Introduction
More and more organizations are realizing the importance of strong marketing and communications, especially when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) for nonprofits. Not only is Google the biggest driver of website traffic (~85% as of December 2021), but it has 200 ranking factors to determine the relevance and ranking of websites, with quality website content and user experience among the top ranking factors. In other words, it’s necessary for non-profits to have an intentional approach to reaching their target audience.
SEO plays an important role in these efforts. In short, SEO is the process of getting traffic to your website in an organic way. By using SEO best practices, you can improve your ranking on search engines (also referred to as search engine results pages or SERP) such as Google and Bing, which can then get your website in front of more potential donors. But that’s not all. SEO for nonprofits is the perfect way to achieve goals, including:
- getting targeted attention
- remaining competitive
- create quality marketing content
- improve the user experience
A tight budget may impact how effective these efforts are. But it doesn’t have to! There are SEO best practices anyone can take right now (for free) to be better positioned for online fundraising success. Here are five:
1. Spruce up your meta descriptions
A meta description is that text that appears underneath the title tag. That text is often a summary of a page’s content. They tell search engines what the web page is about, which helps search engines organize pages accordingly. You don’t usually see it because it is an HTML element, meaning that you’ll have to look at the source code to find it.
While they don’t really have a direct impact on SEO, they can help you increase the click-through rate on your page.
Tips to get started:
- Keep it short: 120-155 characters
- Incorporate your keywords
- Make it stand out from the rest
Resource: Yoast – How to create the right meta description
2. Make your headings pop
Headings help organize your content into a structure that is easy to scan. By placing SEO keywords in your headings, you’re letting Google know that the keywords are important and, by extension, the content is relevant.
Tips to get started:
- Include SEO keywords in an organic way.
- Consider context
- Make sure that your headings are structured properly
Resource: Search Engine Journal – How to use header tags: SEO best practices
3. Do SEO keyword research
A big part of SEO for nonprofits (or any business really) is keywords. Keywords are exactly what they seem: They are words and phrases that people use in search engines. What makes them “key” is that they lead to relevant content that ranks high on SERPs. That is how keywords optimize your content: they bring your target audience to you.
Finding the right keywords requires research for that reason. Don’t worry: you don’t have to start from scratch or build your own tool. There are numerous SEO tools (both free and affordable) out there that can help you get started.
Tips to get started
- Search for terms that are relevant to key stakeholders, donors etc.
- Pay attention to how competitive keywords are
- Build content around keywords, not the other way around
Resource: SEM Rush – What is SEO? The 2022 guide to search engine optimization
4. Create quality content
It’s really important to create quality content that your target audience is actually looking for. Nobody wants to put in a search term into Google and find completely irrelevant information. Give your audience (and specifically, potential donors) what they want.
Tips to get started
- Aim for evergreen content
- Use categories and topics to organize website content
- Use an editorial calendar to plan, schedule and diversify content
Resource: How to revive your blog with these 15 resources
5. Include internal links
An internal link is any link from one page of your website to another page on your website. For example, if you have a blog post about an upcoming event, you can use the text within it to link to the page where people can buy tickets.
Internal links help people find more content on your website. For search engines like Google, internal links help them “see” the page. If the links contain relevant content, search engines like Google are likely to rank it high on SERPs.
Tips to get started
- Make sure the anchor text follows accessibility standards
- Space internal links out
- Only link to relevant content
Resource: Yoast – Internal linking for SEO: Why and how?
Over to you
SEO for nonprofits doesn’t have to be an overwhelming, complicated process. Baby steps! You don’t have to buy the latest SEO program or service. You don’t even need to hire anyone just yet. Take your time to learn how SEO can improve your marketing and communications efforts first. Then, use the tips above to get started.
Still unsure how? Let’s get in touch.