A high-quality, functional website is essential for participating in the Google Ad Grants program. Our website policies are designed to ensure that organizations provide a positive experience for users who click on their ads and that the website accurately reflects the nonprofit's mission. This guide provides detailed information and actionable steps to help you understand and meet these requirements.
Domain ownership
- Requirement: Your nonprofit must own the domain(s) your ads point to. "Own" means you have administrative control over the website's content, structure, and technical settings.
- Domain name clarification (.org vs. others): While many nonprofits use .org domains, it is not a strict requirement for Ad Grants. You can use other top-level domains (like .com, .ngo, .foundation, etc.) as long as your organization fully owns and controls the website hosted on that domain.
High-quality website experience
Your website needs to offer visitors significant value and be easy to use.
Substantial and unique content
- What it means: Your site must have a significant amount of original content that is directly related to your nonprofit's mission and activities. It should provide real value to visitors seeking information about your cause or services.
- Common pitfalls:
- Very little text content ("thin content").
- Content primarily copied from other sources without adding significant original value.
- Pages that are mostly links to other websites or embedded content (like video playlists) without supporting text.
- Many pages "Under Construction" or containing primarily placeholder text.
- Relying heavily on PDF documents instead of HTML web pages for core information.
- Action: Ensure your key pages (Homepage, About Us, Mission, Programs/Services, Contact) are well-developed with detailed, unique text. Consider adding a blog, news section, or resources page to demonstrate ongoing activity and provide value.
Clear mission and activities
- What it means: Your website must clearly state your nonprofit's mission and describe its activities or services. Visitors should easily understand what your organization does and who it serves.
- Common pitfalls: Mission statement is vague, buried deep in the site, or missing entirely. It's difficult for a new visitor to quickly grasp the organization's purpose or nonprofit status.
- Action: Feature your mission statement prominently, often on the homepage or a dedicated "About Us" page. Clearly describe your main programs, services, and impact. Include your nonprofit registration number (EIN, tax ID) and/or an annual report.
Easy navigation and functionality
- What it means: Users must be able to easily find information on your site. All links should work correctly.
- Common pitfalls: Confusing menu structure, disorganized pages, broken internal or external links ("404 errors"), links that lead to empty pages, broken donation buttons.
- Action: Use a clear and logical navigation menu (e.g., header or sidebar). Organize content intuitively. Regularly check your site for broken links using free online tools (search for "broken link checker") or Google Search Console's crawl error reports. Ensure all buttons, especially donation links, lead to the correct, functional pages.
Fast loading speed
- What it means: Your website pages should load quickly for users on various devices and connection speeds. Slow websites lead to poor user experience and high bounce rates.
- Why it matters: Users expect pages to load quickly. Slow sites frustrate visitors and can negatively impact your ad performance. Google considers page speed as part of the overall website quality.
- Common pitfalls: Large, unoptimized image files; complex website themes or excessive plugins/widgets; large amounts of custom scripts (JavaScript/CSS); inadequate web hosting (even if it seems fast locally, it might be slow for others globally or on mobile networks).
- Action:
- Test your site speed using Google's PageSpeed Insights tool. This tool provides specific recommendations.
- Optimize images for the web (compress them, use appropriate formats like WebP or JPG/PNG).
- Use a well-coded, lightweight theme.
- Minimize the use of plugins and scripts that aren't essential.
- Enable browser caching and compression on your web server.
- Consider upgrading your hosting plan if necessary.
- Pay attention to the "Mobile" score in PageSpeed Insights, as many users will visit from mobile devices.
Mobile-friendly design
- What it means: Your website must display and function correctly on smartphones and tablets.
- Action: Use a responsive website design that automatically adjusts to different screen sizes. Test your site using Google's Mobile-Friendly Test tool.
Technical requirements
Secure connection (HTTPS)
- What it means: Your entire website must be served over HTTPS, providing a secure, encrypted connection.
- Common pitfalls: Not having an SSL certificate installed; having an expired SSL certificate; having "mixed content" errors (where the main page is HTTPS, but some elements like images or scripts load over HTTP).
- Action: Install an SSL certificate on your web server (many hosts offer free certificates). Ensure your website automatically redirects all HTTP traffic to HTTPS.
Content and website behavior restrictions
- Requirement: Your website must comply with Ad Grants policies regarding commercial activity, advertising, and prohibited content.
- What it means: Generally, your site should focus on your mission. Limited commercial activity (like an online store selling mission-related items) may be acceptable, but it shouldn't be the primary focus. Financial information must be clearly presented. Your site cannot host excessive third-party ads (e.g., Google AdSense) or primarily function to send traffic to other websites via affiliate links. Donation links must work and go to a secure page dedicated to donations.
- Action: Don't display AdSense ads on your website. Ensure your donation process is clear, secure (HTTPS), and functional.
Note: Any account found in violation of program policies is subject to automatic suspension without notification. Google reserves the right to grant or deny an organization's application or participation at any time, for any reason, and to supplement or amend these eligibility guidelines at any time.
Understanding website rejections
The review process checks for compliance across all these areas. If your application was rejected or your account suspended due to website issues, carefully review your site against all the points in this guide.
Here are some of the most common reasons websites fail to meet Ad Grants policy requirements:
- Insufficient unique content: Website has very little original text; content is duplicated from elsewhere.
- Unclear mission: Difficult for a visitor to quickly understand the nonprofit's purpose and activities.
- Poor navigation / broken links: Website is hard to navigate, or contains multiple broken links or non-functional elements (especially donation buttons).
- Slow load speed: Website performs poorly in tools like PageSpeed Insights, particularly on mobile.
- Not secure (no HTTPS): Website does not use HTTPS across all pages, or has mixed content warnings.
- Disallowed commercial activity: Website has excessive advertising, a primary focus on sales unrelated to the mission, or broken/insecure donation links.
- Poor mobile experience: Website is difficult to use on mobile devices.
Action after rejection: Use the list above as a checklist. Thoroughly audit your website against every requirement detailed in this guide. Utilize the recommended tools (PageSpeed Insights, Mobile-Friendly Test, Broken Link Checkers). Address all potential issues before reapplying or requesting a review.
Requesting an additional domain
Your organization may use only website domains that have been approved through the Ad Grants activation process or through the additional website domain(s) request form. Your request will be reviewed within 10 business days.
