Turning Google Ad Grants into a consistent driver of visitation
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens had access to Google Ad Grants, but the program was underutilized as a driver of attendance.
With limited internal resources available to manage the campaign, less than 10% of the funding each month was utilized.
The opportunity was to turn an existing resource into a reliable source of incremental visitors.
We restructured the account around high-intent, visitation-focused search.
Priority was placed on branded queries and experience-driven searches, allowing the Gardens to control messaging and promote timely reasons to visit, including exhibits, seasonal moments, and events.
Ad creative was expanded with sitelinks and visual elements to better showcase the experience and guide users toward key actions like visiting, donating, or becoming a member.
Rather than treating Ad Grants as passive traffic, the program was managed as an active media channel with clear performance expectations.
The program became a consistent driver of high-intent traffic to the site and increased spend to 95% of available funding in the first 3 months.
Branded search was strengthened, allowing the Gardens to control the message and highlight current experiences directly within search results.
Non-branded searches like ‘things to do in Mendocino’ made up over 60% of all searches, allowing the Garden to become more discoverable.
Most importantly, Google Ad Grants shifted from a low-impact program to a reliable source of incremental visitation and engagement.