{"id":9707,"date":"2024-04-26T09:51:26","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T13:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newpirdev.wpengine.com\/?post_type=learning-center&p=9707"},"modified":"2024-06-26T19:58:53","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T23:58:53","slug":"nonprofit-seo-guide-when-and-how-to-use-seo-for-nonprofits","status":"publish","type":"learning-center","link":"https:\/\/pir.org\/for-orgs\/learning-center\/resources\/nonprofit-seo-guide-when-and-how-to-use-seo-for-nonprofits\/","title":{"rendered":"Nonprofit SEO Guide: When and How to Use SEO for Nonprofits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Karen Vela, Community Boost<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is part 4 of an 6-part series called “Digital Marketing Toolkit for Mission-Driven Organizations”. These articles originated from and were previously published by Community Boost<\/a><\/strong>, a digital marketing agency that works with nonprofits of all sizes and sectors to accelerate and scale online revenue and impact.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to digital marketing channels, SEO is often the most misunderstood and overlooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some view it as a BS buzzword marketing agencies use to upsell them on, while others view it as something sketchy individuals sell in your DMs for $250 per month on Linked In. Unfortunately, you\u2019re not exactly wrong if you think of SEO that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the internet has evolved over the years, so have search engines like Google. As search engines have evolved, so have the tactics used for SEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those changes have resulted in a world where many claiming to be experts at SEO are using methods that haven\u2019t worked in half a decade, and where many who are considering investing in SEO struggle to identify the best path forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This guide to nonprofit SEO will provide the foundational knowledge needed to determine if SEO is right for your organization, along with some actionable tips for improving rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. What is SEO?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. What\u2019s different about SEO for nonprofits?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Determining if your nonprofit is ready to invest in SEO<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. 10 tips for a nonprofit SEO strategy<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Working with an agency that understands nonprofits<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    What is SEO?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Search engine optimization (SEO) can be defined as any activities in pursuit of ranking organically in search results (SEPRs) for desirable queries and keywords. When a Google search is made, the first results displayed are usually ads that websites pay for. The next results after the ads, known as organic listings, are not earned by paying a fee to Google. Instead, the organic results you see when Googling something are there because Google believes they\u2019re the results you wish to see for your search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    SEO is anything involving trying to increase ranking in the SERPs in order to increase organic traffic to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What\u2019s different about SEO for nonprofits?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In theory, SEO for nonprofits is no different than SEO for a for-profit business. The same methods and practices used by for-profit businesses can be adopted by nonprofits seeking to rank organically for specific desirable keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The differences between SEO for different types of organizations ultimately lie in what they are hoping to accomplish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For-profit businesses tend to have clear goals: sell a product or service at a profit. In these cases, it\u2019s easy to justify the investment. If we use a website selling shoes as an example, they\u2019d likely want to rank organically for searches related to buying shoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    An investment into ecommerce SEO<\/a> for this company could directly lead to an increase in revenue as a result of increased organic traffic. If they rank #1 for \u201cbuy shoes online\u201d, they should expect to receive a large percentage of total revenue coming from organic search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For many nonprofits, however, the motivation for increasing organic traffic might not be related to revenue at all. Instead, the investment into SEO might be to further the mission by increasing awareness or sharing information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So while the methods used for SEO might be the same regardless of your tax-exemption status, the desired outcomes might be entirely different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Determining if your nonprofit is ready to invest in SEO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are over 3.5 billion searches made per year<\/a> on Google alone. It\u2019s often the first place people go to when looking for information on anything and everything. If your organization provides services or information that an individual might be searching for on the internet, it\u2019s likely worthwhile to invest in SEO to some degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Of course, just because something is worthwhile doesn\u2019t mean it should be prioritized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The SEO strategy for a small local animal rescue will be very different from that of an international NGO. Before investing in SEO for your nonprofit, you must determine what your needs and resources are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When a nonprofit should <\/em>invest in SEO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The short answer is that if your organization or the communities you serve would benefit from being able to find your website easily from a Google search, you should consider investing in SEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here are some factors to weigh when deciding whether or not to invest in SEO for your organization:<\/p>\n\n\n\n