7 SEO Tips and Tricks Your Nonprofit Can't Afford to Ignore
Improving SEO for nonprofits can be really hard when you are trying to do it on your own but don’t have the training or time for it. However, it can be an important part of your marketing plans.
What if you had some simple things that you could easily do to help? Well you are in luck because today we are giving you 7 tips to help improve your nonprofit’s SEO. Some of these tips are super simple (see tip #1), or they can be fun for some people (see tip #3).
No matter what – just trying, even in small bits – can help you see improved search rankings in some areas.
Why SEO is Important for Nonprofits
Search engine optimization doesn’t cost anything but time and expertise. You don’t have to pay to show up, unlike search ads.
People who are searching for things related to your nonprofit are very low in the marketing funnel – meaning they are doing some research and may be making some decisions in the near future on volunteering, donating, or participating in your programs.
So it’s both “free” and an excellent audience to reach.
But what if you don’t know where to start? We have seven great tips that you can take today and start working on to help improve your nonprofit’s search ranking!
7 Tips & Tricks To Improve Your Nonprofit SEO
1. Encourage Online Reviews
First, make sure you have a Google Business Listing for your nonprofit. Then ask your most loyal volunteers, donors, board members and participants for a review.
One of the top reasons organizations rank well in business listings is based on the number of positive reviews they have. Your goal is to have more than similar organizations in your area.
You can easily do this by sending a simple, but personal, email to these people telling them it only takes about 10 seconds to leave a rating at Google. Then add the link to the review form for your organization (if you are logged into your Google Business Listing, you will see an option to “Ask For A Review” which will provide you with the link).
2. Take Advantage Of Multilingual SEO
Many nonprofits serve different languages or different countries. So having a multilingual site can help you reach audiences in all of these demographics.
A multilingual website allows visitors to select their language and/or country. There are tools that allow you to create multilingual versions of your English website easily.
3. Publish Expert Content To Improve E-E-A-T
What in the world is E-E-A-T?! An important phrase in the world of SEO right now! It stands for “Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness” and is a big deal to Google right now in determining rankings.
Having the experts in your organization – who are already passionate about your work – writing blog posts or creating videos that are posted to your website will help Google see your E-E-A-T.
When you write blog posts, make sure to link the article to an author who then has a page with information on them and their expertise.
4. Enhance User Experience
Have you visited your website lately? And did it bring you joy or frustration?
Frustration felt by visitors will translate into lower SEO rankings. Search engines prioritize sites with great user experience.
Does your website load quickly or is it bogged down with unoptimized images and funny animations? Is it clear where to navigate on the website to find the information visitors need? Do you have clear and abundant calls-to-action on the website?
5. Be Social
Your nonprofit’s social media process can indirectly help the website’s SEO.
Link to articles and information on your website. Remember to include your website URLs as much as possible (when it makes sense) in your social media posts.
Make sure your social media profiles are linking to your website.
An extra step is to have your employees linking to the website and sharing articles and information.
6. Write Content For What People Are Searching for
Use tools to find the keywords people search for and write topics for them.
A simple tip is to search Google for your type of nonprofit offering and use the “People Also Ask” section to see more specific topics people are curious about.
7. Mobile Matters - Especially For Nonprofits
For nonprofits, 52% of traffic to your website is mobile traffic. Much of these visits will be first time visitors to the website. Make sure they don’t leave because it doesn’t work well on their phone.
Ensuring mobile content is responsive and the layout is the way you want it to be presented on a mobile device. Make sure the elements load well and that the mobile menu works too.
What Will You Take Away From This?
It’s always good to not only read and learn new tips to help you with growing your nonprofit online marketing, but to also walk away with a to-do list.
Download this infographic below. Then decide what one or two items you can work on this next week. Write them down and put them on your calendar.
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