How to Rank Non Profit Websites on Google
Here are our favorite tips to optimize the online presence of non profit organizations, divided into technical, on-page, and off-page suggestions.
These SEO strategies apply to environmental groups, food banks, homeless shelters, human rights organizations, medical charities, museums, public radio and television, research institutions, social service agencies, and other non profits.
1.) Technical SEO Tips for Non Profit Organizations
Technical SEO refers to optimizing your non profit organization website's infrastructure so it can be properly crawled and indexed by search engines, which includes aspects like site speed, mobile optimization, XML sitemaps, and structured data markup. This ensures search engines can easily access, understand, and rank the website's content.
We can help out with all of these items and more, or you can handle them on your own:
- Ensure your website has a responsive design that works well desktop, small laptop, tablet, and mobile devices. There are a lot of screen sizes out there to accomodate. On a desktop computer, you can resize your browser window from large to small to see how different layout elements adjust for smaller screen sizes.
- Evaluate your non profit website's loading speed using a tool like Google PageSpeed Insights. Don't get caught up trying to pass Core Web Vitals. It isn't always possible on complex websites and might not be worth the investment. Instead, try to fix simple things to get a score of 60+.
- Utilize HTTPS encryption to secure your website. Most hosting providers offer free SSL certificates.
- Create and submit a sitemap of your non profit website to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to aid search engines in indexing your website.
- Implement schema markup to assist search engines in better comprehending your content.
- Use canonical tags to prevent duplicate content issues, particularly if you have identical content available on multiple URLs.
- Monitor your website's crawl errors and promptly resolve them. You can find such errors in Google Search Console.
2.) On-Page SEO Tips for Non Profit Organizations
On-page SEO involves optimizing each page of your non profit website to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. This often focuses on elements like keyword presence, meta tags, quality of content, user experience, page organization, and internal linking.
We can help out with all of these items and more, or you can handle them on your own:
- Create original and high-quality content that targets your audience's search intent. While ChatGTP is a popular content writing tool, don't rely solely on AI content. It is often generic, repetitive, and/or inaccurate. Be sure to proofread content before you post it.
- Incorporate relevant keywords in your website's page titles and meta descriptions.
- Optimize your non profit website's headings and subheadings with target keywords.
- Include keywords in image alt tags to help search engines comprehend the context of your images.
- Use internal linking on your website to aid search engines in comprehending the structure and hierarchy of your non profit content.
- Use descriptive URLs with relevant keywords to your causes.
- Display donor reviews and testimonials prominently on your website.
- Scan your website for broken links and repair them immediately. You can use this free tool from Ahrefs to scan for broken links.
3.) Off-Page SEO Tips for Non Profit Organizations
Off-page SEO involves all the actions taken outside of your non profit organization website to impact your rankings within search engine results pages (SERPs). This includes strategies like link building, social media marketing, and reputation management. Such efforts help increase your website's reputation, authority, and visibility online.
We can help out with all of these items and more, or you can handle them on your own:
- Build quality backlinks from relevant non profit websites, such as volunteer or charity blogs.
- Establish and maintain a strong presence on social media platforms to interact with non profit supporters and promote your brand.
- Encourage satisfied donors to leave reviews on Google My Business and other review sites.
- Collaborate with other local businesses and non profits to cross-promote services and build relevant backlinks.
- Create listings in non profit-specific directories and citation sites to increase visibility.
- Create informative and shareable non profit infographics related to social causes or community initiatives.
- Make videos to showcase your achievements and build engagement with potential supporters.
- Monitor your online reputation and respond promptly to feedback and reviews. Be sure to respond to all reviews, even negative feedback.
We can review your website and rankings, then provide a recommendation on which areas of technical, on-page, and off-page search engine optimization need the most attention. This will help establish a budget and scope for ranking you higher in search results!
Alternatively, if you don't need help improving your rankings, check out this guide on DIY SEO!
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Top Keywords for Non Profit SEO
Looking for suggested keywords to target within the SEO campaign for your non-profit organization? Whether you plan to hire us, or optimize the site yourself, we've got you covered!
Before starting an SEO service for a non-profit, we like to scan the website and see what you've got to work with for content and link authority.
From there, we'll check to see what types of programs or initiatives you'd like to promote. Maybe you focus on providing education services to children and want to attract more volunteers or donors. Perhaps you just don't feel like you are getting enough traffic to your website or social media channels.
Having this information helps us determine what types of keywords to focus on for content writing and link building.
Focus Keywords for Non Profits
- Non-profit [cause/issue]
- Charity [cause/issue]
- Volunteer [cause/issue]
- Donation [cause/issue]
- Fundraising [cause/issue]
- Community service [cause/issue]
- Advocacy [cause/issue]
- Education [cause/issue]
- Environment [cause/issue]
- Healthcare [cause/issue]
- Human rights [cause/issue]
- Poverty [cause/issue]
- Arts and culture [cause/issue]
- Animal welfare [cause/issue]
- International aid [cause/issue]
- Disaster relief [cause/issue]
Keyword Tip #1: Non-profits often target keywords related to their cause, issue, or services. This helps you attract potential volunteers or donors who are passionate about the cause or issue.
Keyword Tip #2: You should consider targeting long-tail keywords, which are more specific and less competitive. For example, "education non-profit for underprivileged children in New York" may be easier to rank for than just "education non-profit".
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