Services

Google Ad Grant

The Ad Grant gives you access to $10,000 each month of free Google Ad credit, this can make an amazing contribution to your cause. Clients like The Smith Family to World Animal Protection trust us to maximise their return from the Ad Grant.

samantha payne - ceo
Samantha Payne CEO, Pink Elephants Support Network
“Fiona and the team at Digital Ninjas have listened to our needs and created a bespoke campaign that quickly delivered results.”

What is the Google Ad Grant?

The Ad Grant gives you access to $10,000+ each month of free Google Ad credit, this can make an amazing contribution to your cause. We’re working with clients ranging from The Smith Family to World Animal Protection to help them maximise their return from the Ad Grant. 

Here we’ll try to answer some of the more common questions we get about Google Ad Grant accounts.

Please get in touch using the form below if you’d like to find out more about working with us.

Need an emergency hotline for Ad Grants?

The Ninjas are ready and waiting to help you with your Ad Grants questions and challenges – just hit the button to send out a distress flare.

    Jon Dawson, CEO of Digital Ninjas
    Jonathan will get back to you soon

    What exactly can I use the Ad Grant for?

    Here are few ideas:

    • Help your organisation get found by people who are actively searching on the issues in which you’re involved, for example “animal rights”, “human rights”, “endangered species” and so on…
    • Generate leads for conversion as part of your fundraising telemarketing programme.
    • Support activity you’re running in other channels, for example DRTV (Direct Responsive TV advertising), print ads, radio and general PR – ALL of these activities tend to drive response through search.
    • Boost your petition and lobbying campaigns by reaching people who are actively looking for information on the topic.
    • Help shape perceptions of your cause and the issues you’re involved in. For example if you’re a mental health charity you can get in front of people who might need help dealing with depression, or if you’re there to support people with physical illness you can provide them with information and support

    Is it hard to manage?

    All Google Ad Grants are managed using Google’s standard Google Ads interface (formerly known as Google AdWords). Google are continually improving the platform and it gets easier to use every year. The toughest part is staying on top of the latest features, changes to the platform and making sure you’re following a robust strategy to drive good quality traffic and increase your results. There are also a number of compliance requirements for Ad Grantees and failure to adhere to the programme policies can result in your Ad Grant account being suspended – some of these are outlined below.

    This is where Digital Ninjas can help.

    How do I know whether my Ad Grant account is generating results?

    It’s a must to use some kind of analytics software with your Ad Grant account! We’d strongly recommend Google Analytics (it’s free and super powerful).

    When you choose to work with Digital Ninjas we’ll help you to set up Google Analytics. This will mean you can measure the things that matter the most to your organisation. Whether it’s fundraising results, reach and engagement, lead generation or something else – there’s usually a way to measure it!

    Need an emergency hotline for Ad Grants?

    The Ninjas are ready and waiting to help you with your Ad Grants questions and challenges – just hit the button to send out a distress flare.

      Jon Dawson, CEO of Digital Ninjas
      Jonathan will get back to you soon

      What’s a Google Ad Grant Certified Professional?

      Digital Ninjas are a Google Ad Grant Certified Professional, as a Certified Professional we have an ongoing feedback loop with the Google Ads Grants team and the opportunity to participate in betas and experiments.

      What are the limitations of the Google Ad Grant?

      The Google Ad Grant is free money, which is great. However, there are some restrictions that you need to be aware of when compared with a “standard” paid Google Ads account, here’s a quick summary:

      • The $10,000/month grant is broken down into $329 daily chunks.  This means that if you have a BIG media surge on one day that the grant might not be enough to capture all of the available traffic.  It’s usually enough for most standard appeals, if you’re making a big investment in television advertising or PR you might want to consider supplementing the grant with a paid account.
      • You can only advertise on the Google Search Network. You won’t be able to advertise on the Google Display or Search Partners Networks (3rd party sites that run Google Ads). This is hardly a big deal as so many people use Google every day!
      • You’ve got to maintain a minimum 5% click-through rate in your account. This means you’ve got to focus on the quality of the keywords that you add to your account.
      • Each Ad Group (where your keywords live) must have at least 2 active and unique ads.
      • You must have at least 2 unique site link ad extensions in place – these little beauts will help make your standard ad stand out on the page.  They give you space to explain your cause and how people can get involved.
      • For accounts created since Jan 1st 2018, you MUST have conversion tracking in place. This is why it’s a good idea to use Google Analytics.
      • The bid limit is $2 per click. That said, if you have conversion tracking in place then you can use a smart bidding strategy like “maximise conversions” and Google Ads may auto-bid above the $2 limit. You just can’t set a manual bid above $2. Another reason to get your Google Analytics up and running.

      If you don’t meet the requirements above then you might find your account is suspended or cancelled. Read more about what you can do about that here.

      If you’re looking for Ad Grant training courses then check out our training services here.

      Ad Grant success stories

      Need an emergency hotline for Ad Grants?

      The Ninjas are ready and waiting to help you with your Ad Grants questions and challenges - just hit the button to send out a distress flare.

      Ad Grant Advice

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