Spending money on marketing as a nonprofit can sometimes seem wrong. Shouldn't every penny go towards the cause? Unless you market, you won't raise awareness or generate future donations. But you should still choose a marketing strategy that maximises your investment.
Enter SEO for nonprofits and charities.
Appearing in the top results in Google is a surefire way to funnel organic traffic to your site. This influx in visitors yields more awareness, more engagement, and hopefully more donors. What's the secret to SEO success? That's what we're exploring below.
What is SEO for Nonprofits?
Search engine optimisation (SEO) for nonprofits and charities refers to the process of optimising a website to rank higher on the search engine results page (SERP). Doing so involves everything from keyword research, an SEO content strategy, technical SEO, and more.
Confused? You're not alone. But don't worry – just focus on the core tips we outline below as you start your nonprofit content marketing journey.
Why Invest in Content Marketing for Nonprofits
Still not convinced. Consider these reasons when weighing up whether to invest in content creation for nonprofits:
Enhanced Visibility: SEO allows nonprofits to reach a wider audience by increasing their visibility on search engines. This means more people are likely to discover the organisation, its mission, and its impact, potentially leading to increased support and donations.
Improved Donor Engagement: Effective content marketing keeps your audience engaged and informed, fostering a sense of community. A well-crafted content strategy can provide valuable information, share success stories, and illustrate the difference your charity is making, driving higher engagement levels and promoting donor retention.
Cost-Efficient Awareness: SEO for nonprofits is a cost-effective method of raising awareness. By targeting specific keywords, nonprofits can organically reach individuals actively searching for related causes, making it a more efficient use of resources than traditional advertising methods.
Long-Term Investment: Unlike paid advertising, which stops when you stop paying, the effects of SEO and content marketing are longer-lasting. The content created remains accessible, continuously driving traffic to your site. The more quality content you have, the more established your online presence becomes, helping your charity gain credibility and trust over time.
5 Foolproof Tips for Nonprofits and Charity SEO
1. Be the Subject Matter Expert
Always play to your strengths. As a nonprofit or charity, your marketing USP is your real-world experience and expertise in your cause. Don't ignore it. When you're creating your site or writing a blog article, get quotes from subject matter experts, draw on data you've collected, and recite anecdotes to back up your statistics.
That's why people will trust your content over someone else's. You're the real deal.
Don't forget the purpose of content creation for nonprofits: to earn donations and raise awareness. Direct your content toward your future goals and plans. Doing so can help explain why future donations are so critical. Reading about a charity's work combating cancer by hearing from the scientists and patients themselves is much more powerful than a dry, factual summary. They're what nonprofits are all about.
Add a short video to accompany a blog post for extra SEO points. Use footage of your charitable efforts alongside some of the points covered in the piece. Multimedia posts universally do better than just plain text.
2. Writer For the Reader, Not the Search Engine
Too many SEO content marketers become fixated on the algorithm. But what works for algorithms is often dull for the reader. Balancing these two approaches is essential in SEO for nonprofits. However, the reader should always come first.
Sprinkle your keywords throughout the piece. But don't sweat optimisation too much. A riveting, powerful piece is far more likely to get read (and become viral on social media) than a perfectly optimised chunk of drivel.
3. Target Relevant Educational Keywords
Nonprofits and charities aren't in the business of selling. That means you can ignore a large chunk of keywords. Your keyword selection should be focused on targeting educational and statistical keywords related to your cause.
If you're a wildlife conservation charity, you could write an article about the "Top 10 Facts About Wolves in Yellowstone" or "How Does Climate Change Affect Animals." Answering people's burning questions will generate organic traffic and serve a useful purpose.
Not sure what people are asking. Google can help – see the "People also ask" section in the Google search results to identify common queries. These often make brilliant H2 and H3 headers within your content.
4. Invite Guest Writers to Create Content
Just as influencer marketing is key to social media, so are guest writers helpful for SEO for nonprofits. You don't just need to rely on a single nonprofit content writer. Ask a prominent person in your field to pen an op-ed or explain their recent research.
Not only does this establish your brand as a key authority and improve readers' trust, but it's also a fantastic marketing opportunity. Such articles will likely rack up backlinks and become prominent content for your organisation.
Medical content, therefore, should be written by medical professionals, just as a geopolitical think piece is best devised by a director of a relevant organisation.
This is known as E-A-T, or expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness – key Google ranking factors.
5. Earn Backlinks in Directories and Articles About Your Nonprofit
Backlinks are the holy grail of SEO for nonprofits. They refer to links to your page from a third-party website. However, don't rely on generating poor-quality backlinks; that can hurt your ranking. Prioritise getting a handful of high-quality links to truly boost your site's performance.
Having your articles or site linked to prominent news organisations or nonprofit directories will yield impressive results. Consider sending press releases related to big stories and specifically request a backlink to your site's news article.
Alongside your nonprofit content marketing strategy, backlinks should be the backbone of your overall SEO goals.
Final Thoughts
Elevate your nonprofit with smart SEO and content marketing strategies. Leveraging SEO for nonprofits not only enhances visibility but creates a lasting impact.
Don't let potential supporters and donors slip through the net. Book a free consultation with Impeccable Writing today, and let us help you harness the transformative power of strategic content and SEO to drive your mission forward.
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