From a business perspective, private and public companies function a bit differently than nonprofit organizations. Not only are their purposes different, but the way they accomplish their goals are different as well. But there is one thing they have in common: a need for SEO.
For a nonprofit to have online success, there needs to be a certain amount of time and effort given to search engine optimization efforts. However, knowing exactly how to go about completing these efforts in a way that will most benefit your cause can be difficult to understand. To help all nonprofits on their SEO journey, here are three tips for strengthening the SEO efforts of nonprofit organizations.
Focus On Building Natural External Links
According to the writers of SEObook.org, the most important area for nonprofits to work on for their SEO efforts is external link building. The reason for this is because the more external links you’re able to acquire that point to your website, the higher your pages will rank and the easier it will be for donors to find your website.
This is also a good area to focus on because most commercial businesses don’t see nonprofits as a threat to their business. Because of this, make sure anyone you’re trying to get to link to you understands that you’re a nonprofit. This could result in more willingness to link to your content and give your SEO efforts a boost.
Give Your Visitors The Content They Want
A huge part of SEO now is creating relevant and useful content for your visitors. This is especially important for nonprofits because you both want and need your content to resonate with your visitors in order for them to feel prompted to make a donation through your website.
To encourage this type of behavior, Marc Koenig of NonprofitHub.org suggests asking yourself questions like what will your visitors find most helpful or interesting before you begin making content to publish on your website. If you’re able to tap into what types of content your visitors want or need in order to become converted to your cause, you’ll find that your content efforts will help put your SEO exactly where you need it to be.
Use Social Media To Give Your Website Traction
Social media can be a great way to not only get the word out about your cause but to also help your SEO efforts by being a springboard for links. According to Ilona Bray of Nolo.com, search engines see the amount of “likes” or “shares” you get on social media as a sign that you’re offering something of high quality, therefore also raising the ranking ability of your website and its content — all of which is helpful to your SEO. The best way to take advantage of this is to consistently share quality, useful content that your community is interested in and finds valuable.
Tactical, strategic SEO efforts really can make a huge difference for the success of your nonprofit’s website and online visibility. To take full advantage of the traffic and donations you can receive from an online audience, use the tips mentioned above to move your SEO success in an upward direction.
Originally posted on October 28, 2015 @ 3:56 am
