Learn To Set Budgets In Ad Grants Accounts

• Ad Grants
• Tips
• 30. 07. 2024

Google Ad Grants is a fantastic program that allows nonprofit organizations to advertise on Google Ads at no cost. It offers eligible nonprofits up to $10,000 per month in in-kind advertising to promote their missions and initiatives on Google. However, to make the most of this generous grant, it’s crucial to set up your budgets effectively. Here’s how you can manage your budgets in Google Ad Grants to maximize your impact.

Understanding The Budget Cap

Before diving into budget allocation, it’s important to understand the logic behind the Google Ad Grants’ budget. The daily budget cap for each account is $329, translating to a total of $10,000 per month which however may vary depending on the number of days in that month. This ensures your advertising activities are sustained throughout the month without incurring any costs. It, however, also means that it isn’t possible to spend more than $329 on one day and then spend a little less on some other day.

Setting Up Your Campaign Budgets

If you wish to fully leverage the potential of Ad Grants, splitting campaign budgets to add up to $329 may be an avoidable mistake. At AboveX Digital, we tend to set those budgets higher—typically between $250 and $329 PER CAMPAIGN. This approach might seem bold, but it provides the benefit of channeling your Ad Grants account’s spending for the highest-performing campaigns. High campaign budgets guide automated bidding algorithms to spend as much as possible, which helps us ramp up campaigns faster.

Even with these higher budget settings, don’t worry about exceeding the daily cap. Google automatically stops showing your ads once the $329 daily limit is reached, so you won’t spend more than the allocated amount.

A common misconception is that exceeding the budget will result in additional out-of-pocket costs. Fortunately, that’s not the case with Google Ad Grants. Unlike traditional Google Ads accounts, overspending isn’t possible. When you use the full $329 allocated for the day, Google automatically stops serving the ads until midnight, when you get another $329. Plus you won’t need to provide any invoicing details either.

Lastly, clients often ask us to provide a billing statement or similar document showing the total amount of used grant. Google, unfortunately, does not provide any document like that. The only way to see the total spend is to simply log into Google Ads, set the time period to “all time” and download a campaign report. Metric “cost” stands for the amount of used grant.

Monitoring & Adjustments

While you’re safe from overspending, it’s still vital to monitor your campaigns to ensure they align with your goals. Here’s what you should do:

1. Identify High-Priority Campaigns: As you approach the $10,000 monthly cap, focus on the campaigns that are most important to your mission. These could be campaigns with higher engagement or those that drive significant traffic to your website.
2. Reallocate Budgets: Lower budgets in lower-priority campaigns and increase budgets in those campaigns that matter most to you. This ensures you get the best return on the grant funds.
3. Track Performance: Use Google Ads’ reporting tools to keep an eye on which campaigns are performing well and which aren’t meeting expectations. Adjust your strategy as necessary to optimize your spending.

Tips For Effective Budget Management

• Use Conversion Tracking: Ensure you have conversion tracking set up to measure the success of your campaigns. This data will help you identify which campaigns drive meaningful actions, guiding your budget allocation decisions.
• Regular Reviews: Schedule regular reviews of your campaign performance. Analyzing data weekly or bi-weekly can help you make timely adjustments to your budget allocation strategy.

Conclusion

Google Ad Grants is an invaluable resource for nonprofits, providing the chance to connect with a broader audience at no financial cost. By assigning higher budgets and focusing them on impactful campaigns, you can maximize the effectiveness of your grant. If the budget allocation is still giving you a hard time, our team is here to help. Book a free consultation today!