A common question that is missed by many Google Grants beginners is should they be using AdWords to bid on their organization’s name. This is usually overlooked because they are already on the top of the organic search results and they are eager to start using their account for promoting their programs, for volunteer recruitment, or for soliciting donations.
While those are all important components of any well balanced Google Grant, the starting point for most accounts should be building a campaign around your organization’s name. Because the number of keywords is very limited, this is an easy campaign to build when learning AdWords. Surprisingly, you may also find that this can be the most important campaign in your account.
Do Users Search for Our Organization by Name?
You already know that users are searching for your organization online. Many will be searching for you by name because they are looking for your contact info. They could also search for your name because they know your organization, but may not know the website address.
When it comes to using Google Grants and search engine marketing, it is important to bid on your program and service category keywords so that people can find you. But it is just as important to bid on your organizations name keywords. Here are the top reasons.
5 Reasons Why You Should Bid On Your Organization Name
Control your message
When running an ad for your organization, you will have the choice of which page you send users to. With organic results, you are counting on Google to pick the best page for you. While this is normally your home page, you may have goals that require users to be sent to a different landing page.
There is also the opportunity to use sitelinks in your ad. These can be to pages on your site that you decide are important to showcase. Examples of this are “About Us”, “Donate Now”, “Home Page”, and “Programs”.
Dominate the results page
Your organization will probably be at the top of the organic results. You may use Google Places and have a map and organization info appear on the right side of the page as well. Having your ad appear on the top of the sponsored results is just one more level of saturation for the results page that can help keep your competition from showing up either through paid ads or organically.
High Quality Score
If your website is properly optimized, you will likely have a perfect 10 quality score for your organization’s name as a keyword. This is helpful for a few reasons. Firstly, Google will reward you and normally recognize your ad as being properly associated with your website – this will help you secure the top ad position. Secondly, Google rewards having high quality scores throughout your entire account. Relevancy is important to Google, and high quality scores influence how they view your account when showing your ads.
Block the Competition
Bidding on a competitor’s business name is a common practice in Google AdWords. If your non-profit competes with for-profit businesses, there is a high chance that they may bid on your organization’s name to try and steal customers. Bidding on your own name helps you by making sure your ad is also displayed alongside your competitors, and as a side benefit it drives up their bid cost.
It is Free
The best part of bidding on your own name is that it is free through your Google Grant. If you are serious about marketing and controlling your brand online, there really is no reason to not bid on your organization’s name.
