Google Ad Grants for Churches: A Guide to the Basics

Just like any other nonprofit organization, churches and religious groups need the support of their communities. Not only does this support allow them to share their devotion to their faith, but it also helps them collect tithes and other charitable gifts to fund their worship, programs, and outreach. To garner such support, your church and its need for funding must be adequately advertised.

Businesses and corporations often buy Google Ads to spread the word about their products and gain customers. With the Google Ad Grant, nonprofits such as your church or religious group can do the same for free!

In this article, we’ll cover the following topics to help you get started with Google Ad Grants:

• What are Google Ads?
• What is the Google Ad Grant?
• Are churches eligible for the Google Ad Grant?
• What are the benefits of using Google Ad Grants for churches?
• How can your church apply for Google Ad Grants?
• How can I optimize Google Ad Grants for my church?

Let’s begin by learning more about what Google Ads are and why your church or religious group should use them.

What are Google Ads?

Google Ads are the search results that appear at the top of Google search results pages (SERPs) labeled “sponsored.”

Businesses buy the right to automatically display their ads when users search for specific keywords. By using Google Ads, businesses can increase web traffic and product purchases.

Businesses in all fields and of all sizes buy Google Ads. This means that between bidding on valuable keywords and competing with corporate giants, purchasing Google Ads can get expensive. Advertisers are charged each time their ad is displayed to a user, which can add up fast.

Fortunately, as part of their corporate social responsibility efforts, Google has made Google Ads completely free to nonprofits (such as your church) via the Google Ad Grant.

What is the Google Ad Grant?

The Google Ad Grant allows nonprofit organizations, including churches and religious groups, to use Google Ads for free. By participating in this program, your church will be given $10,000 in free monthly ad credits to spend on Google Search Ads. 

With these funds, you can create sponsored ads and bid on relevant keywords. Keywords have various price points, and your monthly ad credits will be spent “purchasing” the ability to have your ads shown when a user enters your target keywords. 

For example, let’s say you want to bid on the keyword “Bible studies.” You would create an ad relevant to Bible studies, such as one for your religious group’s online store. Then, you would select “Bible studies” as the target keyword for that ad and choose to bid on it. 

However, your organization is not the only one bidding on this keyword. Other organizations looking to promote their Bible studies may also bid on this or similar keywords and pay for their ad to be shown when the keyword is searched. This is why you might notice that search results ad change even when you search the same term repeatedly. 

With the Google Ad Grant, you have $10,000 of free ad credits to spend on these keyword auctions each month. If you run out of funds before the end of the month (though most nonprofits usually have trouble spending all of their ad credits!) you can pay to continue bidding on your target keywords.

Are churches eligible for the Google Ad Grant?

Yes, churches and religious groups are eligible for the Google Ad Grant! The only types of nonprofit organizations that are ineligible for this program are government entities, schools, and healthcare-related nonprofits. 

To be eligible for the Google Ad Grant, your church must:

• Be a registered charitable organization in a participating country. For U.S.-based organizations, this means registering as a 501(c)(3) with the IRS. 
• Have a valuable website with original content. 
• Agree to the Google for Nonprofits Additional Terms of Service.
• Have a secure and functioning website that follows the program’s website policy by having an SSL certificate.
• Meet all other program policies.

Before applying for the Google Ad Grant, read over all the program policies to ensure that your church is compliant or can make the necessary changes to be compliant. In most cases, this will usually mean giving your website a refresh in order to ensure you have valuable content that’s worth promoting via the Google Ad Grant.

What are the benefits of using Google Ad Grants for churches?

Applying for and using the Google Ad Grant brings many benefits. The Google Ad Grant allows churches to:

• Reach a wider audience. Google is visited 89.3 billion times every month, making it the most-visited website worldwide. As such, having a link to your religious group’s website on a SERP will greatly increase your outreach.
• Perform targeted outreach. When strategically constructed, your Google ads will appear on SERPs that your target audience is most likely to view. For example, if your church is based in San Diego, your ads might show up for individuals seeking a new place of worship in that city.
• Enhance site engagement. With thoughtful keyword research, you can ensure your ads are shown to users likely to be interested in your content. This helps drive web traffic to your church or religious group’s website, resulting in enhanced site engagement.
• Increase recognition. Even if some users see your ad but don’t click on it, they’ll still be exposed to your church’s online content. This means that your ad will garner visibility for your church, resulting in greater awareness of your organization.

Through the Google Ad Grant, you can convert online users to new congregation members, event attendees, and donors. Ultimately, implementing Google Ads into your church’s marketing strategy can help you bring in more funds that you can use to maintain your church and give back to the community.

You can also hire an external church marketing agency to maximize these benefits. These professionals can write compelling ads and keep your account compliant with the program’s rules.

How can your church apply for Google Ad Grants?

Applying for the Google Ad Grant is a smooth and short process, especially in comparison to other grants. However, there is still a list of steps that your church or religious organization must complete before you can be approved for the program. Those steps are:

1. Confirm that your nonprofit is eligible for an account.
2. Request a Google for Nonprofits account using the email associated with your church or religious group.
3. Wait for your request to be reviewed, which can take a few weeks.
4. Use your Google for Nonprofits account to activate your Ad Grants account.
5. Complete a Google Ad Grants eligibility form.
6. Accept your invitation to the Google Ad Grants program if approved.
7. Accept the billing profile provided.

While straightforward, there’s an important in-between step that can determine whether your church is accepted into the Google Ad Grant program: optimize your website! Google wants to extend Google Ad Grant funds to organizations that will promote high-quality content that Google users will be happy to click on. 

Before starting your Google Ad Grant application, assess your website. Here’s a quick checklist for preparing your website for the Google Ad Grant:

• Ensure navigation is user-friendly. Create a sticky menu for your website that is consistent from page to page and links to high-traffic content. 

• Have valuable, original content on your website. You can accomplish this by creating a blog and creating unique landing pages that serve distinct purposes or target distinct audiences. 

• Limit third-party ads. Ads for your church or religious group’s programs and online store are fine, but ads to external organizations, such as an ad for a mobile game, are prohibited. 
• Check technical performance. Remove broken links on your website and make sure its load time is fast, ideally less than two seconds. Check your website’s speed with tools like PageSpeed Insights.
• Install Google Analytics. Google Analytics isn’t necessary to be accepted into the Google Ad Grant program, but you will need it to monitor the program’s results, so get ahead of the curve and implement it now. 

After you complete these steps and are accepted into the Google Ad Grants program, you’ll be able to build ad campaigns that support your mission and grow your congregation. You’ll need to actively manage your church’s account to ensure that you’re driving meaningful impact.

How can I optimize Google Ad Grants for my church?

1. Work with a Google Ad Grants agency.

Maintaining your church’s Google Ad Grants account can be time-consuming, especially when you consider the research and knowledge you need to ensure that your ads are successful. 

Fortunately, you can turn to professionals, like Getting Attention, to help your church maximize the impact of its grant.

Some common services that we and other Google Ad Grant agencies offer include:

• Google Grant application. If your church doesn’t already have a Google Ad Grant account, an agency will help you apply for one.
• Keyword research. Google Ad Grant professionals will handle keyword research for your religious group, helping you decide which keywords are best suited for bringing in new members and donors to your church.
• Google Grant management. Google Ad Grant professionals will consistently check up on your account to ensure that your ads are performing well. They’ll also make adjustments to improve performance.
• Google Grant hygiene. Our team of experts will keep your account data up to date. This helps ensure accurate reporting and can help you identify which ads are resonating with potential supporters. 
• Account reactivation. Should your account fall out of compliance with Google’s policies and regulations for any reason and be deactivated, a professional will help you reactivate it in a timely fashion.

Agencies like Getting Attention bring years of professional experience and knowledge of the Google Ad Grant to our clients’ accounts. In fact, we’re even certified by Google as a trusted vendor! By choosing to partner with a Google Grant agency like us, your church won’t have to do the heavy lifting. The professionals will take care of your account and ensure you see the results you desire.

2. Access the Google Ad Grants Help Community.

If you have questions about using the Google Ad Grant, chances are you’re not alone and another organization has wondered the same thing. Leverage other nonprofits’ experience with the Google Ad Grant through Google’s Help Community. 

The Google Help Community consists of guides created by Google and user-submitted questions. If you’re ever unsure about any aspect of your Google account, check in to see frequently asked questions and featured posts detailing any changes to the program. For example, Google provides a page with tips for Google Ad Grants success that your church or religious group can access.

If you can’t find a post answering your question, create a post of your own! Representatives from other nonprofits will weigh in and share their experience, and Google Ad Grants certified professionals might also jump in to help.

3. Implement SEO best practices.

Google Ads leapfrog your church’s content to the top of search results pages, but to ensure you’re putting the right content in front of the right users, you’ll need to follow search engine optimization (SEO) fundamentals. 

The first step towards SEO optimization is thorough keyword research. The keywords you choose dictate who your ads are shown to, so make sure you pick search terms your target audience is likely to use. Then, incorporate those keywords into:

• Your church’s Google Ads. This will ensure that these ads are properly targeted towards your audience and increase the amount of clicks you get from them.
• Your website’s landing pages. Naturally incorporating your keywords into your church’s landing pages helps these pages rank higher on the target keyword’s SERPs, resulting in increased organic (non-paid for) traffic to your website.

By following SEO best practices, you might even start to see your church’s website ranking among regular search results. These organic rankings appear below ads but still receive lots of clicks, especially if they are on the first page of search results. This means you drive free traffic to your website through the Google Ad Grant and free traffic without spending ad credits!

Conclusion and Additional Resources

The Google Ad Grant is a worthwhile program for churches, but to make the most out of the program, consider whether your staff members can effectively manage the grant. Are they able to do the necessary research into SEO, keywords, and your target audience? Do they have experience in website optimization and an understanding of digital marketing?

If the answer to these questions is no, don’t be discouraged. Consider partnering with a professional Google Ad Grant agency, which will handle all things related to the program for you.

If you’d like to learn more about how the Google Ad Grant can help your church, take a look at the following resources:

• Digital Marketing for Nonprofits Made Easy: A Helpful Guide. Are you interested in other marketing opportunities for your church? Read this guide to learn more about digital marketing for nonprofits of all types.
• Demystifying the Google Ad Grants Website Policy. The Google Ad Grant has certain requirements for your website. Learn more about how you can prepare your church’s website for the program with this article.
• A Great Google Grant Agency in 2024: 10 Best Partners. Want to learn more about working with a professional agency for your church’s Google Ad Grant management? This resource outlines how to pick the best agency and gives ten suggestions.