Kenzie Blog: Google Grants- Should I do it?
Google Grants- Should I do it?
I am back again to talk about Google Grants! It has not been very long since my last blog, but I am still continuing to learn more about this amazing grant for non-profit organizations every day. Today I want to touch base on the pros and cons of Google Grants.
First, if you are new to learning about Google Grants, I recommend that you check out my first blog for a more in-depth introduction to what it is, then come check this one out! Anyways, let’s get started talking about pros and cons of Google Grants.
Pros List
- With Google Grants you get up to $10,000 of FREE AdWords advertising, and you get this every single month! Again, did I mention that it is free?! Whether you max out the available budget of $10k is contingent on your skill level and the amount of search traffic for the keywords you are targeting. Many non-profits do not achieve the entire $10k if they have a smaller interested audience or geographic location, but even an extra $1,000, $5,000, $7,500, etc… worth of search engine marketing could be game changing, right?
- You can use this grant to greatly help spread awareness and education about your organization. This grant dramatically increases your non-profit’s opportunity to be found online. Someone might not know of your organization, but they are looking for what you do online. Free AdWords is a potentially great way to introduce your organization to them. Which brings me into the next positive point about Google Grants.
- By using this grant, you have a tremendous opportunity to grow your audience and digital traffic. By reaching more people who are actively interested in what you are doing, you’ll end up expanding your following and website traffic.
Cons List:
- The grant can be difficult to apply for and maintain. There are a number of things to maintain while obtaining this grant. It can be frustrating for someone who has never worked with or heard of Google Grants, but do not be scared because it can be done.
- Requires an investment of time to setup and manage yourself or money to have an expert do it. To get the most out of Google Grants and ensure you do not get the grant removed, it takes time to optimized and keep up with the grant’s rules.
- There is a certain skill set needed for Google Grants. If you do not know what you are doing, you could lock yourself out of, not win, or be kicked out of the grant program.
- If you do not think running this is for you, there are other options as well like hiring an expert such as Ethic Advertising Agency to maximize your grant.
- It can actually not be worth the time and/or money for some non-profits if the search traffic is not at a high enough level. Not every non-profit will be able to reach the $10,000 mark because the audience searching for them is too small, there is too much competition in their space, and/or their geographic focus is too narrow. As mentioned, this takes time or money to preform properly, but even with a proper investment of time/money a return on investment could fall short. If you spend hours or a few hundred dollars each month to only have $200 of the grant get spend…that’s not worth the return on investment.
Overall
This far into my internship I can safely say that I believe the pros of Google Grants outweigh any cons for many non-profits. In my opinion, if you are thinking about taking advantage of this grant, do it! As I have been working with Google Grants and non-profit organizations, most data I have come across is positive for the organization. So, in my humble opinion, take a chance with it and I hope you see the same amazing results.
Additional Pros and Cons Resource
Author: Kenzie Kukla, Google Grants Intern
7/15/2020