SEO and Nonprofit Websites

How important is SEO for nonprofit websites?

Some would argue that SEO isn’t important at all. After all, nonprofits are not in the business of ‘selling anything’. Others would push for considerable resources to optimize everything they can on their nonprofit website. I would advocate a position somewhere in the middle.

A dilemma

Websites are increasingly important, but they also take an increasing amount of resources to update effectively. Nonprofit startups in particular, can wind up spending large chunks of their income in optimizing the various aspects of their website. The problem in doing that, is that it becomes the de facto focus of the organization, while its core purpose is sacrificed. However, an unwillingness to keep abreast of technological developments will hurt both the organization’s profile and its online fundraising potential.

4 tips to help your website gain prominence

1. Use unique keywords on each page. There are several areas that you can address. Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing suggests concentrating focus on just one or two main concepts, when it comes to the main text on a page. Each page should ideally also have unique metatags, but it can be very time consuming to redo an entire site, so you may want to attack that in stages. Be careful not to rename extensions by accident – e.g. .html to .htm. If you do rename extensions and pages, make sure to put in permanent redirects.
2. Link text is more useful than you may think. It’s good protocol to provide text for images and links, especially for the visually impaired searcher. However, there’s more to be gained from inserting good link text. Google in particular trolls these link words in rating your site. Instead of “headshot”, make sure you put something meaningful and ‘searchworthy’. Instead of “click here” put “More Liberian Success Stories“.
3. Link with other sites. In my experience nonprofits are particularly concerned with linking to other sites, as they fear diversion of funds from their own cause to the linked site’s cause. While this may be a genuine risk, I submit that the benefits greatly outweigh those risks. I believe donors will not want to “switch sides”, if you have developed a relationship with them, and if you are focused in your strategy and communicate effective results. There is, however, nothing wrong in your donors supporting other causes as well. Wouldn’t you feel good about helping others? The benefits of linking are an immediate gain in credibility, perception of expertise and greater exposure for your cause. Don’t forget to link with social media sites, blogs, twitter, etc. as well. Be careful though to only link with organizations that have the same moral and ethical base as you do.
4. It’s ‘more blessed to give’. Nonprofits tend to think, “How can we raise funds from this story?…” I submit it’s better to say, “What can we offer free of charge, to help better the lives of others?”  It is particularly good to offer something in your area of expertise.  For example, if you have specific knowledge of a subject such as eco-housing or communication of high impact messages, then help your nonprofit and ‘for profit’ development and mission colleagues by giving them some tips for free. You will be amazed at the goodwill this will generate over time, and this goodwill leads to dramatic growth of exposure for your cause. In the forprofit world, most smartphone apps offer ‘lite’ versions for users to try. If you try and trust a source, you are much more likely to invest in that source.

SEO is important for nonprofit websites, and I believe it will become increasingly important in the future. However, recognize a nonprofit’s credibility is first and foremost gained through its work and not from a slick website. Keep up with the trends, and if you do have the resources, conduct some beta testing to see how much you can improve your profile and fundraising.

Jonathan Bernd

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