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3 Strategies to Drive More Nonprofit Website Traffic

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Say you’re standing in line at a coffee shop, waiting to get a cappuccino. To kill the time, you strike up a conversation with a stranger about your nonprofit. You tell them about your mission and recent fundraising events, and before you go your separate ways, you direct them to your website for more information. That’s where you want them to go, right?

Your nonprofit’s website is one of your biggest assets. But for many organizations, the challenge of leveraging this asset comes from figuring out how to boost website traffic and get people to actually use your website as a resource.

So, aside from suggesting to strangers in coffee shops that they check your website out, how can you drive more nonprofit website traffic? Here are three strategies that can help:

  1. Create high-quality content.
  2. Employ SEO best practices.
  3. Integrate your website with social media.

With these tips and a website building tool created for nonprofits, you can direct more traffic to your website, cementing it as a great resource for your supporters to get information about and contribute to your cause.

1. Create high-quality content.

One of the most important things you can do to boost website traffic is to ensure that you’re posting high-quality content on your website. After all, you want to give your audience a good reason to visit it. And, according to Morweb’s guide to the best nonprofit websites, having great content on top of a solid website design will do the trick.

Here are some ways you can ensure that your content is high-quality:

 

  • Consistently publish on your blog to demonstrate that supporters can come to your website on a regular basis for fresh content.

 

  • Incorporate multimedia elements into your content such as images, videos, interactive graphics, and audio clips or podcasts.

Whatever content you choose to create, be consistent in developing and publishing it. Consistency will signal to your supporters that your organization is actively moving its mission forward and interacting with its community of supporters.

2. Employ SEO best practices.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of creating website content that will help increase your visibility on search engine results pages. SEO can seem intimidating at first, but it’s actually pretty easy for anyone to improve their content’s rankings. Here are some actionable SEO best practices you can start using today:

  • Incorporate keywords into your content: Keywords are words or phrases that people type into search engines. Use relevant, non-competitive keywords throughout your content that will help you rank higher on search engine results pages.

 

  • Make your website accessible to everyone. In addition to helping you connect with more supporters, optimizing for accessibility can help improve your SEO rankings. Add alt text to graphics and images and provide captions and transcripts on videos so all users can interact with your content successfully.

 

  • Create useful meta tags. Meta titles are the titles that appear on a search engine’s results page. Similarly, meta descriptions are the text underneath the meta titles that inform a user (and a search engine) what your page is about. Make them specific and informative. Also, try to keep your titles under 60 characters and descriptions under 155 characters. Otherwise, Google might cut them off.

SEO may require you to take a few more steps in the content creation process, but in the end, implementing best practices will help you drive more website traffic as search engines will have the information they need to see your content is valuable to users and rank you higher on results pages.

3. Integrate your website with social media.

Connecting your nonprofit website with your social media profiles can create a stream of two-way traffic between these two tenets of your online presence. For example, if someone discovers your nonprofit through a Facebook post about an event, they might follow a link in that post to your nonprofit’s website.

Here are some ways to boost traffic between your social media and your site:

  • Share your website content on your social media profiles.
  • Include social media icons on each page of your website and encourage your website visitors to share those pages with their family and friends.
  • Add a live social media feed to your homepage so visitors can see you have an active social media presence and can click through to your profiles.

Getting your supporters moving between your social media profiles and your website will create a constant flow of traffic between them. This is also a great strategy for connecting with prospects you might not have had access to before, as you’ll be able to connect more easily with your supporters’ personal networks on social media platforms.

As driving nonprofit website traffic becomes a constant part of your marketing strategy, you can empower your nonprofit to raise awareness, welcome new supporters to your community, and pull in more donations.

Fundraising Tuesday: What’s Next For Digital FR? 3 Keys for the Future

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A guest post by Sarah Fergusson of Cornershop Creative

As we move into the second half of 2021, it’s starting to become clear which trends are here to stay. Digital fundraising and marketing have become necessary for most nonprofits. Even non-fundraising experts say establishing an online presence is a smart move.

Fundraising professionals might be aware of how other nonprofits have found success but be unsure if they can replicate those results without knowing why certain strategies worked. In many cases, it’s easier to point out the keys to future development after the data has been collected than navigate the cutting edge of new trends.

To help your nonprofit understand how to advance your digital fundraising campaign, this article will discuss three key trends that are likely to bring the positive change your nonprofit is looking for:

  1. Focus on moderate donors.
  2. Host online and hybrid events.
  3. Apply SEO best practices.

1. Focus on moderate donors.

Not every supporter has the capacity to become a major donor. Major donors often contribute a large percentage of a nonprofit’s donation revenue. However, this doesn’t mean you should let your other donors go neglected. Many nonprofits have improved their overall fundraising by focusing on growing their moderate donors.

Moderate donors provide what could be considered average donations to your nonprofit. Over time, these donors have the potential to increase their donations significantly by:

  • Becoming monthly donors. Many moderate donors make great candidates for your monthly giving program. For instance, a donor who gives $100 per year may not have the capacity to become a major donor who gives upwards of $1,000 annually. However, they might be able to give $10 a month, increasing your nonprofit’s yearly earnings by $20. Of course, no matter how much they’re able to give, be sure to maintain your relationships with recurring donors by thanking them regularly.


  • Donating planned gifts. While moderate donors may not be able to give in large quantities now, they might be able to do so later on in life. Planned gifts allow otherwise modest donors to make large one-time contributions to nonprofits they have a strong connection with.


  • Helping your nonprofit make connections. As Double the Donation’s prospect research guide explains, some donors may have business affiliations that your nonprofit can leverage to earn increased giving. A moderate donor may not have the capacity to make a major donation themselves, but they might be able to help your nonprofit establish an in-office giving program at their place of employment.

Use your CRM to identify your moderate donors, then reach out to them about the ways they can expand their giving potential. From there, use your prospecting tools and collected data to create a personalized donor experience. Building connections with many moderate donors can be your nonprofit’s first step towards creating a successful recurring giving, planned giving, or workplace giving program.

2. Host online and hybrid events.

While social distancing made online events a necessity, moving into the latter half of 2021, these events are still here to stay. For many of your supporters, hybrid and online events provide more opportunities for getting involved and are a welcome addition to fundraising calendars.

Online and hybrid events might lack a face-to-face component, but you can still use your technology to build connections by:

  • Live-streaming events. Make sure all of your donors can participate in your events, whether they’re attending in person or from home. Live-streaming lets your donors connect with your event right when it’s happening, no matter where they are. Plus, a live-stream chat lets them stay connected and participate in your events’ discussions and presentations.


  • Using custom software. Use hybrid and online events as a chance to get creative with how you engage donors. Get in touch with a nonprofit software developer to build custom, interactive tools that can accompany your events. For example, you might develop a unique mobile app to let donors stay in touch while on-the-go.

 

  • Tracking donor data. You can gather data on your donors from in-person and online events. However, there are a few data points unique to online gatherings. For instance, you might monitor where your donors are tuning in from to help gauge your nonprofit’s overall reach or get a sense of where your supporters are localized.

Whether online or in-person, events can also earn your nonprofit additional donations. When your event ends, ask your volunteers to check if they’re eligible for a grant. Volunteer grants are donations made by your volunteers’ employers. Most volunteer grant programs require volunteers to work a specific number of hours, so make sure to keep a log of your volunteers’ time.

3. Apply SEO best practices.

Most professionals working at organizations that operate online have heard about search engine optimization and likely understand that it’s important. While most major search engines keep the specifics of what makes a page rank highly under lock and key, nonprofits can still improve their website’s organic traffic by following a few proven SEO strategies:

  • Leverage location data. Search engines take location data into account, which means that your nonprofit is more likely to come up in the search results for locals in your area. Make sure to fill out your location data and provide relevant information about where you are located to appeal to supporters who live nearby.


  • Make your website accessible. Increasing your website’s usability also increases its likelihood to rank high on a search results page. Add alternative text to your images, and make sure your links are marked by indicative text rather than generic “click heres.”


  • Target specific keywords. If you’ve ever searched for “nonprofits” or “charities,” the results have likely been for major websites such as Wikipedia and Facebook. While your nonprofit may not have much luck competing against these digital giants, you can find success by targeting keywords directly related to your nonprofit. For example, an animal shelter will likely find more success by focusing on keywords such as “[your state] no-kill animal shelters” rather than “animal shelter.”

Most nonprofit fundraising professionals can implement basic SEO best practices without being experts in web design and marketing. If your nonprofit’s leadership wants to take your digital marketing to the next level, consider seeking out a consultant.

Not every digital marketing consultant follows the same practices. Cornershop Creative’s guide to nonprofit consultants showcases the wide range of consulting options available. Compare your options and send a request for proposal before signing up with a firm.

 

Sarah Fergusson – Director of Digital Strategy at Cornershop Creative

Sarah Fergusson digital mavenSelf-described as a “non-profit junkie,” Sarah has dedicated her career to serving the needs of the non-profit sector. Her project management experience spans a variety of non-profit management disciplines including strategic planning, community engagement, capacity building, fundraising and research. She has worked both in and for the non-profit sector at the Feminist Majority Foundation, the Sadie Nash Leadership Project, and the consulting firms The Lee Institute and The Curtis Group.

With her ever expanding non-profit tool belt, Sarah joined Cornershop Creative to tap into her techie, creative side, while developing meaningful partnerships with her clients to help them more effectively achieve their goals.

6 Top Features of a Successful Online Donation Page

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A guest post from Abby Jarvis at Qgiv

If you had asked a nonprofit twenty-five years ago how they asked for donations, they likely would have responded with some combination of in-person appeals, direct mail solicitation, phone donations, and fundraising events.

Today, many of those traditional methods are alive and well but have been joined by new online approaches.Online has been a growing trend due to convenience—donors can give on the go without digging in their pockets for cash or a check.

But now, online fundraising is more than just convenient—it’s critical. In the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, online options like text-to-give, crowdfunding, and virtual events are the safest ways to engage with supporters.

These digital strategies all converge in one place: your nonprofit’s website. If your donation page is confusing, too long, or—worse—broken, visitors will abandon the page before making a donation. In order to succeed with your virtual fundraising campaigns, you must create a well-designed and functional donation page. 

We’re going to take a look at some of the key components that every great online donation page should have. We’ll break down these six key characteristics that will help your nonprofit’s online donation page stand out and raise more:

  1. Make your donation page easy to find.
  2. Keep the clutter out.
  3. Offer different giving amounts.
  4. Keep it short and sweet.
  5. Offer recurring donations.
  6. Include social media info.

Let’s jump in!

1. Make your donation page easy to find.

This tip relates more to your overall website than to the content of the donation page itself. But clear and intuitive navigation is an important component your nonprofit absolutely cannot afford to overlook.

Imagine this scenario: a potential donor finds themselves on your nonprofit’s blog, sifting through articles you’ve posted over the past few years. One story in particular tugs at their heartstrings, and they feel moved to give to your cause.

But they’re months back in your archive, and you don’t have calls to action on any of your posts. Instead, the user ends up clicking back and forth several times to different pages, looking for a way to give.

They eventually give up because your donation page wasn’t easy to locate.

The issue could have been easily solved had you included a link to the donation form in any (or all) of the following ways:

  • Eye-catching call to action graphics
  • Throughout blog posts
  • At the footer of your website
  • In a prominent location on your navigation menu (Pro tip: make it a contrasting color that makes it even easier to find!)
  • On your website’s homepage

Making your donation page easy to locate is the first step in receiving more online donations.

2. Keep the clutter out.

Your donation page should be free of distractions and links that might lead users away from your form before they complete the donation process.

Once you have a potential donor on your page, you want to make sure they stay there for a while. 

This is not the place to link to blog content or embed a full-screen video about your nonprofit’s mission. You can still include images and text that enhance your donation page, but don’t push donors away before they have a chance to finish their donation! As this guide to digital fundraising discusses, an overwhelming number of images can detract and distract from the main content.

For an example of a donation page that uses content to drive donations rather than distract, see what Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern New Jersey does:

BBBS NJ donation form

The BBBS of Northern New Jersey explains to donors where their donations are going and reminds them that the form is secure. The text and image at the top of their donation form adds to the giving experience and doesn’t confuse or distract donors.

Adding a single, emotional image and compelling copy at the top of your donation page will remind donors of why they’re giving in the first place.

Any more than that, and you run the risk of leading donors away from the donation form.

3. Offer different giving amounts.

When you give donors the chance to choose from a buffet of giving suggestions, your nonprofit ends up receiving higher donation amounts over time. But why?

To answer that question, let’s consider two scenarios:

  1. Supporters land on a donation page with an empty field next to “Donation Amount.”
  2. Supporters land on a donation page with multiple suggested giving levels, for instance, between $25 and $250.

On the first donation page, a donor might give $20. On the second, they may decide to opt for the $25 gift because it’s an easy choice. The options that have been laid out for them can lead to a more generous donation.

Of course, you should always include an “Other” field where donors can fill in their own amount. But offering different giving levels on your online donation form can inspire donors to give larger contributions, especially if the suggested amounts are slightly higher than their original gift.

You can also use the suggested donation amounts to illustrate the impact of the donation. This improves transparency and creates a stronger emotional connection between the donor and your mission—hopefully yielding a larger donation!

For instance, this form from Styles4Kidz helps donors visualize what each donation will accomplish:

donation form

By showing donors examples of what their donations will go toward, your nonprofit is able to reassure them that their contributions aren’t just going in a general fund. They also may choose a higher giving level when they can see the tangible difference their donation can make!

Morweb’s guide to donation page design also advises listing other ways to contribute, such as volunteer opportunities, event registration information, or matching gift information.

4. Keep it short and sweet.

Donors don’t want to fill out a donation form that requires them to give an overwhelming amount of information.

And, while your nonprofit has to collect some information, you should keep the fields that donors have to fill out to a minimum. Get the donor’s name, contact information, and payment details, but leave things like communication preferences for another time.

This way, your supporters don’t get irritated halfway through the donation form and leave in a huff. Plus, they won’t have an excuse to put off making a donation for when they have more time.

After all, fundraisers know that “later” often never comes!

In general, donor conversion drops slightly if a form includes even one additional mandatory field. Conversion rates drop sharply if there are two or more additional mandatory fields. Even making the fields optional doesn’t make a huge difference on the number of donors completing their gift.

Simpler is better.

The less information donors are required to give out during the donation process, the more likely they’ll be to make it to the final step.

5. Offer recurring donations.

In the fast-paced world we live in, it’s easy to forget your clothes at the dry cleaners, to feed the dog, or to give your monthly gift to a nonprofit. You can help donors with one of those tasks (and no, it isn’t  swinging by the cleaners or feeding Fido).

Offer a recurring donations option on your online donation page to encourage supporters to give a monthly, quarterly, or yearly gift without ever having to revisit your donation form. 

According to Qgiv’s guide to donor retention, nearly 70% of donors only make one-time gifts. Securing regular support right from your donation page can help decrease this donor attrition rate and give you more reliable revenue streams.

6. Encourage social sharing.

You’ve probably already integrated social media into your overall online fundraising campaign, but don’t skip the opportunity to add it into your donation page, too!

By adding social media sharing buttons on your donation form, you can give your donors the chance to brag on themselves and give your nonprofit some good press at the same time.

These sharing capabilities won’t reveal any personal information about the donation itself, but they do encourage your donors to spread the word about their contribution in general, and perhaps persuade others to give to your cause.

Plus, if supporters tag your organization, it will be easier for you to re-share their posts as an appreciation tactic. Publicly honoring your donors (with their consent) is a great way to show gratitude.

 

Author: Abby Jarvis

Abby Jarvis QgivAbby Jarvis is the Nonprofit Education Manager for Qgiv, an online fundraising service provider. Qgiv offers industry-leading online giving and peer to peer fundraising tools for nonprofit, faith-based, and political organizations of all sizes.

When she’s not working at Qgiv, Abby can usually be found writing for local magazines, catching up on her favorite blogs, or binge-watching sci-fi shows on Netflix.

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