Charitable Search Engines
If you or a client is a nonprofit or charity, make sure the organization is participating in a charitable search engine. These search engines work by selling paid search ads. A percentage of the profits goes to the charity supported by the search. Click fraud is a real issue, but it is being addressed with increasing success. While some charitable search engines have a pre-determined list of charity partners, there are at least two that allow organizations to sign up and earn money through searches.
Organizations can utilize their email or direct mail campaigns to inform their supporters of this easy way to donate to their cause. Nonprofits also may gain supporters from individuals who utilize charitable search engines without a specific charity in mind. For example, when looking for a charity to support, an individual may type in the word "cancer." A list of charities associated with cancer will post, and the user can select the charity to support during their search.
To be fair, this is not a lucrative means of raising funds. At least not yet. Charitable search engines are somewhat in their infancy. However, it will be interesting to see how these search engines could affect optimization for nonprofits. GoodSearch, for example, is looking for a way to list all of the charities registered with their search engine. Could this have potential for link building in the future? We'll have to wait and see.
- GoodSearch was founded by brother and sister team Ken and JJ Ramberg after their mother died of cancer.
- EveryClick is a UK based charitable search engine that generated about £3.2 billion for nonprofits last year.
Organizations can utilize their email or direct mail campaigns to inform their supporters of this easy way to donate to their cause. Nonprofits also may gain supporters from individuals who utilize charitable search engines without a specific charity in mind. For example, when looking for a charity to support, an individual may type in the word "cancer." A list of charities associated with cancer will post, and the user can select the charity to support during their search.
To be fair, this is not a lucrative means of raising funds. At least not yet. Charitable search engines are somewhat in their infancy. However, it will be interesting to see how these search engines could affect optimization for nonprofits. GoodSearch, for example, is looking for a way to list all of the charities registered with their search engine. Could this have potential for link building in the future? We'll have to wait and see.
