SEO vs. Paid Ads: How to Decide What’s Better for Your Nonprofit?

Lisa Hirst Carnes | November 2023

Illustration of a group of marketers analyzing data,

In today’s rapid-fire digital world, nonprofits face challenges in reaching their target audience. When planning a marketing campaign, you must consider search engine optimization (SEO) and paid advertising.

Considered two of the most stalwart marketing strategies, each has advantages and considerations.

Choosing between these two approaches can be critical for organizations with limited budgets. In this post, we’ll explore each and provide insights on which is better for your nonprofit.

Understanding SEO

SEO is optimizing your website and content to rank higher in organic search results. Here are some key points to consider:

Long-Term Strategy

SEO is a long-term investment that takes time to yield results. It involves optimizing your website’s structure, content, and technical aspects to improve its visibility in search engines. In our experience, it takes 3-6 months or longer to see results.

Cost-Effective

Compared to paid ads, SEO is generally more cost-effective over the long run. Once your website ranks well, you can generate organic traffic without advertising costs. Keep in mind that there’s quite a bit of elbow grease needed to launch a successful SEO campaign, including content creation and optimization, resolving website errors, link building, and more.

Content-Centric

SEO relies on high-quality, relevant content. Nonprofits can create engaging content that educates their audience about their cause. If you don’t have anyone on staff to write content or an agency to rely on, this might be challenging.

Credibility

These days, most internet searchers know that the results at the top of the page are “sponsored” or paid. Websites that rank well in organic search results often carry a sense of credibility.

Understanding Paid Ads

Paid advertising involves paying for placement on search engine result pages or other digital platforms, such as social media platforms such as Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook. Here are some key points to consider:

Immediate Results

Paid ads can deliver immediate visibility and traffic to your nonprofit’s website, making it a suitable choice if you need quick results for a time-sensitive campaign or event.

Budget Control

With paid ads, you have (almost) control over your budget, allowing you to allocate specific amounts for advertising campaigns. We note “almost” complete control because platforms like Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising may overdeliver your ads. Here’s how Google explains over-delivery.

You set your budget at $5 daily, and your billing cycle is 30 days. Over the month, you notice that your charges vary. Some days you’re charged $2; on others, you’re charged $10. But at the end of the month, your charges will be at most $152 (that’s 30.4 multiplied by your $5 budget).

So even though your campaign costs tipped above and fell below your $5 budget daily, at the end of the month, you’re still charged no more than what you budgeted.

Targeting Options

Paid ads offer precise audience targeting, enabling nonprofits to reach specific demographics, interests, and locations. This can be valuable for promoting events or fundraising campaigns to a targeted audience.

Competition

Depending on your nonprofit’s focus, paid advertising can be fierce, which may drive up advertising costs. Effective keyword research and ad management are essential for keeping your costs down.

Making the Decision

To decide which strategy is better for your nonprofit, consider the following factors:

Team Talent and Skillset

Whether you go the SEO or paid ads route, you’ll need the skills to execute the work. For SEO, the brunt of the work revolves around creating content and resolving warnings and errors in Google Search Console. If you choose paid ads, you’ll need experience navigating the paid ad platform. One way around this is to hire a digital marketing agency like ArcStone to shoulder some of the workload.

Budget

Assess your nonprofit’s budget and determine how much you can allocate to digital marketing. SEO generally requires an extended initial investment (but sustained effectiveness in the long run), while paid ads offer more immediate results with flexible spending options.

Goals

Define your nonprofit’s specific goals. Are you looking to raise awareness, promote an event, or drive donations? SEO and Paid Ads can serve different purposes, so align your strategy with your objectives. For example, if you’re promoting your gala that’s only six weeks away, paid advertising is a better choice. Whereas, if you’re promoting evergreen services your nonprofit offers, SEO makes sense.

Timeline

Consider your timeline. If you need quick results, paid is the way to go. However, if you can invest in a longer-term strategy, SEO can provide sustainable organic traffic.

Audience

Know your target audience. If you understand their online behavior, you can choose a strategy to align with their habits.

SEO and paid ads have their merits, and choosing between them depends on your goals. Often, both strategies are the most effective, leveraging the immediate impact of advertising while building a long-term presence through SEO. The key is to analyze your needs, budget, and timeline to make an informed decision.