Google Ad Grant Website Requirements for Nonprofits

You’ve heard about the Google Ad Grant and the $10,000 per month in free advertising for your nonprofit. But before you can access that funding, your website needs to meet Google’s specific requirements.

These requirements can make or break your application. Miss one requirement, and you’re denied before you even get started.

But even after you’re approved, your website needs to be designed and optimized to actually convert that traffic into supporters, donors, and volunteers. 

Otherwise, you’ll join the majority of nonprofits who only use a fraction of their available $10,000 monthly budget.

In this guide, we’ll cover the mandatory website policies you need for approval. And in part 2, we’ll dive into the website best practices that will help you maximize your grant once you have it.

Google Ad Grant Website Policy Requirements

Let’s start by looking at the technical requirements that are required before your nonprofit applies for the Google Ad Grant. 

Domain Ownership

You must fully own your domain to qualify for the Google Ad Grant.

I know, this might seem obvious, but it’s also where many nonprofits run into trouble. Especially when it comes to subdomains. 

If you’re sending traffic to something like yournonprofit.eventbrite.com or yournonprofit.networkforgood.com, you don’t actually own that domain. Eventbrite or Network for Good does.

Here’s the simple test: look at what comes just prior to the .org or .com in your URL. If it’s your organization’s domain name, you’re good to go. If it’s someone else’s platform (like .eventbrite.com or .constantcontact.com), you’ll need to send traffic to a page on your actual domain instead.

You can work around this by creating landing pages on your owned domain that then direct visitors to third-party platforms, but the initial traffic from your Google Ad Grant must go to your domain.

That also means you can’t send traffic to YouTube, Substack, or other platforms directly from your Google ads. 

SSL Certification

Your website must have an SSL certificate and serve all pages via HTTPS. This is a basic web security standard for any website that Google requires for all Ad Grant participants.

You can check your current status by looking at your website URL. It should start with https:// rather than http://. Most modern web browsers will also show a lock icon next to secure websites.

If you don’t have an SSL certificate yet, contact your web hosting provider. Many hosts offer free SSL certificates and can help you implement this quickly. It’s become such a standard practice that many hosting companies now include SSL automatically with new websites.

(If you’re using Wired Impact for your website, you’re all good on this front. Your SSL certificate was set up when your website launched and is included forever.)

Website Speed

Google expects your website to load quickly. However, what makes this tricky is that the Google Ad Grant website policies don’t have a specific website speed that they require. Instead Google simply says “Your website pages should load quickly for users on various devices and connection speeds.”

In my experience, if your website scores at least a 50 out of a 100 using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool you should have no issues with approval. Scores below 50 may require improvements before your application gets accepted.

The most common speed issues come from unoptimized images, but luckily this is also the easiest win. Resizing and compressing large photos can dramatically improve your load times without affecting visual quality.

Clear Nonprofit Status

Google needs to immediately understand that your organization is a nonprofit when they review your website. This means making your mission and nonprofit status obvious to any visitor.

The best way to do this is to use the hero section of your homepage along with a clear Mission and Vision page to explain your work in a way that’s easy to understand.

It can also be helpful to add your nonprofit registration number (EIN in the US) to the footer since that immediately shows Google and users that you’re an active nonprofit.

Google explains that you can clarify your mission on your about page as well, but you can’t expect Google’s review team (or the average website visitor) to click through your site just to understand your mission. Instead, make it immediately clear right on your homepage!

Original Content

Your website must feature content that your nonprofit wrote. This can seem daunting at first, but most nonprofits have plenty of existing content and they simply need to publish it. 

This rule doesn’t mean you need to have a dozen articles on your site, or any for that matter. Instead, Google simply wants you to have a clear explanation of your mission and vision that’s written in your own words. 

Not only does it help you get approved for the Google Ad Grant, but original content also helps visitors better understand what your nonprofit actually does and why it matters. 

Keep it simple, focus on explaining your mission in your own words and you’ll be good to go. 

Limited Commercial Activity

Your nonprofit website should focus primarily on your mission rather than commercial activities. Of course, donations aren’t included as commercial activities and you’re always welcome to promote donations on your website and with the Google Ad Grant…and you should too! 

While nonprofits can have some revenue generating activities, these shouldn’t dominate your website or appear to be your primary purpose.

Acceptable revenue activities include things like selling mission-related merchandise, offering paid training programs, or charging fees for certain services. The key is that these activities should clearly support your nonprofit mission rather than existing purely for profit.

What you cannot have are display advertisements, Google AdSense, or affiliate marketing links. These types of commercial elements will result in automatic rejection of your Google Ad Grant application.

Functional Website Technology

Your website needs to work properly across all devices and browsers. This means no broken links, clear navigation, and a mobile responsive design that functions well on smartphones and tablets.

Spend a few minutes clicking through your website on both desktop and mobile devices. Make sure all your links work, forms submit properly, and visitors can easily find what they’re looking for. 

However, keep in mind that Google is looking for big issues here. If you have a broken link on the 15th paragraph of the blog post you published two years ago…you’re going to be okay! 

Don’t sweat every single detail and instead make sure you have the big issues under control like clear, functional navigation and mobile responsiveness. 

Closing Thoughts

Getting your website ready for the Google Ad Grant doesn’t have to be overwhelming. 

While these requirements might seem like a lot at first glance, many nonprofits already meet several of them without even knowing it.

Instead of a “to-do list” start an “already done list” and get some easy wins on the board. Then take action on the rest and get your nonprofit approved for the Google Ad Grant!

Remember, these requirements aren’t designed to keep you out of the grant program. They’re actually setting you up for success once you start driving traffic to your site. A fast, secure, mobile-friendly website with clear messaging will convert those Google Ad Grant visitors into supporters much more effectively than a site that’s missing these fundamentals.

Once you get approved, your website journey is just beginning. In part 2 of this guide, we’ll dive into the best practices that will help you actually convert that traffic into real results for your nonprofit.

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