The Continuous Case for Google Grants

Note: this post was originally written in September 2024, and was updated in November 2024.

Two years ago we told you what Google Grants can and can’t do for nonprofits wanting to take advantage of free search advertising money from Google. Since then, there have been no major changes in the Grants sea and a lot of what we said is still true. Mainly: investing in real paid search continues to be more competitive and, frankly, more valuable in driving volume and revenue than the Google Grant alone.

And now with the introduction of Google’s Performance Max (PMax)—a multi-channel AI-driven campaign type that places ads across all of Google’s ads inventory—real paid search campaigns are more important than ever in fueling broader Google Ads success. Google doesn’t call Search + PMax its “Power Pair” for nothing: PMax was made to complement search and search data is essential to PMax’s success. (See below for an update on PMax & Grants!) 

So at this point, you may be asking yourself, “With all their restrictions and policies, are Google Grants even still worth the effort?” The short answer is absolutely yes! Here are a few reasons why we think the Google Grant is the best first step in leveraging Google Ads and why taking full advantage of it is worth your time.

The Case for Google Grants in 2024 and Beyond

New! Performance Max is now available in Google Grants (Kinda)

Performance Max (PMax) is now available in 50% of grant accounts with a full rollout in January 2025. You may be thinking: fantastic! And to that I say yes, but…not so fast.

Within Grants, PMax can only serve on Search and Maps, which means Display, YouTube, Discovery, etc. are not available yet (but may be added in the future). This news about PMax is hot off the press, and details are unfolding as you read! You will be asked to add all the same text and image assets that a normal PMax campaign would ask for—and you do want images to appear with your search ads—but it will also automatically create videos from those images. Sadly these videos won’t serve anywhere!

So what is PMax without the additional channels, you ask? Incredible question! 

Think of it like a dynamic search ad (DSA) but with more creative control. PMax should be used on top of your search campaigns. It does not target with keywords, and will only use the assets you provide to create the ads. This could be a potentially exciting development—especially for low-spending accounts. Bookmark this tab for the latest—I’ll update you as I learn more.

The Media Money is Free

This may seem obvious, but why wouldn’t we want to take full advantage of something that’s being given to us for free? And while, yes, Google makes it hard to spend all the money (more here), on average Grantees are getting over $60,000 in free media money every year according to CI’s 2024 Cultural Compass. That’s great!

Working with limited media budgets? The Grant is especially key. Let it target mid- and upper-funnel keywords for you. These keywords are what people who are less familiar with your world search for; for example, if you’re a ballet organization, your target audience may search for “arts events near me” or “local ballet tickets.” These kinds of keywords often lead to more expensive clicks (due to their highly competitive nature) along with lower ROIs in paid campaigns, but ROI is not a concern in the Grant. Even if Grants don’t rank as well for these terms, some coverage is better than no coverage at all. 

Test First, Spend later

Not sure if you want to put real money into certain search keywords? Valuable data can be gathered by adding a campaign to the Grant before spending real money on it. You can potentially learn what your target audience’s actual search queries are (or if they’re searching at all!), average costs-per-click (CPC), impression share, and who else in the search landscape is bidding on the same keywords.

Often, people start searching for programs before your organization’s budgets are ready to start campaigns rolling in paid accounts. But with Grant accounts, you can get campaigns started well before your budgets might dictate, letting you start a Nutcracker campaign in July, for example, or start combatting third-party ticket sellers with a campaign for a popular touring show before tickets even go on sale. 

Want to test a new bidding strategy? New ad copy messaging? Some out-of-the-box keywords? Test and learn in the Grant before applying to your paid search campaigns.

Google Grants + Paid Search = An Iconic Duo

You can (and should!) run campaigns with the same keywords in both your Grant and Paid Google accounts. They do not compete—in fact, only one domain can even enter the ad auction, and paid gets preference. This means that Grants drive only incremental impressions and traffic on top of paid search efforts for no additional investment.

It is possible—and efficient!—to optimize campaigns running in both accounts together. Grant accounts pick up where paid accounts leave off, whether that’s a depleted budget, a wider location radius, broader keyword targeting, or a longer flight! And learnings such as optimizing your Responsive Search Ad headlines based on search queries or adding negative keywords can be applied across accounts.

Always be sure you’re monitoring both Grant and paid accounts together for potential problems, be it something minor like disapproved ads or something more serious like circumventing systems (a Google Ads policy that will suspend an advertiser if policy violations aren’t resolved in an account and they are found actively operating out of another account).

How Does Distribution Differ Across Devices?

Device distribution between Grants and Paid accounts is very different. With Grants, ads appear more frequently on desktops, and with Paid, ads appear more on mobile. Maximize your coverage by running ads in both.

If You’ve Got It, Launch It

If you’re eligible for a Google Ads Grant, you should absolutely take advantage of it! From the free money, to the testing and data gathering opportunities, to the efficiency and power of running alongside real paid campaigns, Grants are additive to your digital marketing efforts. 

Just remember: don’t set and forget it. Stay up on policies, and optimize frequently for best results.

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We’re not genies per se, but we do make things happen. You’re a busy marketer, and search strategies aren’t easy. If you want a thought partner to increase clicks, ROI, and revenue, we’re here for you. Talk to us!