What search engine optimization strategies produce benefits for nonprofits?

As a nonprofit, you’re probably aware that 56% of Americans made charitable donations in 2021. However, your nonprofit may be struggling to bring in donations, volunteers or both. Turning these struggles into success is something that search engine optimization (SEO) strategies can do for nonprofits. 

What is search engine optimization? 

Most people have done a Google search at some point in their lives, so they’re familiar with search results. SEO is a type of digital marketing that seeks to help websites and content rank as high as possible in search results. 

Why is SEO so vital for nonprofit organizations?

The answer to this question is that nonprofit competition can be as fierce as that of other industries. The National Center for Charitable Statistics reports that there are about 1.54 million registered nonprofits in the U.S. as of 2016. As a result, nonprofits find themselves competing with many others for the donations and volunteers they need to make a difference. SEO strategies that are customized for your nonprofit are a way to get a leg up on competing organizations. 

Which SEO strategies are best for nonprofits?

SEO professionals tend to shy away from one-size-fits-all solutions. They prefer to look at your website and content, talk to people in your organization and build a unique strategy for your nonprofit. However, there are certain SEO strategies that tend to work well for nonprofits, especially ones that don’t want to spend a lot on digital marketing. Such strategies include: 

1.Getting the right keywords in place.

Keywords are the terms that people use when searching for nonprofits or anything else on the internet. A top-shelf SEO team can use specific tools to determine which high-performing keywords relate to your nonprofit. They can then help you integrate those keywords into the content on your website, blog and social media channels. As a result, your content is more likely to rank higher in search results for those keywords. 

2. Upgrading past content you’ve created.

Creating brand-new, high-quality content is a common SEO practice. But updating old content can also help boost your nonprofit’s search rankings. Many nonprofits have created wonderful content over the years, but it may not be ranking as highly as it could. SEO pros can take a look at your past content and determine which pieces could be updated, upgraded and turned into search results climbers. They can then perform the necessary updates and upgrades to your old content so that search engines will start looking at it in a whole new light. 

3. Using the contacts you’ve developed.

Nonprofits have often built relationships with corporate donors, other nonprofits and other organizations over the years. Backlinking is an SEO strategy that can allow you to make use of these contacts. For instance, you could write a blog post, include a link to your site, and ask your contacts to post it on their websites or social media channels. 

Another option is to write a guest post for major publications related to your nonprofit and, again, include links to your site. These high-quality backlinks will help boost your organization’s expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness (E.A.T.) in Google’s eyes, which is a major factor in how Google ranks search results. 

What benefits can SEO have for nonprofits?

There are numerous benefits that nonprofits can get from a customized SEO plan, including:

  • Getting more organic traffic — Content and websites that rank highly in search results generate a lot of traffic. Nonprofit organizations that rank in the top five of search results for a keyword are likely to garner about 68% of the clicks for that search. 
  • Building awareness in their local community — A specific type of SEO, called local SEO, focuses on boosting ranking for local search results. Using this strategy can be very beneficial for nonprofits. It can help them get the attention of locals who are looking to volunteer. It can even help bring in more foot traffic to a nonprofit’s physical locations or local events, which can translate into increased donations. 
  • Turning an organization into a thought leader — Organizations that are at the pinnacle of their respective fields are known as thought leaders. And it’s no secret that Google prizes thought leaders and tends to rank them more highly in search results. With the right blend of SEO strategies, even small local nonprofits can rise to thought leader status. This can lead to higher organic rankings, higher site traffic, more volunteers and increased donations. 

Want to find effective SEO for your nonprofit? BURG+CO. can help

Increasing traffic to your website plays a critical role in increasing nonprofit volunteer and donation numbers. However, it’s difficult to attract visitors to your site when you don’t know which SEO strategies best suit your nonprofit. Fortunately, SEO is one of our specialties at BURG+CO. Marketing.

Our team has years of experience in helping businesses and nonprofit entities improve their digital presence to attract more website traffic and encourage visitors to convert. If you’re looking to perform better in search engine results and attract more visitors to your site, we’re ready to talk to you to see how we can help. Contact our team today for more information about all our digital marketing services, including our SEO services, or to schedule a complimentary consultation.

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