In these chaotic and lonely times, people are searching for answers and hope—and they are literally searching for it on the internet. Around the world, people make over 8.5 billion Google searches every single day, typing in questions that at one time would have been asked in a community setting.
Think about it:
• A tired parent searches “need help with an autistic child”
• A lonely college freshman searches “looking for community”
• A brokenhearted woman searches “I need encouragement”
• A confused man searches “who is God?”
With Google’s Ad Grant, your church’s answers to their questions are only one click away.
Did you know that Google gives qualifying nonprofits up to $10,000 monthly in free advertising money? It can feel like a gimmick or that there’s some string attached, but the reality is that when someone in your community searches for “things to do with special needs kids,” “local events,” “loneliness” or any other keywords you target, your church’s ad can show up at or near the top of their search results. It’s a powerful tool that can turn into your church’s automatic invite system.
Here are five reasons why the Google Ad Grant is worth your time to look into:
1. It’s free.
Most normal-sized churches never dream of having a $10,000 per month budget for ministry-first marketing. And while you need to know how to apply and get everything set up, using the grant can become a powerful tool to reach more people.
2. You become the answer to your community’s questions.
The local church is the hope of the world, and with Google Ads, your church can show up right when someone is searching or in need.
3. Google Ads enable powerful targeting.
Google unlocks powerful segmenting that allows you to thoughtfully reach out to the kind of people your church is best suited to serve. Have a thriving group of young families? No problem. Have a special outreach to international students? You can intentionally message to that group as well.
4. Billions of people make Google searches every day.
Google is the most visited website on the internet. Your church should have a voice and be able to provide hope and answers to people searching for answers in your community.
5. You only “pay” for results.
Google’s ads only require payment when you get a result from an ad. With the grant, you won’t have to pay out of pocket, but this style of advertising allows you to maximize the $10,000 per month budget that Google provides.
