WIN A MARKETING AUDIT AND STRATEGY SESSION!

GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF BETTER MARKETING!

LET'S CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS WITH A BIG GIVEAWAY!

There are a lot of things that make the holidays the most wonderful time of the year—including presents!

Signify is marking the occasion by giving away a Marketing Audit and Strategy Session, valued at $1,000!

MARKETING AUDIT AND STRATEGY SESSION

LOOK GOOD FROM EVERY ANGLE

$1,000

Perhaps you have a marketing plan in place, but it needs some help. Or maybe you don't have a clue what you're supposed to be doing, but are eager to start.

Does your brand message stand out? Is your website working for you? What is your social media actually saying to your customers and donors?

I can help you answer these questions and more. This is an opportunity for you to get—or get back—on the right track. Once you put a strategy in place, you'll have a framework to filter all your business communications and marketing decisions.

Starts with a 60-minute introductory session. Then I'll take what we talked about and evaluate your current efforts (ex: website, social media, primary print/online assets), brainstorm new ideas, and give feedback on relevant systems. I'll also provide priority recommendations for moving forward. We'll finish with a final 60-minute session two weeks later to make sure you understand your new strategy.

STARBUCKS GIFT CARD

$10

A gift card just to say thanks. Consider it an extra "perk." ;)

You can even sip on your complimentary java while we chat about your communications plan.

Free + free = twice as nice!

To enter: You must completely fill out the easy-to-answer, one-page survey below. It should take you less than 10 minutes—especially because the first few questions are your name and email!

I'm doing my best to provide helpful, high-quality content on my newsletter, blog, and social media, but I need your help to make sure I'm still addressing what's most relevant to you. I want to help your nonprofit, social enterprise, or social impact company get noticed and grow through effective marketing and communications, and that means hearing directly from you! My one-on-one clients provide me with terrific feedback, but I'd love your input as well.

The fine-ish print: You must lead or work at a nonprofit or "do good" for-profit organization. Additionally, all questions on the survey must be completed for contest entry. You may take the survey anytime between December 1 and 31, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. ET. The winner will be randomly drawn and notified the first week of January. Marketing Audit and Strategy Session must be redeemed by March 31, 2023. By filling out the survey, you agree to receiving emails from Signify, but of course, you may unsubscribe anytime.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

HERE’S WHAT LAST YEAR’S WINNER HAD TO SAY:

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I’m Kristi Porter, and I help cause-focused organizations understand and execute effective marketing campaigns so they can move from stressed to strategic. Your resources may be limited, but your potential isn’t. Whether you’re a nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business who wants to give back, I’ll show you how to have a bigger impact.

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10 Tips For Last-Minute Year-End Fundraising

Here we are again at the end of another year. It’s always coming, yet always seems to sneak up on us! And for nonprofit leaders who are up to their ears each day in helping others, long-term planning can sometimes feel like a luxury.

But year-end fundraising is essential for nonprofits because the general public is caught up in the spirit of giving and generosity (and tax deductions). And with so many others soliciting donations right now, your organization should get a piece of the pie, too. After all, there are so many people who could benefit from your work.

When the good folks at GiveCentral asked if they could share 10 tips for last-minute year-end fundraising, I easily and eagerly said yes. Whether you’ve been planning for December since this summer or are are only realizing that the New Year is around the corner, you will find a few gems below to put into practice immediately.

Wishing you much success in your year-end fundraising!

For nonprofit organizations, year-end fundraising is of undeniable importance. This is so because it is between October and December that nonprofits receive half of all annual donations. Understanding your donors and really getting to know them is important, and that’s how you will pave a way to line up your supporters.

For any kind of fundraising in the nonprofit industry, technology plays an important role. Of course, there have been changes in the nonprofit landscape after the pandemic hit and it's a mistake to try to make the old ways work in every situation. It is good news that new and improved methods have been adopted by organizations at large.

As for year-end giving, there is a lot of planning that goes into making the campaign work. However, there are a few last minute actions you can take to make sure that you are on the right track. 

1. Check Priority Goals

It is very true that all nonprofit organizations wish to perform better each year. In order to precede last year’s result, you must look at your downgrades and upgrades. Have a look at your retention—your database can indeed be a gold mine while reviewing your year-end fundraising objectives. Additionally, go over the nonprofit fundraising trends that have worked for nonprofits this year and draw a quick takeaway for your own year-end fundraising plan. 

2. Be Website Ready

Sometimes, you’re so busy paying attention to bigger things that you miss out on the simpler and the more obvious aspects. Your website is a representation of you, and what you display on it speaks volumes about your organization as a nonprofit. Fundraising for nonprofits requires updated and functional donations forms and Calls-To-Action on your website. Buttons, banners, and visuals that talk rightly about your cause and campaign is definitely a prerequisite. 

3. Go Mobile

Definitely a must-do if you haven’t already since 52.2% of website traffic is known to be generated from mobile phones. Nonprofits can increase their donations by 126% on average simply by incorporating mobile-responsive design to their websites. Therefore, mobile optimization of your website and all your communication materials is essential. Adoption of modern giving tools such as text-to-give and choosing a good keyword for the same should absolutely be on your checklist.

4. Personalized Communication

It is not easy to get people to talk about you and your organization. Yet, communication can help increase the attention that you receive. Tailored communication requires an excellent segmentation of donors. It is likely that most nonprofits already have a good sense of audience segmentation. These are mostly current donors, lapsed donors, prospective donors, and so on. Personalizing every message to each section of your audience is the best practice. Rather than launching a generic blast to your entire list, tailored messaging for each segment is more likely to result in donations and gifts. At the very least, include their name in the email to make it more individualized.

5. Adopt A Year-End Email Series

In addition to the above point, having a year-end blitz is recommended—at least three e-appeals between December 26th and 31st can help you get a better response. Set up your emailers in such a way that you can also talk about it on your blog posts. For example, write a year-end fundraising trend article on your blog that is an introduction to the emails that you’ll be sending later. As for your email subject lines, try to be engaging yet short and crisp. Considering the fact that there are more than 4.2 billion daily email users around the world, you wouldn’t want to miss out on this chance. 

6. Steward Bigger Donors

Not that you should ignore the mid-size and smaller donors, but pay extra attention to the bigger donors. At the end of the day, your goal is to bring in more funds while turning your donors into passionate fans. Have the top professionals in your organization such as Executive Director and Chairman to reach out personally to these major donors. Send personal, one-on-one emails and messages thanking your big donors and talk to them on a phone call. Know the interest of your audience and weave the conversation around it. 

7. Lest We Forget Social Media

Social media has become an everyday habit for many. Well, nothing wrong in that but this is exactly why some nonprofit organizations miss out on creating a well strategized social media communication plan. Improving your organization’s social media takes effort and pushing your year-end campaign through your social media handles takes planning. This planning, however, doesn’t have to take up too much time. Carefully pick the image or videos you want to use, have a link or a Call-To-Action button that leads to your donation page, and include an “ask” message. Create a calendar and see to it that you post about your campaign at least four times per week. 

8. Focus On The Inner Circle

Your inner circle within the organization would mean your board members and staff. Board members have a huge role in the functioning of a nonprofit—when the board takes action, everyone else follows. Ask and encourage your board members and office staff to give. It is very impressive when the staff is donating no matter how big or small; it shows oneness. You can also request the circle to spread the word to their friends and family.

9. Create A Thank You Page

In addition to auto-generated thank you messages for your donors who give online, create a dynamic thank you page to show how grateful you are. Once your supporters have made their donations, they should be taken to an inspiring thank you page that makes them feel good about having donated. An immediate email thank you should not be missed as well. 

10. Optimize On Testimonials

Show a video or an image of someone or a group that has received help from your organization, made possible due to donations from your donors. Do this everywhere—emails, website, social media, landing pages, thank you emails, etc. Visuals speak louder than words and what better way to communicate your message than this! 

Conclusion

As the year nears its end, it is good teamwork that will bring you closer to your year-end fundraising goals. Last minute or not, good communication within the team is important - discuss your ideas, ideate together, and bring the best to reality. Good luck!

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Patrick J. Coleman is the President of GiveCentral and Coleman Group Consulting. As a CEO to two enterprises, he is on a mission to help reduce costs and increase fundraising for all charities through ways such as mobile giving. With a diverse educational background and over 25 years of experience in operations leadership and strategic planning, he has developed a proprietary methodology that focuses on the art and science of negotiation to deliver measurable, implementable, and sustainable results. Mr. Coleman has served as Board President for Elk Grove United Way of Suburban Chicago, and as a board member of both Talkline/Kidsline and Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS).

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I’m Kristi Porter, and I help cause-focused organizations understand and execute effective marketing campaigns so they can move from stressed to strategic. Your resources may be limited, but your potential isn’t. Whether you’re a nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business who wants to give back, I’ll show you how to have a bigger impact.

8 Creative Ways to Gain More Email Subscribers

In a world where almost everything is accessible online, standing out and drawing people to your website is imperative to keep your mission moving forward. Gaining loyal customers or donors means keeping them in the know through your blog, newsletter, or eblasts. But first, you have to get their email address. 

Between all the blogs, online shops, and websites, all of our inboxes are already crowded with marketing emails asking for sales and donations, and the old classic “Sign up for my newsletter!” call to action just isn’t cutting it anymore. 

You need strong, creative, and enticing messaging on your opt-in forms so you can grab that email address, stay in touch with someone, and educate them on your mission. (An opt-in is when someone signs up to receive emails and ongoing communication about products, services, or information from your organization.)

Those fields that you see at the end of marketing emails or on websites asking for your email are opt-in forms, and utilizing them correctly is becoming more and more important. Consumers and donors are reluctant to add more clutter to their inbox, so your audience needs to know what they’re getting and why they’ll benefit right from the start. 

Here are eight creative alternative ways to get new email subscribers and not get sent to spam.

1) OFFER AN INCENTIVE IN RETURN

This is a big one! People love an incentive. Give them something in return for the email address they’re giving to you.

If you’re on the TOMS website shopping for shoes, you’d probably love to win a free pair (and who doesn’t love free things?!).

LeeAnne of Change the World by How You Shop hosts a different giveaway each month by collaborating with brands featured on her site. This is a great way to build your email list! 

(PSST—If you haven’t read LeeAnne’s recent guest post on turning customers and donors into passionate fans, you should definitely do that!)

This one from Plywood hits multiple points: It’s descriptive, offers an incentive, and is exclusive!

Giveaways, discounts, free downloads, and special products are all great incentives for enticing someone to join your mailing list.

2) DESCRIBE WHAT PEOPLE CAN EXPECT 

If you’re clear in your messaging about what people can expect to get from you (hopefully on a consistent basis), it’s more likely that they’ll opt-in. Tell them what to expect and how it’ll help them.

There’s full transparency in this example. You know just what you’ll get from Habitat for Humanity’s emails—how delightful!

Take a page from my own book! In this example, I state exactly what people can expect in their Inbox, how it will help them, and how often they’ll receive emails, too.

This example from Thyme 4 Friends not only addresses the problems that its audience is facing, but tells them what to expect from upcoming emails.

Bonus, this one from Warby Parker is also super short and direct! 

3) ENTICE PEOPLE AND MAKE IT FUN!

Fun, witty, creative wording grabs people’s attention and makes them more eager to hear from you. Make them laugh and they’ll be excited to open your emails.

Who doesn’t love Ben & Jerry’s? Their messaging is so fun!

Alex’s Lemonade Stand plays up their mission and their roots while encouraging people to join the fight against childhood cancer, a very worthy cause.

Punny and includes a fun quiz? Yes, please! And quizzes are very popular right now. While not directly calling for people to join their newsletter, Bombas still requires an email address to receive the results. (Most people do . . . and you get added to their email list at the same time.)

When appropriate, let some humor shine through to connect with your audience. It’s a welcome and fresh reprieve from more serious, cut and dry marketing efforts, especially among younger generations.

4) SHOW PROOF 

Throw a few stats or social proof in the mix. This makes you more credible to potential donors and customers and helps convince them that they need to stay informed about your organization.

Highlighting how many subscribers you already have, as Cru does here, can be a good way to grab people's attention and make them want to be part of your crowd.

Girl Scouts demonstrates that their content is proven to help you, which can make parents more curious as to what they have to say.

5) KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET

Keep it simple! Our eyes can glaze over long paragraphs, so keep it to a minimum. You want them to get the gist quickly. Try using just a few compelling key words to convey your point and get those email subscribers.

Everyone wants to actually enjoy reading their emails, right? The Good Trade has a simple, clean opt-in form.

Also from The Good Trade, this one highlights that you can expect uplifting content in just one sentence. We all want to hear more good news these days.

The two examples above are also great because they convey that their content is light and enjoyable in addition to beneficial.

So Worth Loving wants you to know that they are there to help you through the hard times, and “embrace” and “empower” are two incredible words that pack a punch.

6) MAKE IT EXCLUSIVE 

Creating a sense of exclusivity makes people feel special, and incentivizes them to sign up so they don’t miss anything. FOMO is real!

By using the word “insider,” Causeartist makes their content exclusive and lets you know there are special things you’ll hear about by opting into their emails that you otherwise wouldn’t.

Baronfig highlights that you’ll be the first to know about their new products, limited releases, and more exclusive content if you sign up for their newsletter. And they keep it brief!

Similarly, State Bags also makes use of exclusivity here, and lets you know exactly what to expect from their emails. A win win!

Allbirds has a great form here. They describe what you can expect to see, have a catchy header, and highlight the exclusivity of joining their list. Sounds like more insider discounts!

7) PLAY TO EMOTION

This is especially effective if you’re a nonprofit. Appeal to people’s emotions. Why should they care? What do they need to know about? How will your emails keep them informed?

This one from Thorn is simple in design yet still descriptive. It asserts their mission clearly and appeals to a supporter’s values.

New Story Charity makes sure potential donors know that 100% of their donations really go to helping families in need and encourages people to stay in the know so they can be part of the solution.

The call to action in Malala Fund’s newsletter form is super gripping and impactful. It makes you want to step up and join the fight.

8) INSPIRE YOUR AUDIENCE 

Use empowering and inspiring messaging that will make people want to be a part of your mission—and stay up to date on it!

Goodgigs uses action-forward, empowering messaging to gain more subscribers. (And they’re upfront with how often people can expect to receive emails!)

BuildOn’s method here is clear, informative, and powerful. They’re letting you know that by joining their email list, you’re becoming part of something big and impactful.

Simple, effective, brief. Preemptive Love cuts right to the chase and further demonstrates their mission, inspiring people to take action.

 A Few More Tips for Getting More Emails

Here are a few more tips to consider when formulating the perfect opt-in messaging:

1. Tell people how many emails they’ll get. Remove the fear of constant spam by being straightforward with how many emails you’ll send them over a specific time, or even give them an option! (ex: Receive weekly updates.)

2. Match your messaging to the page people land on. If your form is on a blog post, personalize it to the content they’re currently reading. Since they’re already loving what they’re seeing, this will increase chances that they sign up for future emails.

3. Make your call to action (CTA) button clear and creative. Avoid the typical “Subscribe” or “Enter” text on your button and jazz it up to match your organization’s mission or personality! 

4. Have multiple points of capture on your website. Keep a form on the bottom of your home page, at the end of your blog posts, anywhere you can! There should be several of them sprinkled throughout your site since people will navigate your website in different ways.

5. Don’t ask for a ton of info. The more info you ask for, the less sign-ups you’ll receive. It’s best to just ask for a first name and an email, or just an email address. 

6. Conduct testing. Try a few different things out. What works for one audience might not work for another, so do some tests and see what performs best.

Now, go forth and get those emails! Your message is worth spreading as far and as wide as possible, so avoid “Sign up for our newsletter” and, instead, highlight the aspects that make your work unique.

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PIN THIS POST FOR LATER:

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I’m Kristi Porter, and I help cause-focused organizations understand and execute effective marketing campaigns so they can move from stressed to strategic. Your resources may be limited, but your potential isn’t. Whether you’re a nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business who wants to give back, I’ll show you how to have a bigger impact.

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This post was co-written by Kristi Porter and Megan Westbrook.

4 Ways to Help Donors and Customers Find Your Social Impact Mission on Google

Getting found by your ideal customers and donors on Google . . . it’s the Holy Grail, isn’t it? It’s one of the main reasons you created your website, but you quickly learned that it isn’t a “build it and they will come” scenario.

Or, is it?

While it’s not easy and it does take time, there is one method that you can’t overlook if you want your nonprofit or social enterprise to show up on that coveted first page of Google: Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

By this point in Internet history, you’ve probably heard the term, but you may be lost as to what it is and how to make it work for your mission. I know I was. For several years, I tried to learn from the latest guru but kept getting overwhelmed and scratching my head—until I met Meg Casebolt of Love At First Search.

Meg is the first person to make SEO click for me, and she’s going to break down some of the basics for you below. If you start to put her advice into action, you will see results. After taking her course, I have seen a steady uptick in new leads and clients from Google! And it’s exciting every single time.

Your work deserves more attention and with Meg’s advice, you can help ideal customers and donors find your social impact mission on Google.

Let me guess, when you first announced your nonprofit or social enterprise and launched your website, you expected people to come to you in flocks. And maybe they did . . . at first! Who wouldn’t? You’re awesome and you believe in what you do, and it’s having an impact on the world! 

But now that the initial excitement has worn off, your social media channels aren’t getting as many clicks as you’d like and it seems that all your efforts are falling flat. You know that you have the power to change lives, but people just aren’t finding you.

What if I told you there’s a way to help more people find your amazing cause online?

When people want something, they search for it, and if you set your website up correctly, it can show up around the clock to lead them to learn more about your cause. The secret to getting those new leads from Google? It’s called search engine optimization, or SEO.

I know it might sound intimidating or even a little sketchy (we all get those spammy emails!), but I promise that the SEO tactics below are all based in solid business practices. Good SEO, applied to your blog posts in particular, will help every part of your online presence so that more people are aware of the beneficial work you’re doing.

Wait, What is SEO?

To put it simply, SEO is a collection of activities to improve the amount and quality of organic traffic reaching your website from search engines. It’s the way that people find answers to their questions on traditional search engines (like Google, Bing, and Yahoo) and also on sites you may not think of as search engines (like YouTube, Pinterest, eBay, and Amazon) and even industry specific directories like Charity Navigator or Guidestar by Candid.

Optimizing for search means that you’re trying to get search engines like Google—the world’s most popular search engine—to see your website and blog posts or other content as both knowledgeable and trustworthy, and to lead people to it quickly and efficiently.

And the combination of more people finding you plus being seen as knowledgeable and trustworthy means an increase in sales or donations.

There are three main components of SEO:

1. Content (pages, blogs, videos, podcast show notes, infographics, etc.)

   Search engines are constantly reviewing new and fresh content on the internet. When someone types in an online query, Google searches through a huge index of text and tries to find content that has the information they’re looking for. 

   When it comes to content, a major part of the SEO process is keyword research (aka figuring out what people are searching for) by finding the intersection of:

   • What you want to be found for

   • What people are searching for

   • What doesn’t already have a gazillion results

2. Ease of Use

   When search engines deliver results, they want people to get the answers they’re looking for quickly and easily. So, if your site takes forever to load, is hard to read on a phone, or has tons of dead-end links, Google doesn’t want to share those results with people. Search engines want to recommend sites that not only answer people’s questions but also look good doing it—just like you, hot stuff!

3. Reputation

   Google relies on other sites to tell it how credible and trustworthy your site is. So, how do other sites give you the digital equivalent of upvotes? By linking to your site. And for once, the SEO gods have given us an easy-to-understand term for this: backlinks. 

   Backlinks are any links from other sites to yours. The best backlinks come from websites in your industry that have high authority (aka they have a lot of backlinks going into their site).

You can write the best blog post in the world and have the smoothest user experience, but if nobody trusts you? Womp womp, sad trombones.

What are some easy ways to get great backlinks for your nonprofit? Sign up for popular directories like Guidestar by Candid and Charity Navigator, post your job listings on Idealist, write guest blog posts for the Chronicle of Philanthropy or Nonprofit Quarterly . . . and make sure they all link to your website.

For you guys in the social enterprise space, you can become a member of the Social Enterprise Alliance, register as a B Corp, participate in 1% for the Planet, or any other number of organizations that have trusted online directories.

Even more PR-related opportunities like being a guest on a podcast (that has online show notes) or being listed as a speaker on a conference website helps to build those coveted backlinks.

Local SEO for Nonprofits and Social Enterprise Businesses

If you serve a specific geographic area with your services, you also want to consider Local SEO tactics. 

The first step for Local SEO is to set up a free Google My Business account, where you can easily tell Google where you’re located (if you have a brick and mortar location) and/or where your service area is (if you’re a home-based business or meet your clients at another location), as well as what you offer and who you serve.

Google My Business is a great tool not only for you to directly share your business information with Google, but also to solicit feedback from your clients, who can add reviews and user-generated content like photos directly to your account. This would then allow searchers to see them in Google Maps and/or local listings . . . like the B Corp company that installed our solar panels, which shows up in search results for terms like “green energy rochester ny.”

But how do you FIND those phrases that people might be looking for? 

Keyword Research for Cause-Focused Organizations

You probably already have some ideas for topics you could show up for like “educational charity atlanta” or “community gardening initiative” or “microfinance for poverty alleviation.” And you might have those words plastered all over your website. 

But is that really what your people are looking for? How do you know what they’re typing into Google?

Simple: keyword research. 

Keywords are the phrases in your web content that make it possible for people to find your site via search engines.

And often, the words that WE use (as people who deeply understand and care about our missions) are different from the words that new people search. 

For example, TOMS shoes starts their website with “we’re in the business to improve lives,” but do you know what keywords their traffic actually comes from? Keywords like “booties” (they get ~5000 visitors/mo from that), “wedges” (3500 visitors/mo). And “slip on shoes” (~2500 visitors/mo).

And it’s not just those large categories that TOMS shows up for . . . they also get about 75 people per month for “black canvas shoes” and 65 for “captain america shoes.” 

Those people aren’t specifically looking for TOMS because of their mission or corporate giving program, they just need new shoes, and it’s not until people get to the website that they find out about the company’s social impact. That’s not necessarily what they’re searching for, but it might be why they trust the company and want to buy once they discover it.

Here are three steps to help you get started with keyword research:

1. See what people are asking about your topic

   The best way to answer people’s questions is to go to the places they’re asking them and look for trends. So poke around the web! How do you know what phrases people are actually searching for once they get to Google? Easy! Use a keyword research tool.
   Type your topic into an idea generator tool like Answer the Public or Also Asked to get some fun ideas of the types of things people are looking for. 

2. Find the right keyword phrases

   One of the best free keyword research tools is Ubersuggest. It gives a ton of keyword research data to you—for free—in a user-friendly way. Using a tool like this, you can do some research on the keywords and topics you want to get out to the world and get an idea of how many people are searching for it. You can also get an idea of the SEO difficulty of these keywords, or how competitive that search term is. The lower the number, the easier it is to rank for that search term.

3. Choose 1 primary keyword and 2-3 secondary keywords

   In order to be super clear with Google about your topic or expertise, you should choose ONE KEYWORD that is most important to your end goal so that your writing has something to focus on. Then, you can sprinkle a few other keywords throughout your writing to make sure Google knows that they’re related. 

   If you’re having trouble narrowing down a keyword, don’t worry about it! Select a group of keywords for a specific post, and then if you find other keywords you like, write another post to talk about those!

You can create as much content as you’d like, and you can rank for infinitely keywords. The Red Cross has over 300,000 keywords pointing to over 10,000 pages on their site—heck, they have 14,000 keywords just about CPR!—so don’t feel like you have to limit yourself to a top three for your entire site. 

Keyword selection criteria

How do you select a good keyword, you might ask? For my visual learners, these are the three qualities of a good keyword. We’re aiming for that sweet spot in the middle). 

And here are some examples of how detailed your search terms can be, so you can start thinking about the level of detail that you need to rank for a high volume, low competition keyword:

Let’s take a look at what comes up when we search for “social impact” in Ubersuggest.

Here, we see that people are indeed searching for “social impact,” and we can see all the important metrics. VOLUME is the average monthly number of people searching that phrase, CPC and PD are about how many people are running Google Ads and how much they’re paying, and SD is “search difficulty” (how easy it would be to rank for that term).  

So when you’re looking at these numbers: The higher the volume number the better, and the lower the “SD” (aka SEO difficulty, aka competition) number, the better.

And if we search “social responsibility,” as seen below, we have even better volume numbers, meaning more people are looking for content relating to social responsibility! So, you may want to focus on a blog more catered to this topic.

Alright, so you’ve done your research and you have a keyword now, but I bet you’re wondering where it should go on your site or in your blog . . .

Where Do I PUT the Keyword in My Content? 

There are seven key places where you can include your keyword in the text of your website and your content. You should aim to include it in all these places, but if it doesn’t quite fit into one, it’s okay. It’s more important to be easy to read than to have the perfect placement.

1. Your SEO title (the blue text in search results)

2. Your URL slug (the part after the domain)

3. Meta description (the black text in search results)

4. Headline (the title of your post and your H1 headline)

5. In a subheading (H2-H6: you can have as many of these as you want)

6. In your image description(s) as an “alt” tag

7. Sprinkled throughout the body copy

The most important place to include your keyword is your SEO title, which is the blue text that shows up on the search engine results page. You want to include a keyword, but also write a title that people actually want to click on! 

I like to use CoSchedule’s Headline Studio to double check my post headlines (and email subject lines) to make sure they’re the right length, follow a great format (lists and questions do well for SEO titles), and include powerful word choices that make people more likely to click. 

 If you can’t immediately convince people who see your site on Google to click on it, it doesn’t matter how good your content is! You have to make an immediate impression. And your SEO Title will do just that.

Questions to Ask Before You Write a Single Word

Now, before you go writing a few pages and invest hours into your next blog post (or whatever content you plan to create) to promote your stellar social enterprise or nonprofit, ask yourself these four questions to get clear about how that content can get found on Google and turn your readers into customers or donors:  

1. Why does my audience need to know this?

   If you can’t identify why you’re writing the post: don’t write it. BUT. If you can pinpoint the problem that you’re solving or advice you’re giving your reader by writing a post? By all means, continue.

2. How is this different from existing content on this topic?

   You’re probably not the first person to write about whatever is on your mind. But you do have a unique point of view to share with your audience. Take a look around at what’s being written by other people in your industry. Think of a new approach to what’s already been said. Showcase what makes you different.

3. How can it help me when someone finds this?

   Remember, everything on your website should help lead the reader to becoming a customer or donor. What’s the end product, service, or mission that your audience needs or should know about? 

4. What do I want the reader to do after reading?

   What’s the goal of this post? What will be the Call to Action (CTA) for the reader to thank you for generously sharing your awesomeness? Should they make a donation, buy a product, subscribe to your newsletter, or attend your event? Make sure everything you write is leading to that CTA.

Going the Extra Mile: A Quick SEO Blog Checklist

Now that you know what people are searching for and you’ve got those keywords selected and prioritized, it’s time to get writing! To make sure you really have all your ducks in a row and to ensure your blog is in the best position to get noticed, follow the below steps before publishing anything. 

• Choose your topic

• Research keywords (remember: specific, relevant, uncommon)

• Draft your title (Include your keyword and keep it intriguing!) 

• Write the thing!

  • Break up your ideas with subheadings

  • Work in your keyword and related words naturally (ideally every ~250 words)

• Add images (you should have at least one as the featured image)

  • Name the file with your keyword

  • Add an alt tag on each

• Add internal links to other resources on your site

• Add external links to relevant places around the internet

• Prep the listing

  • Make sure the title is 30-65 characters

  • Update the URL/Slug (include keyword here!)

  • Write the meta description (155 characters)

• If you have Wordpress, double check your Yoast traffic lights.

Get the full comprehensive SEO checklist here.

Need some hands-on support with SEO for your social enterprise or nonprofit? 

If you don’t want to DIY your SEO, come check out my Attract & Activate membership, where we help small businesses and cause-focused organizations to reach and convert their ideal customers and donors through the power of SEO.

(KP note: I can attest first-hand as to what a patient and fun teacher is! There is a strong learning curve for a lot of us when it comes to SEO, but Meg will do everything in her power to make sure you can understand and implement her ideas. Plus, after those leads start coming in, you’ll be glad you took the time to learn a new skill!)

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Meg Casebolt is the owner and founder of Love At First Search and has been helping online business owners create beautiful, search-friendly websites and strategic content for the past eight years. 

Before launching Love At First Search, Meg spent nine years in the nonprofit sector, working in the development teams at Big Brothers Big Sisters and Partners In Health, while earning her Masters in Community Economic Development.

She’s your no-B.S. bestie who makes it super easy for your dream customers to find—and adore!—your organization online, resulting in effortless web traffic, consistent customers, soaring profit and donations, and SO much more time (and sanity)!

Website I Facebook I Instagram I LinkedIn I Pinterest I Youtube

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I’m Kristi Porter, and I help cause-focused organizations understand and execute effective marketing campaigns so they can move from stressed to strategic. Your resources may be limited, but your potential isn’t. Whether you’re a nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business who wants to give back, I’ll show you how to have a bigger impact.