Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing the way search engines such as Google and Yahoo view your web site, and where the results of that view place your site in search engine results. Every person who makes a web site dreams of having that site on the first page of search engine results. The reason for this is simple – over 94% of internet searchers never click through to the second page of search engine results.
But what about nonprofit organizations? They don’t need to attract customers, so is SEO really as important for nonprofits?
Absolutely. Nonprofit organizations need to find new leads for community partnerships, donors, and volunteers. The best way to do this is by ranking high in the search engine results. When people search for something related to a nonprofit organization, it looks great to have that nonprofit rank on the first page of search engine results. It’s even better if it appears in the top 2-3 results. Here are some of the top SEO methods that nonprofit organizations can use to enhance their positioning in search engine results.
Link Building
External links are links to your website that are posted on other web sites, forums, social media sites, blogs, etc. Links that are posted on low ranking sites do not help much, and links that are posted on spammy sites will actually hurt SEO. However, links posted on high ranking sites or blogs will boost SEO rankings immensely. One way to gain links is to ask high ranking sites to place a logo on their page. As long as the nonprofit is relevant to the nature of the web site, the site should have no problem with that, although many high ranking sites that receive a lot of link requests may ask for a small fee to place the logo on their site. The logo should have a link back to the nonprofit site, and this will count as a positive external link. With more of those, a very high rank in the search engine results can be achieved.
Social Media
Social media sites are a great source of SEO for nonprofit organizations. As mentioned above, link building is an integral part of any SEO marketing plan, and social media sites are the perfect way to gain more external links to your main website. Not only for links, but social media sites will help attract visitors to your main site, which makes you look better in the overall search engine results.
Content
There was a time when sites could just add a few keywords to every page, and the search engine results ranking would rise. Due to abuse of this method, many search engines now use a variety of factors to determine site ranking. Content that is now deemed helpful to readers is given a higher value than content with keywords, although keywords are still helpful.
Keeping content fresh and updated on a regular basis is another way to enhance SEO rankings. Websites that go “stale,” and don’t publish content on a regular basis will actually be penalized in SEO rankings.
Conclusion
Keeping your content updated frequently, and using keywords and positive backlinking are the best ways to help a nonprofit organization rise in the rankings. This makes the organization look like a high profile organization to potential donors, partners, and volunteers.
