Last week, I searched to find a great gift online to send to a friend of mine who lives in another state.
I wanted something original, something different, something that was a little proactive in terms of helping either the planet or those living on it.
I had previously sent a plant for his office, which he needed (all offices need a little plant life, right?)
This time, I wanted to send something a little “green” as well – just a gift that was a little more edible. He is a bit of a “foodie” at heart.
And so, I searched. And searched…and searched.
I shouldn’t have had to do that much searching just to find myself on a great non-profit website like the Women’s Bean Project, an organization “dedicated to helping women break the cycle of poverty and unemployment while developing work skills, self-confidence and responsibility.”
Unfortunately, I did. I literally had to search for about three hours.
When I finally found this website about 20 pages into my Google search and felt attracted to their gourmet food items, I spent well over 50 bucks on that first order.
An order that goes into the coffer to help these women.
But such a huge amount of online searching shouldn’t be the case if a non-profit business wants to increase its website profits.
I gave their website a scrutinizing once-over after completing my transaction. It’s definitely an attractive, well designed website. It does, however, fall short in terms of of what’s necessary to make that website “optimized” in terms of search engine results.
Or I would have found the website a heck of a lot sooner, no?
As I pondered that quizzical thought, I stumbled on 10 Keys to Effective Non-Profit Organization Websites offering ingredients of effective non-profit organization website design.
It’s a great read but it doesn’t “say it all” on the subject. (Still worth checking out.)
SocialBrite.com, a learning hub and sharing community is devoted to the social good and offers a bit more well-tooled technical SEO info and tips for nonprofits.
But is this enough for your non-profit website?
A large number of non-profit organizations think they are A-OK once they’ve had an attractive website designed for them. Unfortunately, those attractive websites aren’t search engine optimized – the reason this particular website for Women’s Bean Project was lost in the immediate search engine results as I conducted my own search for that gift.
Yes, I bought from them but think about it: I had to go at least 20 pages in on Google to find this website.
Would the typical internet shopper do the same? Highly unlikely.
When it comes to web design, non-profit organizations need to seriously think about their own marketability when it comes to achieving sales and donations for their good works. Without that optimization, these websites are destined to be lost 10 or 20 pages to the rear where, realistically, they would never want to be.
The Women’s Bean Project with its gourmet food offerings would be doing exceptionally well in terms of donation and sales if it were more optimized for search engine search results. Those like me would be able to find this organization much easier and quicker.
Other non-profit organizations are stepping up to the plate when it comes to search engine optimization. Hopefully more will follow suit so that they will gain that much more in the way of sales and donations.
The more “out front” these non-profit websites project themselves, the more in terms of revenue they are sure to receive in the long run.
We here at Nextfly can help your non-profit website achieve a new influx of customers and donations.
We can evaluate your existing website and search engine optimize it for you – or even suggest creating a new website for you in a free, no hassle consultation. Contact us today!