who will be interested in the initiatives of your NGO and translate the site into the language of the relevant market. And taking into account that NGO sites are often not very large, the translation will not cost much. The English version is required, and optionally the other version – the current Polish version.
Begin by entering your first and last name to establish your identity. The next crucial step is providing your email address; remember, it must be a business, branded, or corporate email, as generic email addresses are not accepted. This is to ensure a professional level of communication and to filter out non-serious inquiries.
You are also required to include your website’s URL. This is vital as it gives context and allows for a preliminary assessment of your online presence, which is integral to the audit process. Furthermore, you must clarify your status regarding NGO registration or your interest in Google Ad Grants. This information is essential for tailoring the audit to your specific needs and circumstances.
After you have filled in all these details with precision and care, review them to ensure accuracy and completeness. Submitting accurate and comprehensive information is crucial for a meaningful audit.