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Google’s Big Birthday News, Picking Your A/B Tests & Painting Data

Happy Birthday, Google! (And What That Means to You)
Most media celebrated Google’s 20th birthday with retrospectives of Google Doodles. More interesting to me, however, is the future. The tech giant shared how it expects to change search in the coming years. I had two big takeaways: an increased emphasis on making images (and video) really work on search and new features to keep users on its platform (reducing the need for them to click off to websites). Stay turned! I’m sure this newsletter will cover more about what’s next for Google.

Maybe You Don’t Need to Test…. Everything
For most nonprofits, just finishing a website redesign is a huge achievement. (I’ve been there. Extra bonus points if it’s on time and in budget.) The idea of A/B testing everything before launch is so daunting. Here’s one consultant’s take on what to test and what to push out and refine later.

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Redesigns for Small Orgs, Data vs. Writer’s Block & A Wish for Bigger Pockets

Reach Bored People on Facebook
It’s worth turning on the sound to watch this video from Entrepreneur Network. It makes a really good point. A successful marketing campaign is not just about reaching the right demographic. We also need to consider what potential supporters will be doing as they receive our message. Are they ready to listen? Facebook users are often browsing for any content that catches their attention, while Google searchers are looking for specific information. These two channels tend to show better campaign returns than say, YouTube pre-roll, which interrupts the viewer.

Tips for a Drama-Free Redesign
Planning to redesign your website soon? (Who isn’t?) Check out this new Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio podcast episode for tips on gaining stakeholder support, managing contractors and using data to drive better engagement. It’s also a shameless plug! Two colleagues and I were interviewed for this episode after speaking at the 2018 Nonprofit Technology Conference.

Lifelong Learning (Whether You Like it or Not)
In an industry that’s always changing, how does anyone stay up with the latest skills? If you are interested in brushing up your marketing analytics chops, listen to the latest edition of the Digital Analytics Power Hour podcast. In this episode, the hosts analyze the latest online courses, bootcamps and other learning resources.

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Fundraising Gamer Style, Writing Better Content & Why No One Likes SEO

Good Content Keeps ’em Coming Back 
It is easy to get caught up in increasing website traffic and forget that you need quality content to keep them there – and get them to return. This recent Forbes article reminds us of common mistakes nonprofits make in developing content. First, stop copying your print materials. What works in a flyer isn’t right for online. If volunteers help maintain your website and social media, be sure to train them on style and content. Finally, good writing is important. Just because someone is an expert on a topic, does not mean they can write well about it. Don’t be afraid to get out your red pen (or activate Word’s track changes).

Making a Game out of Fundraising
Bored with the same old silent auctions, 5Ks and Facebook fundraisers? The brave new frontier of digital fundraising is in gaming. According to this article in Nonprofit Quarterly, game company Activision Blizzard donated nearly $13 million to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) through their online game, Overwatch. Blizzard, which makes World of Warcraft, sold limited edition avatar skins as well as merchandise like t-shirts for players. Another game company recruited champion players to livestream their gameplay, donating tips from viewers to a charitable cause.

Poor, Misunderstood SEO 
If you don’t really understand what SEO is, you aren’t alone (even outside the nonprofit marketing world). A recent survey found that businesses ranked search engine optimization (SEO) as the “least popular digital marketing channel.” Only 44% of respondents named SEO as part of their online marketing strategy (social media, website and email were the three most popular.) The researchers expressed surprise over this finding, attributing the lack of popularity to a misunderstanding of SEO and the fact that results from SEO efforts often take some time to show.

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Facebook Fundraising Changes, Automating Your Ad Grant & Analyzing Mario Kart

Advertisers and Audiences: Destined to be Frenemies?
I hate to even bring up the E.U.’s General Data Protection Regulation, after I spent late May drowning in emails. (I’m still cleaning out my inbox!) However, I wanted to highlight this New Yorker article by Ken Auletta, which puts the issue into a broader context. He examines how the use of Big Data to improve targeting brings to light the tensions between the desire for personalized content and concerns about consumer privacy. The article asserts that: “The advertising and marketing world scrambles for new ways to reach consumers. Big Data, they believe, promises ways they might better communicate with annoyed consumers—maybe unlock ways that ads can be embraced as a useful individual service rather than as an interruption.” What do you think? Is it possible to meet the needs of both audiences and advertisers?

Get Verified! Facebook Political and Issue Ads
Facebook has started enforcing their new ad verification rules. As this article explains, all advertisers wanting to run political content need to verify their identity and location (aka Facebook sends you a postcard in the mail). This is meant to allow users to clearly identify the organization that has paid for an ad. Facebook is also creating a searchable archive of political and issue ads. If your nonprofit runs ads on Facebook, I recommend getting verified. Even if you think your ads aren’t political, Facebook might think they are.

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Tips to Fix Your AdWords Grant for Google’s New Rules

So you’ve heard the news!  Nonprofit Google Ad Grants new rules rolled out in December, and organizations have two months to get into compliance. The February deadline is looming, and a lot of organizations are scrambling to rethink how they run their accounts.

No one’s quite sure what’s Google’s purpose with restructuring the program. Some say this is beginning of the end for the program (and the free $10K/month in ad dollars). Others claim that Google is simply cracking down on nonprofits who don’t properly manage their accounts and reflect badly on the advertiser.

But let’s not ponder what logic drives the Silicon Valley giant. All we know is we want to get the most out of our free ads. And no one wants to get their account shutdown! Here’s a quick rundown of the rules and my suggestions for how to fix your account.

Nonprofit Google Ad Grants New Rules:

  • The good! No more $2 bid cap (but you will need to set up goals in Google Analytics and use them to run maximize conversions bidding.)
  • The bad! Your account must have a 5% average click through rate (and if it fails to meet this two months in a row, it will be shut down. Yikes!)
  • And the easy: 
    • You must make use of geo-targeting (I once talked to a nonproft that only operated in one state. However, it accidentally ran its free AdWords nationwide. Preventing that sort of bad user experience is probably exactly what Google had in mind).
    • You must have at least two active ad groups. These must contain related keywords and two active text ads.
    • You must have two sitelink extensions
    • You cannot advertise against other brand names

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