Google Ad Grants for volunteer recruitment: how to make the grant work
In short
To make the Google Ad Grant work for volunteer recruitment, group keywords into buckets with their own ads and landing pages, sell why people should volunteer with you and set up conversion tracking, which the grant now requires. Tom Bowen of Pleon also stressed that landing pages matter at least as much as ads.
In this Lunch and Learn, Tom Bowen, who runs the Google Ads agency Pleon, explained why so many charities struggle to use the Google Ad Grant and how to make it work for volunteer recruitment.
Key points
The Google Ad Grant gives eligible charities up to $10,000 a month of search ads on Google, but many accounts use only a fraction of it.
Google shows grant ads when they’re relevant and engaging, so give each group of keywords its own ads and landing page.
Sell why people should volunteer with you, not just that you need volunteers.
Your landing page matters at least as much as your ads.
Conversion tracking lets Google learn who signs up, and the grant now requires it.
Watch the full session below, including before-and-after ads from a real charity account and a walk-through of a landing page built to convert. Under the video, we’ve summarised the key takeaways.
What is the Google Ad Grant?
Google Ad Grants gives eligible charities up to $10,000 (US dollars) a month of text ads in Google search results, at no cost. Grant ads appear on their own or below paid ads, and unused budget doesn’t roll over (Google’s FAQ). In the UK you need to be registered with the Charity Commission, OSCR or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, or recognised as a charity by HMRC, and verified through Google for Nonprofits. Government bodies, hospitals and schools aren’t eligible, though their charitable arms can be (eligibility guidelines).
Sort your keywords into buckets, then find a niche
Tom’s framework starts in Google’s Keyword Planner. Sort your keywords into buckets (what you are, where you are, how you support people, how to get involved and what you sell) and give each bucket its own ads and landing page. Someone searching “volunteer near me” should see an ad about volunteering and land on a volunteering page. General volunteering searches are busy, so try phrases like “volunteer with” or “volunteer at” to find niches, such as volunteering with animals or on Christmas Day. If volunteering searches are thin, Tom suggested writing helpful content on what people do search for and inviting readers to get involved.
Write ads that sell volunteering with you
Most ads only say who you are. Tom recommended leading with what volunteers get and how it feels. A food-growing charity can offer the chance to learn gardening, get outdoors and meet people. A heritage museum’s ads stood out more when they talked about keeping local history alive instead of “local volunteer opportunities”.
What makes a good volunteer landing page
Tom suggested spending as much time on your landing page as on your ads, if not more. His checklist:
A clear headline at the top saying what you do.
One main call to action, with at most one secondary option.
An FAQ and an “is this for you?” section to answer doubts before they’re raised.
A reason to act now, such as limited places or a start date.
Social proof: logos, testimonials and, best of all, video testimonials.
A form, not an email address. Forms can be tracked and tell you more.
Conversion tracking and the grant’s rules
Conversion tracking tells Google when someone signs up, so it learns who to show your ads to. Tom’s advice: make one person responsible for it. Google’s account management policy and compliance guide currently require grant accounts to:
keep an account-wide click-through rate of at least 5% each month, or risk temporary deactivation after two months below it;
record at least one conversion a month and use conversion-based Smart bidding (for newer accounts);
have at least two ad groups per campaign and two sitelinks;
pause keywords with a quality score of 1 or 2, and avoid single-word keywords other than your own brand.
Turning clicks into volunteers
With Volunteero’s recruitment tools, you publish each opportunity to your website search board, the Volunteero Marketplace and GoVo, and applicants complete a configurable form with your own questions. Book a demo to see how it works.
Related reading
About Tom
Tom Bowen runs Pleon, a Google Ads agency working with charities and businesses across the UK and US. You can contact Tom at tom@pleon.agency.
Written by
Co-founder and CEO
Ashley Staines is the co-founder and CEO of Volunteero. After seven years in investment banking, he started it to make volunteering easier to organise.
