With prices rising and consumer wallets tightening, now’s a good time to remember: you have access to free advertising on Google.
Google’s Ad Grants program gives eligible nonprofits—including public gardens—up to $10,000/month in free search ads. But most gardens I talk to aren’t using anywhere near the full amount. Here’s where I’d start to turn things around:
1. Revamp your Ad Grant campaign architecture around your biggest opportunities
Here are the four must-have campaigns in an Ad Grant campaign for a botanical garden:
| Campaign Name | Example Keywords |
| [City/area] garden | “Tulsa gardens”; “gardens in Oklahoma” |
| Things to do in [city] | “Cool things to do in Tulsa”; “Tulsa hidden gems” |
| [City] weddings | “Wedding venues in Tulsa”; “wedding venues near me” |
| Your Garden’s Name | “Tulsa Garden Center”; “Woodard Park” |
Note – I recommend a separate campaign just for keywords that contain your garden’s name. By doing this we can tell Google to focus on ads around higher-value searches like “things to do near me” and “wedding venues.”
Use the same setup to test other opportunities – volunteering, donations, holiday events.
2. Tell Google what’s important to you
After reorganizing your campaign architecture be sure to track conversions around high-value events like ticket purchases and wedding inquiries. Tell Google to prioritize these types of actions and Google will reward your account with enhanced capabilities.
3. Don’t set it and forget it – you need to tend to this garden
Your grant needs ongoing attention to thrive. Assign someone to own it – or bring in an outside marketing partner who can.
