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Google announced on March 26, 2018, that after 18 months of planning and experimentation, the godfather of web searches will start migrating sites that follow best practices (best SEO configuration) to mobile-first indexing.

What had been, up to now, a practice of crawling and ranking content typically used in the desktop’s version of a website’s content, which sometimes caused issues since a mobile version of a page can be quite different, will instead focus on the mobile version of the page for indexing and ranking.

Best practices for dynamic serving and separate URLs (short version)

If your site has separate desktop and mobile content, which means you have a dynamic serving or separate URLs (or m-dot) site, make sure you follow the best practices below to prepare for mobile-first indexing:

• Your mobile site should contain the same content as your desktop site. If your mobile site has less content than your desktop site, you should consider updating your mobile site so that its primary content is equivalent with your desktop site. This includes text, images (with alt-attributes), and videos – in the usual crawlable and indexable formats.
• Structured data should be present on both versions of your site. Make sure URLs in the structured data on the mobile versions are updated to the mobile URLs. If you use Data Highlighter to provide structured data, regularly check the Data Highlighter dashboard for extraction errors.
• Metadata should be present on both versions of the site. Make sure that titles and meta descriptions are equivalent across both versions of your site.

For more information on this, read the Google Press Release.

When a website (be it nonprofit or for-profit) is well thought out and branded, it will not only exude the entity’s product and, or, mission instantly with a captivating presence–all the while appealing to the viewer’s sensibilities–but be user-friendly in the process. In other words, “user experience” (UE/UX) is vital for any website. As for the website’s primary reason for being (most will think it’s always about revenue generation) this is where the two start to deviate.

For commercial endeavors, the main goal is nearly always to make money. That’s a given. But for the nonprofit, the answer is a bit more complicated.

For the nonprofit, success is not calculated in terms of mere profit (though raising money is certainly a major priority if it wishes to survive) but rather how well it fulfills its overall mission. Therefore, the product, be it a widget or a social service, somehow has to be sold to someone and revenue generated.

Where the Split Occurs

The for-profit website targets the buyer of the product—who is almost always (save for gift cards) the end-user of the product. So when you are creating your website for the commercial sector, you are communicating to one audience: the buyer/user.

The nonprofit, however, generally speaks to two audiences—usually split equally. One message is for the product buyer (the donor of the product or service) and the other message is to the user of the product (the people in need of the product or service—the client). And, this sort of split-branding can be a challenge.

In both instances, the product needs to be well promoted as necessary to the buyer, as well as of good value—be it a widget for oneself, or service to another. For the for-profit, this singular focus makes creating the web presence rather streamlined.

But what about the nonprofit’s end user—the client. Their user experience will not be buyer’s satisfaction or even return on social investment (ROsI), but on when, where, and how to obtain the product/service and how quickly they can access it. (Which, by the way, is also import to the buyer/funder who considers overall user experience for clients as a reasonable ROsI.)

ROsI

The ROsI does not stop at the product/service level for the funder, or even how well the website is offering equal space for donor and client. The funder tends to look at multiple factors:

• Desktop/laptop viewing first: Can they view the website well on their desktop/laptop as well as mobile device? (Since donors tend to use desktops/laptops more than mobile devices when considering their involvement in an organization, adequate content is key.)
• Is the website engaging, without a look of wastefulness? I.E., too flashy and overly trendy?
• How are the clients (recipients of their intended support) perceived? Will certain content direction (images and descriptions) turn-off the donor—or, perhaps, the client? (For the donor, often times the pitch is showing the worst-case scenario, where when you’re addressing the client, optimism and non-judgment is key.)
• What is the call to action other than the donation request? The sign-up form or invitation to an event allows the donor to feel like a bigger part of the organization’s community than just another income stream.
• How has the website prioritized their giving, be it donations or volunteering time.

Access

As for the client, their priorities may be:

• Mobile device first: Is the website mobile-device friendly (“responsive”)? According to a Pew study, 50-75% of homeless and low-income people only have access to a mobile device, be it smart phone or tablet. Considering this, the website should be designed with desktop in mind for the donors, and in responsive format for clients—which requires a judicial approach to the paring down content, along with format tweaks, for best view on mobile devices.
• How intuitive is it to locate the product/service? Are dates and times clearly stated? Are schedules, directions and maps provided?
• What are the limitations and “need to know” messages?

Special Content for the Nonprofit

There are pages and applications that are geared more for the nonprofit than the for-profit:

• Client programs/services
• HIPPA or other statement of privacy
• Financial disclosure
• Volunteer program and forms
• Board of directors page
• Access to departmental staff
• Robust About Us / History page(s)
• Achievements and/or profiles
• Membership/subscription
• Dynamic social networking center-point
• Calendar
• Donation options page (from one-time donations to planned/estate giving)
• A very user-friendly “back end” so that in-house staff and/or volunteers can make updates and new pages without the need to have a dedicated webmaster.

In a nutshell, the user experience differs between nonprofit and for-profit websites, and we get that. Dot Org Web Works stand out from other website developers because we only work for the charitable nonprofit sector.

You may have heard by now that Google has a program that benefits nonprofit organizations: Google for Nonprofits (clever naming, ea?) What you might not have know is that within their program options, there’s an offer to enroll into Google Ad Grants. And, if approved, you will be awarded with $10,000 (that’s not a typo) per month in Google Ad credit. And… should you exhaust that budget, two times within a six month period, you can then apply to receive the $40,000 (that’s not a typo either) per month Ad Grant (Grantspro).

What does this mean to you? Well, you’ll no doubt get more traffic to your website. So when someone Google’s the phrase (for example): “Giving to the Homeless During the Holidays”, instead of coming up on some secondary (organic) results listing, you can float to the top where the paid Google Ads are. More visits to your website means more immediate donations, or more sign-ups to your mailing list—thus resulting in more long-term stakeholders to your organization.

Who can apply? Most nonprofits. Ad Grants is for select non-institutional 501(c)(3) nonprofits. However, the following type of organizations are not eligible: government entities, hospitals & medical groups, schools, childcare centers, academic institutions and universities.

“Okay, I’m sold!”, you say. “What’s my next steps?”

The process, though somewhat elementary, does take a bit of time and know-how with respects to preparing your Ad Grants application. (It’s less of a formal application then the ability to prove that you understand the ad placement mechanism and will actually fully engage yourself in the program.) But once the application process is done, you’ll be ready to begin creating your ad Campaigns for immediate placement. It just takes a little bit of patience.

Here are the basics to understand:

• First, you will have to apply (and be approved) for Google for Nonprofits (https://www.google.com/nonprofits) For that, you’ll need to have your:
  • organization’s Employer ID (EIN), which is also your charity ID number. (Example: 20-1234567)
  • organization’s full legal name that is associated with your EIN
  • organization’s legal address
  • organization’s mission statement
• the approval process for Google for Nonprofits is generally very quick—sometimes within minutes.

Setting Up Google Ad Grants:

• Once accepted into the Google for Nonprofits program you will need to return to the above link, get yourself over to the Enroll in Exclusive Products for Nonprofits screen, and select “enroll” under the Google Ad Grants
  • You will have to create your first “Ad Campaign” and “Group Ad” (this, however, takes some know how. Google has people who can help you with this if you have been approved for other Google for Nonprofit products—otherwise, you’ll need some private help).
  • Finalize your submission. (Approval can take between 2-10 days.)

>>If you need help with the Google for Nonprofits and/or Ad Grant application process, just contact us.

#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. It’s an opportunity for your nonprofit organization to raise funds for your important work.

Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving.

One of the best ways to get involved is in your own community. GT has created a directory to help people find your organization within their own community.

Learn more about Giving Tuesday by visiting: www.givingtuesday.org

Source: Nonprofit Tech for Good

Launched on February 4, the new BRIDGE Registry is a database of more than three million nonprofits, NGOs, and charities worldwide and each one of them has been assigned a new BRIDGE Number. This new numbering system is a huge leap forwardfor global philanthropy and may one day enable individuals to donate online to any nonprofit with a BRIDGE Number – not through the BRIDGE Registry itself, but rather through an online or mobile giving service that uses the BRIDGE numbering system. Here’s what your nonprofit needs to know about the new BRIDGE Numbers:

1. Odds are your nonprofit has a BRIDGE Number.

There are estimated to be more than 10 million nonprofits, charities, NGOs, ONGs, and CSOs worldwide, but the majority are not yet online and do not have a digital footprint. If your reading this now, then your nonprofit is likely online and does have a digital footprint and therefore is likely to have a new BRIDGE Number. Conduct a search and take note of your number.

Read the entire article here.