Establishing a robust online presence is crucial for charities aiming to amplify their missions, engage supporters, and drive meaningful impact. Digital marketing, particularly Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), plays an important role in enhancing visibility and credibility.
Why Digital Marketing and SEO Matter for Charities
Increased Visibility
Effective SEO ensures that a charity’s website ranks higher on search engine results pages, making it easier for potential supporters, donors, and beneficiaries to find the organisation.
Cost-Effective Outreach
Unlike traditional advertising methods, digital marketing offers cost-efficient strategies, allowing charities to maximise outreach without straining limited budgets.
Enhanced Credibility
Appearing prominently in search results fosters trust and credibility, as users often associate higher rankings with authority and reliability.
Targeted Engagement
Digital marketing enables charities to tailor their messages to specific audiences, ensuring more personalised and effective communication.
The Australian Charity Sector
Australia’s charity sector is both vast and diverse:
Number of Charities: As of 2024, there were over 60,000 registered charities in Australia, equating to approximately one charity for every 439 Australians.
Volunteer Involvement: The sector engages around 3.5 million volunteers, highlighting a strong reliance on unpaid labour to drive missions forward.
Economic Contribution: Collectively, charities contribute significantly to the Australian economy, with revenues surpassing $200 billion for the first time in 2022.
Primary Activities: Approximately 30% of registered charities identify religion as their main activity, followed by education and research, social services, and health.
Case Study
Stronger Together Foundation (STF)
Stronger Together Foundation (STF), a Sydney-based charity offering speech and occupational therapy services, underwent a rebranding that included a website URL change (formerly known as Fit Kidz Foundation Ltd.). This transition led to a significant drop in their online visibility, negatively affecting search rankings and website traffic.
To address this challenge, STF engaged with Digital Presence to implement a structured SEO recovery strategy where we implemented custom techniques to get STF back on track:
- Historical Data Analysis: Analysing past performance metrics to identify areas of loss and opportunities for recovery.
- 301 Redirects: Implementing redirects from old URLs to new ones to retain SEO value and ensure users and search engines could find the updated content.
- Landing Page Optimisation: Enhancing key landing pages with targeted keywords related to speech and occupational therapy to improve relevance and ranking.
- Local SEO Enhancement: Strengthening STF’s local search presence in the Sydney Hills District by optimising their Google Business Profile and building local citations.
The results over a five month period were remarkable:
- 47.8% Increase in SEO Traffic: Leading to more inquiries and engagements.
- 31 Keywords Ranking on Page 1: From having no keywords on the first page, STF now has 31 high-ranking keywords.
- 75% of Inquiries from SEO Traffic: A substantial portion of conversions came from organic search.
Building a Strong Digital Strategy for Charities
For charities looking to enhance their digital presence, implementing a structured SEO and digital marketing strategy is essential. Here are some key areas to focus on:
Content Marketing & Storytelling
Charities thrive on compelling storytelling: sharing impactful narratives about their mission, beneficiaries, and volunteers can significantly increase engagement. A strong blog, video content, and social media strategy can help charities build deeper connections.
Leveraging Social Media for Awareness & Donations
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube are powerful tools for:
- Raising Awareness about initiatives.
- Engaging with supporters through interactive content.
- Driving Donations via crowdfunding and direct campaign links.
A combination of organic engagement and paid advertising can ensure charities reach the right audience at the right time.
Implementing SEO: A Guide for Charities
For charities looking to enhance their digital presence through SEO, consider the following steps:
Keyword Research: Identify terms and phrases potential supporters might use to find services related to your mission.
Quality Content Creation: Develop informative, engaging content that addresses needs/interests of your target audience.
On-Page Optimisation: Ensure title tags, meta descriptions, headers, image alt texts are optimised with relevant keywords.
Technical SEO: Improve site speed, mobile responsiveness, and ensure a secure (HTTPS) browsing experience.
Local SEO: Optimise for local search by claiming and updating your Google Business Profile and encouraging reviews.
Link Building: Acquire backlinks from reputable sites to enhance domain authority and search rankings.
Continuous Monitoring: Use tools like Google Analytics and Search Console to track performance and adjust strategies accordingly.
By prioritising SEO and digital marketing, charities can significantly expand their reach, engage more supporters, and ultimately, drive greater impact in their communities.
Need Help with SEO & Digital Marketing for Your Charity?
At Digital Presence, we have real experience helping charities improve their online visibility, attract supporters, and grow their impact. Whether you need SEO optimisation, content marketing, or a digital strategy, we’re here to help.
Get in touch today for a free consultation by calling 1300 867 726 or visiting our website.
