Like with any other marketing service, there are different types of search engine optimization that tackle specific company needs.
One of the approaches that are rarely mentioned is non-profit SEO. As the name implies, it’s a marketing method that helps non-profit organizations. In many ways, it’s the same as traditional optimization, but it’s more focused on finding donors and increasing presence within the local community.
In this article, we’ll talk about the basic characteristics of this approach and how to perform it.
What is non-profit SEO?
SEO for non-profits is a way of improving your pages to increase their rankings within the search engine results pages. As with any other form of optimization, an SEO provider focuses on target keywords that would provide value to non-profit organizations.
Given that non-profits focus on activities such as education, fundraising, volunteering, and so on, it’s the SEO company’s duty to increase customer traffic for these categories of terms.
The importance of SEO for non-profits
Organic traffic is all about finding websites through search engines. Like with any other company, the final objective of SEO for non-profits is to improve the site’s visibility in Google and other search engines.
Driving more traffic to your website will make it easier for non-profit organizations to fundraise and promote large events. However, it can also be a crucial brand-building practice.
Unlike regular companies that can survive and thrive by focusing on SEO, non-profits should utilize other channels as well. Social media can also be crucial for their development. Among others, you can gain a lot of traction by connecting with local news stations.
Benefits of SEO for non-profit organizations
Here are the benefits of implementing an SEO strategy for non-profits.
Last but not least, make sure that all your articles and pages provide valuable information. In the end, they are the main reason why people land on your site in the first place.
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Understand user intent and perform keyword research
Before you start creating content and link building, you should start optimization by understanding the search intent.
SEO Tools such as Google analytics will help you find relevant keywords crucial for gaining donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders. A nonprofit website can gain lots of traffic by pursuing educational topics and creating statistical pages.
Even if you don’t have the best content, the nonprofit organization can gain traction by creating connections with local journalists.
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Create content and interlink
High-quality content is important for a nonprofit website as it is for any other business. Whenever you create a new piece, consider how it will affect your traffic. Make sure to focus on keywords that have high volume and low difficulty. More importantly, use internal links to help search engine crawlers and improve search rankings.
When creating articles, stick with the best practices. Avoid keyword stuffing, and use title tag and meta description for each piece. Check the search queries to see what type of posts your competitors have created.
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Include your nonprofit organization in online directories and articles
Given the fact that most of your donors and potential clients can be found online, you need to prioritize online visibility.
Besides social media channels and Google, another option to promote your work is via nonprofit directory listings. Many online directories are willing to include your charity for free. This is an excellent opportunity, especially for those who work with a tight nonprofit budget.
It might happen that your organization is already listed in a directory. In that case, check if the information regarding your location, website, email address, and opening hours is correct.
Make sure to focus on larger directories that provide real value to online users. In other words, avoid obscure platforms that no one has heard of. It would just be a waste of time.
One of the ways to increase visibility is through backlinks.
Getting quality backlinks will also help you to improve your rankings and gain credibility. Moreover, they will increase your referral traffic and help Google find newly-posted pages. On the contrary, links received from suspicious, spammy sites can potentially harm your site.
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Turn regular mentions and feedback into links.
It is a well-known fact that charities and nonprofit organizations rely on PR and press coverage from the media. What if we told you that you could gain much more with these mentions?
Every time a person reviews or mentions your website on another platform, you can use this mention to gain a live link. Basically, all you need to do is subscribe to a quality reputation suite and find all online mentions of your brand.
Once you have found your unlinked citations, the next step is to contact site owners and authors to request backlinks for your website. Even if it’s just a social media mention, which doesn’t provide real SEO value, you should still try to turn it into a live backlink.
Keep in mind that new unlinked mentions can frequently appear, depending on your organization’s popularity. The process scales, allowing you to gain even more mentions, traffic, and exposure as you increase brand awareness.
Unfortunately, getting these links is a completely different matter. To increase your chances of scoring backlinks, follow some of these SEO tips:
Always remember that Google might not be the most popular search engine in a specific country. However, most of these practices should still provide some value for your organization, even if they don’t improve your search engine rankings.
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Utilize non-profit local SEO
Depending on the specific cause, certain nonprofit organizations can benefit immensely from local SEO. For example, if you wish to protect the local wildlife, it’s very important to connect with similar organizations and benefactors who live in the area.
Local SEO can help people find your organization while performing related searches. To make the most out of this approach, you need to do the following:
- Create Google Business Profile and fill in all the information.
- Try to get as many positive reviews as possible from local users.
- Create pages that are optimized for local search.
- Get links from companies doing business in your city or region.
After implementing all these tricks, it will be much easier for people to find you on Google Maps. As mentioned, local SEO can have a major impact on your company, and it would be a wasted potential if you didn’t implement it.
If you need help from a professional SEO agency, make sure to call us today!