Wednesday, 10, Dec 2008 10:59
Charity and non-profit organisations taking up search engine marketing should ensure they carry out adequate keyword research, a new study has suggested.
A study by Dave McMahon and Charla Griffy-Brown at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management showed that search engine optimisation (SEO) can have a positive and cost-effective impact on non-profits' operations if done correctly.
The researchers warned that choosing the wrong keywords could have an adverse impact on click-throughs and donor conversions, however, regardless of how high up the website is in search rankings.
They said: "The compilation, selection, and evaluation of search engine keywords are vitally important to any search engine marketing campaign."
Mr McMahon and Ms Griffy-Brown suggested that optimising a non-profit website to be more in tune with the needs of users and the organisation's own values could be a natural, positive result of engaging in search marketing.
The study was published in the International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising.
According to E-consultancy's 2007 Charity Website Benchmarks report, 76 per cent of charity sites make use of SEO.