Not-for-profits, Funding and Search
Funding in the non-profit sector has always been challenging; however, that challenge has increased over the past few years. Many factors have increased the challenge. Some of these are:
1. THE INCREASING COMPLEXITY OF PEOPLE’S ISSUES
People needing support often have complex problems that require the support of multiple organisations. Most service delivery models are based around solving one problem; for example, housing, employment, or mental health issues. While many services are gradually moving towards a more client-centric model and providing wrap-around services, there is still a lack of these services available.
2. RISING COSTS FOR SERVICE DELIVERY VS LEVEL OF FUNDING
The cost-of-service delivery and wages have increased beyond the level of funding to organisations. Consequently, many organisations reduce service delivery or find less expensive ways to provide services. For example, organisations that have provided face-to-face services may become telephone advice-only services. While telephone advice may be helpful in some situations, it implies the client can act on the advice provided. Many people with complex issues require more support than telephone advice.
3. INCREASING COMPETITION WITH THE NOT-FOR-PROFIT SECTOR
As governments have moved from a preferred service provider model to a tender process to contract for service delivery, not-for-profit organisations are often forced to compete with other not-for-profits. Often this results in two things. Firstly, a reduction in the number of service options for clients. Not-for-profit organisations that are not successful in winning contracts either have to merge or close. The second thing that often occurs is that service delivery is under-quoted, exacerbating the issue highlighted in the second point above.
4. CHANGING NATURE OF DONOR BASE
The traditional donor base they may have relied on in previous years is changing for many not-for-profit organisations. People are more likely to donate online. Businesses can no longer rely on doing things the same way, so not-for-profit organisations must consider how they can build donor loyalty in a new environment. The changing nature of organisations donor-based was discussed previously.
WHAT DOES Search and seo HAVE TO DO WITH THESE CHALLENGES?
Given these challenges, most leaders within not-for-profit organisations would ask, “what does SEO have to do it?”
The simple answer is “a lot”. SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is imperative for not-for-profit organisations in today’s environment for many reasons, some of which we will highlight.
1. CAN YOU BE FOUND?
We are familiar with the “Where’s Wally” books. Crowded pictures where we have to find Wally. The not-for-profit space is a crowded landscape. The ACNC (Australian Charities and NFP Commission) stated there are over 60,000 not-for-profits in Australia, which is growing at 4% per year.
This highlights the point we discussed above, the increasing competition in the sector.
SEO is one major thing that allows you to stand out and be seen in a crowded landscape.
A. BEING FOUND BY YOUR CLIENTS
There are two aspects to being found by your clients.
i. CLIENTS IN NEED
Clients need to find a service that will meet their needs quickly and effectively. You will not be found if your organisation is on the third page of a Google search. To be found, you need to be on the first page of a search engine. A strong SEO strategy is the only way to be on the first page.
Search engines reward strong SEO by lifting the ranking to the first page, enabling organisations to be found quickly.
ii. EDUCATING CLIENTS
Providing excellent client-centric content on your organisation’s website not only builds your SEO but also educates your clients. Fact sheets, information sheets, and content that answers common questions are helpful to have on your website for three crucial reasons.
- It reduces the time you spend on non-essential phone calls and frees up time for clients needing more one-on-one support.
- It means clients who may need information after hours or on weekends can access it through your website; &
- This content boosts your SEO, which is a win-win situation—a win for your clients and your organisation.
B. BEING FOUND BY YOUR DONORS
As mentioned, the majority of donors are now donating online. Donors are often IT savvy, extremely busy, want to donate quickly and smoothly, feel good, and get on to the next thing they must do.
Hence, they are looking for organisations they can donate to that are on the first page of their search engine. They do not have time to click through to pages 3, 4, or 5. If your organisation is on these pages, you will be missing out on potential donations.
A strong SEO that gets your organisation onto the first page of a search engine increases the likelihood of building a solid donor base.
C. BEING FOUND BY FUNDERS
The same principles listed above for clients and donors also apply to funding. When a not-for-profit organisation applies for funding, the funding body will check the organisation’s website. There is an expectation by funders that organisations will have enough IT literacy and professionalism to have an up-to-date website that is SEO optimised.
For example, suppose two organisations providing services to a similar client group apply for funding, and one can be found easily on a search engine. The second is lost on a search engine’s third or fourth page. In that case, the odds are weighted heavily in favour of the first organisation being successful simply because by having strong SEO, this organisation is more likely to be reaching and impacting the lives of more clients than the organisation on page three or four.
THE IMPORTANCE OF DATA IN FUNDING APPLICATIONS
Many not-for-profits fail to realise the importance of SEO and data analytics and do not include these figures in funding applications. Many not-for-profits count client phone calls or face-to-face appointments as client numbers and fail to include the number of people who access their website.
For example, one small not-for-profit organisation, Tonic, works with, provides phone or face-to-face service delivery to approximately 400 clients annually. However, because they have engaged strongly in optimising their website and social media, they average between 12,000 to 14,000 visitors to their website/month.
This example highlights the importance of being found by your client base and puts the organisation in a strong position for funding applications because they can demonstrate a more significant impact.
SEO IS ESSENTIAL
A not-for-profit organisation that fails to capitalise and build a robust SEO platform is doing itself and its clients a disservice. SEO is no longer a nice to have for an organisation. It is essential, particularly when Google provides grants to non-profit organisations for SEO and ads.
Tonic Digital specialises in assisting not-for-profit organisations in applying for and using this grant effectively. If you need further information on how we can help, contact us.
- Published in Google, marketing, Not-For-Profit, SEO
Realising a Blogging ROI
Who has the time to blog? A recent article from the Marketing Insider Group quoted four hours as the average time it takes a person to write a blog.
Non-Profit’s Leveraging Google
Many non-profit organisations take an S & P approach to their online presence. S & P refers to a strategy based on spray and pray principles. Spray some social posts on the organisation’s Facebook or Instagram page, link them back to the website, and pray that somewhere out there someone will see the post at some point.
Posting photos of the latest staff training day or staff luncheon undoubtedly has a feel-good factor and helps build an organisational culture and team camaraderie. However, as a means of raising the organisation’s profile, such a strategy has little or no impact.
THREE REASONS NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS NEED TO BECOME MORE STRATEGIC AND TARGETED WITH THEIR CONTENT MARKETING?
In a previous article, we considered the need for non-profit organisations to have a strong content marketing strategy was outlined. The reasons for having a target content marketing strategy are to enable the organisation to communicate the needs of their clients to the wider community, hence driving action from the community and encouraging a broader donor base to support the organisation’s ongoing work.
I want to elaborate on these reasons.
1. THE CHANGING FACE OF HOW NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS ARE FOUND
The level of technological literacy has grown among community members. This means people are more likely to go online to search for assistance. The majority of people are searching online using their mobile.
One of the significant changes within the non-profit space over the past twenty years is that most clients who access services now have mobile phones and are searching online for assistance. Twenty years ago, the mantra was that disadvantaged people who needed assistance didn’t have mobile phones. Therefore, there was greater reliance on printed media and word of mouth for referrals.
This is no longer true. Consequently, organisations need to ensure they can be found online, particularly that their websites and social media platforms are mobile-friendly. To increase their findability, online non-profit organisations need to ensure their content marketing is designed to increase their Google ranking so their client group can find them.
2. THE CHANGING FACE OF DONORS AND DONATIONS
The majority of donors are now searching and donating online. While this trend was developing pre-COVID, it has escalated during and post-COVID. People who wish to donate are more likely to go online and make donations through an organisation’s website.
Therefore, it is vital to ensure a non-profit organisation has a high ranking so that it is on the first page of Google search, as this will place it in the best position to attract donations. The other thing with donations through online platforms is that it is less expensive than other forms of fundraising and does enable organisations to reach a larger group of people than they would otherwise be able to.
3. FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT ONLINE AS MUCH AS IN PERSON
Given most people are now searching online for assistance, decisions are made by how an organisation presents itself online. This applies as much to clients as it does to donors.
The organisation may be convinced it is doing excellent work; however, if the website is out-of-date and has broken links, it is unlikely to receive a favourable impression from donors or clients.
When organisations consider their reputation and risk factors, they need to consider their online reputation because this is very often the first contact a person has with the organisation.
ONE WAY A NON-PROFIT ORGANISATION CAN BUILD ITS ONLINE PRESENCE
One of the important ways non-profit organisations can build their online presence is through SEO.
WHAT IS SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. Search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo use algorithms to ensure they provide the best possible answer to every search query on their platform.
Optimising your online presence allows search engines like Google to understand your content and what you write about, which means they can provide your organisation with a list of responses to a query from a person using words that reflect your online presence [1].
Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines use what are known as web crawlers to understand your content. The purpose of the web crawler is to build an index with a ranked list of websites that are the most relevant to a query.
SEO AND CONTENT
This is where content becomes vital to non-profit organisations and why the spray-and pray approach doesn’t work. The spray-and pray approach doesn’t work because web crawlers cannot interpret the content sufficiently to rank the website to respond to any query.
The other trap non-profit organisations can fall into is spending considerable funds on a new or revamped website that looks impressive and colourful but may not build the organisation’s online profile if it is not designed for SEO. Money can often be saved by staying with the original website, but making it compatible with SEO so web crawlers can begin understanding the content.
THE CHALLENGE OF CONTENT
Content for non-profit organisations is often challenging. Staff often feel uncomfortable writing for the public, making it difficult to have consistency in publishing content that ranks. SEO improves the more consistently relevant content is published and promoted online.
There are also time pressures. Compared to client needs, writing content is down the list of priorities. The other challenge is knowing what to write about. There can be many topics and issues we believe are necessary to get out into the public domain.
There is no easy way around these challenges. Some larger non-profit organisations may be able to contract writers to write content for them; however, even if they do, the organisation still needs to develop a clear, coherent SEO strategy to guide the writer.
ORGANIC OR PAID ADS FOR SEO
A non-profit organisation that develops a coherent and strategic SEO strategy and consistently writes or hires a writer to write in line with the strategy will find organic traffic to their website increasing.
Organic traffic occurs when people search online, and your organisation’s website is ranked, so the person visits your website from their search. Organic traffic is the least expensive and most effective way to increase traffic and an organisation’s online presence. However, it can also be the slowest method and requires commitment and dedication.
Google Ads is a way non-profit organisations can advertise through a grant from Google. Many non-profit organisations miss out on this opportunity because they are unaware of these grants. However, it is a valuable and cost-effective way to advertise online while building an organisation’s SEO profile and organic traffic.
Tonic Digital has used Google Grants for several non-profit organisations that have delivered outstanding results in the awareness of the broader community of the organisation.
If you would like further information on Google Grants for your NFP organisation, please contact us.
- Published in Not-For-Profit, SEO
The impact of voice search on SEO
The use of voice search is past the early adopter phase and is growing faster than we can imagine. In fact, according to forecasts 50% of all searches will use voice by 2020.
Before we dig deeper into how the rise voice search will change the future of the digital marketing space, let’s look at the core differences between voice search and text search.
- Published in SEO
International vs local SEO
Whether operating overseas or planning to expand your business into new regions, International SEO plays an integral role in establishing your brand as an industry leader in terms of relevant product and service line keywords. In this post, we explore the main ingredients for a successful International SEO strategy.
- Published in SEO
