SEO

SEO for Non Profits, Charities & Other Good Folks

For non profits, charities, and other value-based organisations, the tactics and techniques of SEO are the same as for any other site.

But not everything is the same.

There are two main differences to consider:

  • Strategy in terms of keyword mapping and content planning
  • Who you choose to work with
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Why SEO keyword strategy is different for non profits

Choosing keywords can be easy if you’re a regular ecommerce store. Sell mirrors? Your keywords are things like “full length mirrors”, “wall mirrors”, and “bathroom mirrors”. Simple.

But charities and non profits need to dig deeper. A single charity might need to consider all of these:

  • Keywords based on the type of charity e.g. “wildlife charity”, “conservation charity”, etc.
  • Donation keywords
  • Local keywords
  • Informational keywords that can help spread the charity’s core message and educate the public
  • Ecommerce keywords (if you have a shop), often including words like “charity”, “sustainable”, etc.
  • Keywords relating to services or events

Some of these are more likely to drive sales and conversions than others, but they can all be considered as part of the overall portfolio.

As a non profit or sustainable business, you’re as likely to sell based on who you are as what you’re selling. That gives you a potential edge over the competition.

That messaging needs to come across loud and clear. And it needs to be baked into your SEO strategy from the very beginning.

What isn’t different?

Although the strategy might be different, the core principles of SEO remain the same.

SEO for any site is built on three core areas:

  • On-page SEO: the quality of content on your site, the keywords used, how pages interlink, meta tags, and more.
  • Off-page SEO: backlinks to your site from other sites, plus mentions and NAP (name, address, phone number) citations across the web.
  • Technical SEO: how easy your site is for search engines and users to explore. Do pages load quickly? Are links broken? Is structured data / schema in place?

The basics are simple, but it takes a lot of experience to get the best results. Google and other search engines regularly update their algorithms, and we now have AI visibility to consider too.

It’s important to see SEO as an iterative process that needs to be worked on over an extended period of time.

Choose someone who shares your values

If you’re a sustainable business, not for profit, or charity, you probably don’t want to work with an SEO agency that doesn’t share your values.

A smaller agency or consultant will probably be best — particularly if they can demonstrate that they:

  • Use green energy, banking, and pensions
  • Don’t leave computers turned on overnight
  • Have green web hosting
  • Are passionate about making a real difference
  • Don’t work with polluting or morally-dubious companies
  • Don’t consume, consume, consume
  • Love animals

If you’re green, you probably want an SEO expert who’s green. If you’re vegan, you probably want an SEO expert who’s vegan. If you’re queer, you probably want an SEO expert who’s queer.

It really is as simple as that.

Of course, you also want someone who’ll do a good job for a fair price!

At The Robin’s Egg, we tick all the boxes. I have well over a decade of SEO experience, as well as being up to date on strategy for AI visibility and the latest algorithm updates. And although I’m based in Shropshire, I work with people all over the UK, in Ireland, and beyond.

I also write regularly for Search Engine Land.

Get in touch today.