Helping Non-Profits on the Internet
Ranked #1,584 in Nonprofits, #331,941 overall | Donates to Food for Everyone Foundation
Internet marketing, SEO, PPC,, Blogs, Web 2.0
Rule one: Write, write, write!; Content is the king if you write quality articles the ;links; the Queen of the Internet will come naturally.
Rule two create very specific Squidoo lenses about your organization use your keywords.
Rule three Join SquidU and network help others with their lenses.
Rule four Do what you love and help others with your knowledge.;
Help for Non-Profits: Part 1
A very important part of success lies in following basic fundamentals. As the search engines "algorhythum" improve, there will be very little room for quick buck "black hat" websites. So, what else is there to fall back on? What about common sense?
Let me be very clear. There is no magic bullet or magic light switch you can flip and get to the number one position for your competitive keywords unless no one searches for them. That is the end of the story.
If an internet marketing company or SEO company tells you they can guarantee you a number one position, cancel the check.
Ok - so lets start at the beginning - Why are you doing this?
Are you in it only for the money, or because you are passionate about and love what you doing, and what you are promoting?
Ok, fair warning!
Lets get into the meat your new website.
A. Keywords
Everything on the net starts and ends with content. Content simply means that an article is comprised of words. Sounds easy enough, right? What do you think people want when looking for your product or service? Take a few minutes, and just brainstorm. Write down what you think.
Now we have a list of what YOU think. How do we find out what terms/keywords people REALLY search for when looking for your non-profit?
We suggest using the Seobook Keyword Tool from Aaron Wall. The link is listed below for this first step. It is free, as all information and tools listed here will be.
Take your broadest keyword phrase. Next,take 2-5 hours, and brainstorm with your team. You might be surprised what keyword phrases people are actually searching. If your non-profit were unknown, why would people search for your name? Integrate your name into your keywords, but also be aware of what people search for when looking for a non-profit in your specific area.
Do not dwell on all the numbers. Use your highest traffic terms and name, where they naturally and logically fit into your content.
The most important thing is to get you into the rhythm of writing frequently. This will be your bread and butter as you go forward. Do not stress about your list of keywords, just write for the reader not the search engines.
Help for Non-Profits: Part 2
There are two modes of thinking on this: One mode is to use your keywords in your URL, the second is to use your company name. We lean more towards using the company name. You can always forward the URL. For example, www.abcd.com forwards to our long keyword URL ABCDEF.com. We probably should have just bought www.abcd.com making it as easy as possible for people to remember.
Buying a domain should be one of your first priorities. Buy your domain within your first few weeks, and add some very good content (30-40 pages) for the search engines to spider while you are busy creating the rest of the site. Hint: write, write, write.
C. Content
Before you launch your site, have a minimum of forty (40) pages already created. Take your time. Realize that this is the beginning of establishing yourself as an expert in your non-profit. Think logically. Talk about the "who, what, where, when, why, and how" of your non- profit. If you believe in your topic, it is pretty easy to write about.
For example, a non-profit teaching organic gardening. Here is a list of some of the content and articles that you can create: The history of organic gardening; what is organic gardening; how to create an awesome organic garden; who are some of the experts in the field of organic gardening; can I create an organic garden where I live; why you should start an organic garden? Within each of these topics, you can focus down even deeper.
D. Design of Your Site
Take a look at the www.Google.com website. The clean design makes you think simplicity. This is for two major reasons. The first reason is your visitors. The second, the search engines. Do not get fancy with flash movies and such. Now is the time to build yourself as an expert in your field. Visitors and search engines love high quality information. Use a simple, easy to read design.
E. Earn Some Extra Points with On-Page Optimization
Remember those keywords? Remember all the content you wrote, and are going to relentlessly continue doing? Make sure you include your keywords in your page title tags and the title of your article. It is also a good idea to include your keyword phrase in the last sentence of your content. Do not fixate on keyword optimization. Above all, write naturally.
Help For Non-Profits: Part 3
Take a look at your non-profit. And now, let's take a peek at organic gardening again. What do we need in order to create an organic garden? Seeds, fertilizer, garden tools, knowledge on how to plant, and harvest correctly. Humm, what else? We could sure use some containers, weed block, some automatic watering supplies. The list goes on and on. Here is an exercise for you. Take your non-profit's niche and pretend you have a $15,000.00 dollar budget. What would you buy, and why? Now, go find the products and bookmark each site. This will come in handy later for two reasons: One, you might need these products in the future, Two, they are potential link partners. If you do not dream big, you are selling yourself short.
G. Keeping Your "Global Links" Under Control
You know the little links you see on every page on a website? Keep them simple and clean. Keep your global count down. In other words, do not have 40 links from the homepage. Break down sub-categories from each main link. Make sure you use a sitemap to accomplish a complete search engine "crawl".
H. Help When You Can
Contact other non-profits in your niche. If money is your only goal, your chances of success are slim. It might sound crazy but helping others feels great, and in our opinion, there is a karmic balance out there. Worse case scenario, you help someone and learn more about your niche.
I. Integrity
Use only white hat techniques. There is no "get rich quick" method - they are scams. If it feels wrong, do not do it! You know deep inside what is right and wrong. Instead of looking for quick fixes, write some content.
J. Just Write
What do visitors and the search engines like most? Fresh, relevant, valuable information - that's what. Get into the groove of writing. Do not get upset if you get writers block. The more you writ, the less this will be an issue. Myself, I go work in the garden.
K. Kick the Competition's Butt
You can check up on other non-profits in your niche using another one of Aaron's tools. Some people say it is not good to check the backlinks of your competition. But, you must know everything about your competition. Wouldn't you check out the local garden store if you were starting up a nursery?
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Help for Non-Profits: Part 4
There are two theories on link building. One theory is that content will always rule the net. The other is that incoming links account for most of your ranking. Our suggestion is write 70% of the time, and seek links the other 30%. By producing high quality content, you will have people link to you naturally.
Links are very important. One way to create incoming links is by starting a Blog about your non-profit. Another suggested method is to write articles. Write, then submit them to article directories and other websites in your field. You can publish an article on your primary site, but make sure you add to it so that the content is at least 70% different. Hint: Start a LENS about your non-profit. Here is an example.
http://www.squidoo.com/foodforeveryonefoundation
.
When you ask a site to link to you, use your keywords as the anchor text. Set up ten variations for people to choose from.
Caution! Only link to and from other websites in your industry or niche. The greater the relevance, the better. Please, do not fall for the "ten thousand links in two days" trap.
As an example of quality versus quantity, we would rather get one incoming link from an educational or governmental institution than one hundred low quality links. Do not bother with link farms or Blog spamming - it will only hurt you.
M. Make the Most of the Obvious
Contact people in your area and tell them about your new site. Are there local groups in your niche? Grass roots and local marketing efforts will always be important. Word of mouth can still make or break you.
N. New Content Weekly
Are you seeing a familiar theme here? Is there any way you can tie your niche into holidays or birthdays? Can you create a special day for your product? Create new, fresh content for every occasion you can think of. Content is King!
O. Other Opportunities
With the search engines tightening the screws, you must be innovative in your marketing. How about a contest or a partnership with a local college or television station? The Internet is turning into a melting pot of traditional and digital marketing. Go for it! Do not be afraid to try something new.
P. Press Releases
Do not underestimate the value of a press release. Use your keywords / company name in the title and content. Make direct contact with reporters in your industry. There are many free online resources. Lee at Top Rank has compiled a great list. (see below)
Help For Non-Profits: Part 5
There was a time when you could slap a 300-word article up, and do alright. That is not the case any longer. Take your time and create a masterpiece versus a quick keyword stuffed article. That means doing some proofing . . . get used to it, embrace it. You will often find new insight when stepping away from a report for a few hours. For longer content, such as this, have another qualified person proof your work. You will find the words run together at times.
R. RSS: Real Simple Syndication
When you design your page, be sure to include feeds. The advantage of feeds is that they bypass traditional email. To put it simply, you go to a web page, and it has all the new content from your feeds. My Yahoo is an example of how I gather my feeds. Once a person subscribes to your feed, they just click on their feed page, and see what you have recently added.
S. Submitting Your Site
The best way to get your site indexed is via another page listing your website link. Does it hurt to submit to the engines? No, but make sure you have some good quality content (remember the 40 pages) before you submit.
T. Traffic
Traffic is the holy grail of the Internet. That being said, without content, you would not get traffic. Submissions to the major directories will get your traffic started. Add in a large dose of content, gather incoming links, and you have a base from which to work. Building traffic, content, and incoming links form a stool. Without all three, you going to fall down and go boom!
With traffic, you must know where your visitors come from and why. One of your very first investments should be in a great statistical program. You need to know what pages people enter on, what pages they exit from, and what keywords they are clicking on (anchor text) to get to your page.
U. Useability
While in the design process, make sure your code is easy for the search engines to spider. We recommend using a content management system so people can add content easily. Make 100% sure that each of your pages is getting cached by the search engines
Help for Non-Profits: Part 6
Contact the best in your industry. Everyone started at the bottom. If the expert is too busy to return your email, move on to the next. This is an extension of networking, link building, and content creation.
W. Why
Why are you doing this?? Hmm, sounds familiar? There will be a calm before the storm - be prepared for it. Ground yourself, set goals for yourself. Always dream - and dream big!
X. Extras
Always look for extra ways to promote your non-profit. Your website is your main marketing platform. Send people to it.
Y. You
You will determine success or failure. You can change your life, and the lives of many others by following these suggestions. You can do it!
Z. Zero
Zero work equals zero success. You must be passionate, almost rabid. Ignore the naysayers and build your non-profit. In a year, you will be rocking!
Internet Marketing for Non-Profits
Best Free SEO and Internet Tools
- Keyword Research
- Remember those keywords I was talking about? Find out what people are really searching for. This is a huge part of the process. Please take your time and use the tool.
- Create Your Metatags
- Your meta tags are your title, description and keywords. Use your research from the keyword tools and create winning meta tags.
- Find Other Sites in Your Niche
- When you are requesting links, you want to find the best possible sites. This tool will do exactly that. Very valuable information.
- Huge List to Submit Your Blog To
- Lee at Top Rank is one of the few SEO companies that get it. Internet marketing is a blend of many techniques. I call it the "marketing sauce". Make sure you start a blog on your site, and submit it to the listed sites.
- Social Bookmark Button Tool
- Create buttons so people can automatically get news when you update your site or blog. Very cool tool!
- My best information directory
- A new directory which will be added to over the years
- The Master List Of Seth Godin’s Free eBooks ? SuperAff.com
- Seth the guy who started Squidoo has been a master marketer for years. Here is a great list of free Ebooks he has published, make sure you watch his video presentation to Google. It really inspired me and also cleared alot of things up concerning marketing for the Foundation. Seths video is a Must view,
- WordPress › Add Twitter Link to Comments « WordPress Plugins
Please say hi
Do you help Non-Profits say hello
If you have comments or just want to say "hi" . . . you can do it here.
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OhMe
Oct 23, 2010 @ 6:42 pm | delete
- This is such a great resource and I am lensrolling to our Step Up To The Plate lens as well as Friends of the Park and others that have to do with non profits. Thanks for all the wonderful information. I will be back to study this some more.
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Cajean Dec 27, 2008 @ 10:50 pm | delete
- Wow Steve...I think my head is spinning with all these great ideas! I'll have to come back and digest this s-l-o-w-l-y. Great lens: 5* & my faves too. :-)
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JasonHulott
Apr 2, 2008 @ 12:20 pm | delete
- There is some great tips in here. Good Job!
I built a hub about this over at:
Help a Charity
Jason
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financegirls
Apr 2, 2007 @ 3:52 pm | delete
- hi Steve, I think this was a very comprehensive discussion about marketing a non-profit organization...thanks for this share!
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financegirls
Mar 23, 2007 @ 10:44 am | delete
- hi steve, i like the part where it's not all about the money...great writing!
would love to see you at my lens How You Can Profit by Outsourcing Some of Your Work , thanks
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Non-Profit information
- How Nonprofits Use the Internet to Get Ahead - HBS Working Knowledge
- How Nonprofits Use the Internet to Get Ahead
3/22/2004
You'll need more than a nice-looking Web site and a "Donate Now" button. Experts swapped tips at the 2004 Social Enterprise Conference.
by Martha Lagace, Senior Editor, HBS Working Knowledge The Internet can be a fantastic tool for fundraising
Matt at Google
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byJeremy at Yahoo
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