Best practices for your Google Grant

Tuesday, August 12, 2008 | 10:43 AM

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As you know, you're in control of your Google Grants AdWords account 24/7 and understanding and following the program guidelines will contribute greatly to your success in the program. But we also wanted to give you a quick list of other things you can do to get the most out of your Google Grant and keep your account in good standing for the long term.

Keep your contacts current
Alert the Grants team of any relevant personnel changes on your staff. This can include new hires, people changing roles and upcoming leaves. Email googlegrants-support@google.com and include the new contact information and any pertinent details. Example: John Smith will be the new contact for all matters concerning our Google Grant. Contact him at john.smith@yourorg.org.

Centralize your grant information

Make others at your organization aware of the award and your active Google AdWords campaigns. Put all your Google Grants related information in one spot and make sure everyone at your organization can access it. Good things to include might be your org's AdWords login email address, password(s), account number, notes on account history and goals, analytics account information, your org's contacts for invoices, technical issues (analytics) and general correspondence, grant amounts and recent changes in your grant. You could even use a Google Spreadsheet to centralize this information online and make it accessible to everyone in your org, regardless of their location.

Name an account manager

Identify someone in your organization who can be the go-to for your grant. This might be the person who already manages your marketing or communication activities, an existing grant manager or someone who's got some online savvy. Thinking along the lines of centralizing your information, finding one person in your org who is actively engaged with your grant can ensure that communications get to the right place and information is easy to find.

Train new hires
Include an intro to managing your org's Google Grant with any new hire training you do. Give them access to your centralized grant information and let them know how you're using it to benefit your org. Ask them what they would search on if they were searching for your services and consider their ideas for expanding your keyword list.

Set up your account for long term success
Schedule an account report in AdWords to occur bi-weekly and be emailed to your email address. Advertise events and set campaign end dates so that you don't have to worry about turning your event campaign off once the event has passed.

If your org has developed other ways to make the most of your grant, please feel free to share them with our team and other orgs in the Google Grants Help Group.