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Google Ads Grant Australia

What is the google ad grant?

Your Google Grant account sorted

The Google Ad Grant provides Australian charities & nonprofits with up to AU$14,500 (US$10,000) in advertising.

It’s an incredible opportunity to drive some serious traffic to your website.

However, it can be hard to make the most of it if you don’t have the time or know-how.

From application to optimisation, we’ve got you covered.

Struggling with your google ad grant?

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We will diagnose and analyse your Google Ad Account and provide you with a set of recommendations for FREE. Usually valued at $499, this offer is available to a very limited number of organisations a month.

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About Google Grants for Australian charities & nonprofits

The Google Ad Grant requirements for Australian charities & nonprofits are:

  • Organizations must be currently registered with Connecting Up, TechSoup Global’s regional arm.
  • Organizations must be: (1) deductible gift recipients (DGRs) endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or listed by name in the tax law; (2) charities registered with the Australian Charities and Nonprofits Commission (ACNC); or (3) income tax exempt not-for-profit organizations as defined by the ATO.
  • Organizations must be located in Australia or one of the following territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, or Norfolk Island.

You are not eligible for Google for Nonprofits if your organization is:

  • A governmental entity or organization
  • A hospital or health care organization (charitable arms or foundations associated with healthcare organizations are eligible).
  • A school, academic institution, or university (philanthropic arms of educational organizations are eligible).

Your organisation’s website also will need to meet minimum requirements.

To apply for Google Ad Grant Australian charities should:

Google Ad Grant is for up to US$10,000 per month (equivalent to about AU$14,000) to be spent on Google Search Advertising.

While free ad spend is great, there are limitations to the program. With Google Grants, you can only create Google Search ads. You can’t create Display, YouTube, Shopping or App ads.

Another limitation is that ads from paid Google Ads accounts will take priority. Meaning ads from Grant accounts will only appear if there are spaces for ads not taken by paid ads and will always appear below any paid ads.

To overcome these limitations, many organisations opt to have a paid Google Ad account alongside their Google Grant account.

No, you cannot use Google Ad Grant for display ads. Google Ad Grant can only be used for creating search ads and extensions. Many organisations opt to run display ads from a separate paid ad account.

When bidding manually, $2 (US dollars) is the maximum you can bid on a keyword. However, if you use an automated bidding strategy ⎯ meaning Google’s algorithms figure out how much to bid to maximise conversions ⎯ you may bid more than the $2 cap.

While you don’t technically have to have Google Analytics set up to use Google Grants, you definitely should. It is an incredibly usefully tool for measuring the success of your marketing and it is the easiest way to set up conversion tracking, which IS a requirement of the Google Grants program. Don’t worry; we can support the set-up of Google Analytics.

Don’t worry; you can’t spend over your Google Grant. Once you hit your daily limit of $329 per day, your ads will stop running. If this happens, you can look at which ads are giving you the most significant benefit (or return on investment) and prioritise your budget for these ads. However, many organisations never come close to spending $10,000 each month.

If your social enterprise meets the eligibility requirements of Google Grants (e.g. is a registered charity etc.), then yes, you can use Google Grants for your social enterprise. You may advertise paid products or services as long as funds raised go towards your charitable mission.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question; whether Google Ads Grant will be worth it depends on the organisation and its goals. Applying for, setting up and managing a Google Ad Grant takes time and effort.

Getting the most out of your Google Ad Grant means taking time to optimise your account. Here are some tips to help you spend more.

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Digital Marketing Manager, Oxfam Australia

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