Boosting online traffic with free assistance
The number of charities with their own websites has increased rapidly over the past few years, as they realise the impact of online donations and having a presence on the web. But as charities, investing budget on a shiny new website and digital marketing strategy simply isn’t at the top of the priorities list.
Unfortunately, though, not driving the right traffic to a well-optimised site could mean some charities are missing out on all important donations. There are a whole host of aids that charities can get cost-free, or discounted, that they might not be aware of when it comes to their website, including offerings from Google and services like free hosting.
Why a presence online
In this day and age, when consumers are spending more and more time online, it makes sense for all organisations to have a presence in the digital world. It’s therefore important that charities understand why investing time into the website and driving the right traffic to it is crucial. A website is not only a brilliant way to raise the profile of a charity, its cause, and the impact it has – it’s also an effective way to gather donations.
However, there are a number of charities which aren’t quite getting it right when it comes to their website. According to Eduserv, the not for profit IT provider, nearly a third of charities (32%) require donors to complete over 20 fields and clicks on their website before they can actually donate. This is far too many, and increases the chances of users moving away from the page before they have completed the transaction, which is likely to have a serious impact on charity donations.
By having a website that is not user friendly, charities could be missing out if visitors don’t convert into donors. Luckily, there are a number of e-commerce and web agencies which actually offer charities help with their website free of charge, something that is well worth looking into.
Once a website is optimised, charities need to launch an effective digital marketing strategy to drive traffic to it and boost donations. Fortunately, Google offers a number of tools that help charities push traffic to their websites, such as grants for adverts and extra perks that make the most of YouTube.
What is a Google Grant?
Google offers brilliant packages for charities ("non-profits") that should be taken advantage of. Many businesses spend vast amounts of money on these tools that charities can get for free, or discounted.
Google Grants offers charities up to £6,000 per month to spend on Google AdWords - the advertising service by Google which allows businesses to display ads on Google and its advertising network. Available to all registered charities, ads delivered through Google AdWords will appear on Google's search pages for chosen keywords, like "charity donations".
When users search for keywords they will see the ads, boosting the chance of them visiting the website, which can result in increased web traffic, leading to donations. This kind of advertising will not only boost traffic to a charity's website, but it will ensure that the right people are directed, increasing the chance of them converting into donors.
It’s not just AdWords that Google offers free of charge, though. There are a number of other beneficial tools available to charities.
YouTube for charities
Video is set to be the biggest influencer in marketing in coming years, with networking software company Cisco predicting video will account for 69% of all consumer internet traffic by 2019. For charities, video marketing campaigns generated 670m views in 2014 alone, according to the online marketing guide reelseo.com.
As well as the benefits that come with the standard YouTube package, Google’s YouTube for Non-profits package includes a "donate now" button next to videos posted to the channel. Videos promoting your charity and the work that you do are a great way to show those who donate how beneficial their help is to your cause. And YouTube is the world’s largest online video community, giving you the opportunity to reach a mass audience at your fingertips.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics can give valuable insights into a website's activity, and enables users to understand how people use it, such as where they spend most on their time on site. This is really useful for charities as it allows them to find out where donations are coming from, and where these might potentially need targeting more effectively. Google Analytics allows users to drill down to demographics and locations of the people using a particular website, which is especially useful for charities when developing and shaping campaigns.
Google Apps
Although not specific to optimising websites, Google Apps offers charities cloud computing services that reduce IT costs and help staff and volunteers work together in real time. Tools included in the package are Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive. Some charities might be using these already, but for those which aren’t, they’re free tools and a brilliant way to keep everyone connected.
The above tools are all useful for creating a strong digital marketing strategy which helps to drive traffic to a website that can turn into donations. There are, however, other platforms that charities can use to gain visitors, some of which they are already benefiting from.
Social media platforms
Social media is one of the platforms that is already being successfully optimised by charities - take Cancer Research’s’ no make-up selfie and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association’s ice bucket challenge, for example. But social media platforms can also be used as a channel to attract potential donators to the website, where the charity’s work can be profiled in more detail. However, although building social media followers is all well and good, it’s crucial to be speaking to the right people too.
If, for example, a charity writes a blog post demonstrating some of the work it has done over the past few months, pushing this over social media platforms is a brilliant way to drive traffic to the website. However, making sure followers are built up organically is important here.
It’s not always about the numbers; it’s about quality, and whether the people following are really engaging. If they aren’t, it can be a waste of time. Speaking with followers regularly across social platforms and making attempts to track what types of posts grab their attention the most, is a good way to figure out what type of content they’re engaging with.
Although creating exciting content on any website is brilliant for bringing people from other places to somewhere they can donate, if it’s being hosted on a site that’s not easy to use, visitors are likely to switch off before they read anything – never mind donate money or purchase goods.
Cost effective hosting
Aside from offerings from Google for charities, there are a lot of other businesses which will give away services or products for free. Whether this is an e-commerce agency offering to build you a new website free of charge as we mentioned earlier, or a PR firm helping you gain coverage in the media for free, there’s a lot charities can benefit from if they do their research.
When it comes to a website specifically, hosting is crucial to keep it running smoothly. If for whatever reason it goes down, gets hacked, or someone visiting hits a 404 page, an expert needs to be on hand to fix any issues as soon as possible. Hosting can be expensive but there are a lot of companies which are happy to look after your site at no, or little cost.
The web is also ever-changing, so being in touch with professionals working in the digital sector means there will be advice on hand. Google, for example, constantly changes how it decides its SERPS (search engine results pages) – so it’s useful for charities that don’t have expertise in this area to have someone they can pick up the phone to if they’re ever unsure.
Website on mobile
The latest update from Google means that websites will now be penalised if they’re not mobile friendly – something that charities really need to be aware of. According to the Office for National Statistics, access to the internet using a mobile phone more than doubled between 2010 and 2014, from 24% to 58%. So it’s becoming increasingly clear that mobile is where digital is heading.
It’s therefore more important than ever for charities to optimise this tool, not only to maintain their place in Google’s SERPs, but to make sure they’re accommodating consumer habits to maintain a flow of donations. However, some charities don’t seem to be taking this on board so far. Research by Eduserv found that only 62% of charities have sites that are optimised for mobile.
If charities take note and make the most of at least some of these tools and services, it is likely their donations will increase due to a boost in traffic to the website and the ease of making a donation online. As the digital landscape changes and evolves, charities need to make attempts to keep up. It’s not easy when working at a charity, but the results should make putting in some time and effort worth it.
