Your bidding strategy will improve over time, this is what’s meant by “optimization”. We begin by identifying some specific goals like maximize overall conversions, maximize the budget, or leverage automated bidding to gain new insights etc. After identifying what your goals are, we launch campaigns to gather data and improve performance. Let’s have a look at some bidding strategies to consider.

Smart Bidding:
Smart Bidding takes advantage of machine learning to automatically adjust bids for each auction. The goal of this approach is to make sure you don’t miss out on clients who fit your criteria even if their search keywords are outside of the traditional budget. Nonprofits in housing especially can benefit from this automated approach because the audience may act differently depending on fluctuations in the housing market. Smart bidding works best with sufficient historical data, so make sure your campaigns have enough conversion history to guide the algorithm.

Conversion Maximization:
Conversion Maximization focuses on driving the highest number of conversions within your set budget. It does not factor in the value of each conversion (unless you switch to Maximize Conversion Value). For housing, this means you can potentially reach more individuals seeking services or support. While this strategy can boost overall engagement, you may find these users to be less specific to the program criteria.

Target CPA (Cost-Per-Acquisition):
Target CPA bidding aims to achieve a predetermined cost per conversion by adjusting bids in real time. This is particularly useful for organizations who need to spread a budget across multiple services. However, this approach requires a stable conversion history to set an effective target, and setting the CPA too low might limit your campaign’s reach.

This means determining which actions on your website represent the most valuable interactions such as completing a contact form, scheduling a consultation, or downloading educational resources. It’s important to map these key touchpoints to your broader organizational goals so that the data you collect accurately reflects real-world impact. Additionally, consider the user journey and ensure that your conversion events capture not only final actions but also intermediary steps that may indicate interest and potential for deeper engagement. By carefully selecting and monitoring these conversions, your organization can optimize campaigns and better allocate resources to achieve the conversions which are most meaningful to your organization.

Assigning conversion values is important to ensure Google’s algorithms prioritize the most meaningful engagements. Here’s what to consider:

Service Inquiries as High-Value Conversions: Assign the highest value to actions that directly connect people with housing support, such as completed intake forms, appointment bookings for counseling, or calls to the office. These indicate strong intent to solicit and engage housing assistance.

Educational Engagement as Mid-Tier Conversions: Downloads of housing resources, attendance at webinars, or spending +5 minutes reading content on the site can be assigned moderate values. These actions reflect engagement and indicate a potential future need for services.

Email Sign-Ups and Awareness as Lower-Value Conversions: While email subscriptions or general website visits are important for long-term outreach, they should be assigned lower values compared to direct service engagement. This prevents Google from prioritizing less mission-critical actions over those with immediate impact.

Fundraising should be considered separately when assigning values to conversions since the primary purpose of the Ad Grant is to promote mission-driven services rather than direct fundraising. But if you are aiming for online donations, these should be valued appropriately based on typical donation amounts and fundraising goals. Keep in mind the grant program prohibits the use of overly commercial ad strategies, including financial incentives like “donate now” messaging as a primary call to action. Using the ad grant for fundraising requires a strategic yet subtle approach that you may want to consult with one of our experts to achieve.

By strategically assigning values, you can ensure that Google’s bidding algorithms optimize for conversions that drive real impact.

We absolutely encourage the nonprofit housing services community to engage with AI tools to improve the efficacy of their campaigns. Important among these are Google Ads Smart Bidding and its machine learning to adjust bids in real-time, ensuring that campaigns prioritize conversions like a signup for counseling or enrollment in a course. Outside of google we encourage AI tools such as Microsoft Clarity to create AI-driven heatmaps and session recordings to analyze how users interact with a site, helping nonprofits improve conversion rates.

Google’s Price Simulator also known as Performance Planner can help housing nonprofits estimate how budget changes impact website traffic and conversions. When housing demand is high and supply is low, more people may be searching for resources like housing assistance, foreclosure prevention, or rental support, increasing competition for search terms. The Price Simulator can model how increasing your budget during peak demand periods can help maintain ad visibility and attract more visitors. Conversely, during times of lower demand, nonprofits can use the tool to adjust spending, ensuring funds are allocated efficiently without overspending on lower-priority traffic. By leveraging budget forecasting, housing organizations can scale their outreach efforts based on market trends, optimizing ad performance while staying within financial constraints.

Keyword insertion in search ads is a dynamic feature that automatically updates ad text to match a user’s exact search query, making the ad more relevant and engaging. By using a special {KeyWord:default text} format in Google Ads, nonprofits can insert search terms directly into their headlines or descriptions. For example, an ad set to display

“Homebuyer Education in {KeyWord:Your City}” might show as “Homebuyer Education in Miami” or if they not search for a specific location the default “Homebuyer Education in Your City”.

This technique helps improve click-through rates by ensuring the ad aligns closely with what users are actively searching for, making it a valuable tool for housing nonprofits looking to reach people in need of specific services. Below are some examples where Keyword Insertion might be especially relevant and attract more traffic to your site.

Mortgage Rate Fluctuations

As mortgage rates increase, more people may search for “mortgage assistance” or “foreclosure prevention” resources.

Conversely, lower rates may boost demand for homebuying assistance programs, making it important to dynamically insert terms like “low-interest mortgage help” or “down payment assistance.”

Government Policy Changes

New housing grants, subsidies, or assistance programs can drive spikes in search traffic for related keywords.

Keyword insertion can help ensure ads stay relevant by dynamically including phrases like “2025 first-time homebuyer grants” or “new rental relief program.”

Seasonal & Crisis-Driven Housing Needs

Hurricane season, natural disasters, or economic downturns can lead to increased searches for “emergency housing aid” or “disaster relief housing.” Keyword insertion can ensure that nonprofit ads reflect timely needs without constant manual updates.

Geo-targeting will allow your organization to tailor search ads to specific locations. By focusing on certain cities, counties, or zip codes, organizations can ensure their ads reach people searching for housing assistance, rental aid, foreclosure prevention, or homebuyer programs for example, in the areas they serve.

Key Benefits of Geo-Targeting:

Reaching the Right Audience – Many housing programs are region-specific (e.g., state-funded rental assistance), so targeting only relevant geographic areas prevents wasted ad spend.

Customizing Messaging – Ad copy can include localized terms such as “Affordable Housing in Miami” or “First-Time Homebuyer Help in Los Angeles.”

Optimizing for Demand – Certain areas may have higher eviction rates, home prices, or mortgage foreclosure risks, requiring more aggressive ad coverage in those locations.

Enhancing Performance – Targeting high-need regions helps maintain the 5% click-through rate (CTR) required by the Google Ad Grant, improving ad efficiency. By integrating geo-targeting, housing nonprofits can increase relevance, improve engagement, and connect with the right audience in the communities they serve, making their Google Ad Grant campaigns far more effective.

Google Ads offers a feature that allows your impressions to be triggered when certain other websites appear in search results. 

How It Works:

Instead of only showing ads when a user directly searches for a keyword, Google can also trigger your ads when certain websites appear in search results.

This allows nonprofits to target audiences searching for information on competitor or related housing service websites, increasing the likelihood of reaching users actively looking for housing resources. For example, targeting users searching for similar services. If people frequently visit specific housing resource websites (e.g., Zillow, HUD.gov, or local housing agencies), your nonprofit can set ads to appear when those sites show up in search results. This ensures visibility alongside authoritative sources, helping people discover your services while researching housing options.

We highly recommend Google Keyword Planner to maximize your Google Ad Grant campaigns. Use it to discover high-impact keywords, estimate search volume, and refine targeting strategies to reach people in need of housing assistance.

How It Works:

Keyword Discovery: input terms related to your mission (e.g., “affordable housing assistance” or “homebuyer education”) and receive new keyword ideas based on user search behavior.

Search Volume & Competition Analysis: The tool provides estimated monthly searches for keywords and highlights whether competition for each term is low, medium, or high. Geographic Targeting: analyze keyword trends by city, state, or region to find  search terms that align with local housing needs.

By now, you can see an ad grant can be anywhere from basic template to rather complex. What happens when the user reaches your website is also crucially important. The goal being to optimize landing pages to convert website visitors into engaged clients, donors, or advocates. A well-structured landing page ensures that users find the information they need quickly and take meaningful action. Below are 3 rules of thumb to keep in mind regarding your landing page.

Clear and Actionable Messaging – Use concise headlines, easy-to-read content, and a strong call-to-action (CTA) such as “Apply for Rental Assistance” or “Schedule a Housing Consultation.”

Fast, Mobile-Friendly Design – Ensure pages load quickly and are optimized for mobile users, as many people searching for housing assistance do so on their phones. Conversion Tracking & Forms – Implement simple, easy-to-complete forms and track key actions like sign-ups, downloads, or appointment bookings to measure success and improve engagement.

Background:
A newly established housing nonprofit, Affordable Housing Now (AHN), has recently been approved for the Google Ad Grants program. Their mission is to connect low-income families with affordable housing resources, first-time homebuyer assistance, and rental aid programs.

While they have a general idea of the keywords their audience might search for (e.g., “first-time homebuyer grants,” “affordable housing assistance,” and “rental assistance programs”), they are unsure about the best bidding strategy. They are considering Smart Bidding options, including Conversion Maximization and Target CPA, but they lack historical data to guide these decisions.

Now, they must determine how to approach bidding effectively while ensuring they maximize the $10,000 monthly ad spend provided by Google Ad Grants.

Key questions for the case

1. How do we balance our initial keyword selection between broad reach and high-intent searches to ensure we attract the right audience from the start?

2. At what point should we transition from manual bidding to Smart Bidding strategies like Conversion Maximization or Target CPA, and what data should we collect before making the switch?

3. What specific steps can we take to continuously optimize our campaigns, ensuring that we fully utilize the $10,000 monthly Google Ad Grant without wasted spend?

What did AHN decide to do?

After analyzing their campaign performance and discussing potential solutions, Affordable Housing Now (AHN) developed a strategic approach to optimize their Google Ad Grants campaign and ensure their “Make Your Home Energy Efficient” initiative effectively reached the right audience.

1️⃣ Transitioned from Manual Bidding to Smart Bidding – AHN started with manual bidding to establish a performance baseline and gradually transitioned to Smart Bidding strategies. They implemented Enhanced CPC first, then moved to Conversion Maximization and Target CPA for campaigns with sufficient data.

2️⃣ Refined Keyword Strategy – To improve ad performance, AHN expanded their long-tail keywords to focus on high-intent search terms like “energy efficiency grants for homeowners in [city]” rather than broad terms. They also added negative keywords to exclude irrelevant or low-converting searches.

3️⃣ Optimized Location Targeting – To ensure their ads were only reaching their target service areas, AHN refined their geotargeting settings to focus on specific counties and cities. They also changed advanced location options to exclude users searching for, but not physically in, their targeted locations.

4️⃣ Improved Ad Copy and Landing Page Experience – AHN updated their ad headlines and descriptions to include clear eligibility criteria, ensuring only qualified users clicked their ads. They also optimized their landing pages with stronger CTAs and better mobile usability, leading to higher conversion rates.

5️⃣ Ongoing Performance Tracking and Adjustments – AHN committed to weekly performance reviews using Google Ads reports and Google Analytics to track trends, identify inefficiencies, and fine-tune their bidding and targeting strategy.

By implementing these changes, AHN maximized their Google Ad Grant budget, reduced wasted spend, and increased the number of qualified applicants for their energy efficiency program.

Background:

A housing nonprofit The Better Housing Coalition (BHC) based in Broward County, Florida, has been actively running Google Ad Grants to promote its “Make Your Home Energy Efficient” campaign. The campaign aims to help homeowners within Broward County access grants or assistance programs to improve their home’s energy efficiency.

Since launching the campaign, their intake form submissions have increased significantly. However, a major issue has emerged:

Management wants to ensure that only Broward County residents see the ads, reducing wasted ad spend.

However, a number of applicants are coming from outside of Broward County, including some from other states.

This has strained internal resources because staff must spend time filtering out ineligible applicants.

Key questions for the case

1. How can we adjust our Google Ads settings to ensure only Broward County residents see our ads, while preventing clicks and form submissions from people outside our service area?

2. What keywords or targeting adjustments can we implement to reinforce that our program is only available to Broward County residents?

3. How can we refine our ad copy and landing page messaging to clearly communicate eligibility requirements and reduce out-of-area applicants?

What did BHC decide to do?

After reviewing their campaign data and discussing solutions, The Better Housing Coalition (BHC) decided to take a multi-step approach to ensure that their “Make Your Home Energy Efficient” campaign effectively reaches only Broward County residents.

1️⃣ Refined Geotargeting in Google Ads – BHC updated their location settings to only target Broward County and exclude all other areas, ensuring ads were shown only to people physically within their service area. They also changed the advanced location settings to target people in or regularly in Broward County, rather than those merely searching for it.

2️⃣ Enhanced Keyword Strategy – BHC adjusted their keyword list by adding geo-specific terms like “Broward County energy assistance” and “Broward home efficiency program.” They also implemented negative keywords to block searches related to other states and counties, preventing out-of-area clicks.

3️⃣ Clearer Ad Copy and Landing Page Messaging – To set proper expectations, BHC revised their ad headlines and descriptions to clearly state “For Broward County Residents Only.” They also added a bold eligibility disclaimer at the top of their intake form, ensuring applicants understood that assistance was limited to Broward County.

4️⃣ Ongoing Monitoring and Adjustments – BHC set up weekly reviews of their Google Ads location report to track where clicks and conversions were coming from. They committed to refining their approach as needed, including potentially narrowing targeting further by zip code if necessary.

By implementing these changes, BHC successfully reduced out-of-area applications, saved valuable staff time, and ensured that their resources were directed only toward eligible Broward County residents.

Background:

A housing nonprofit, Pathway to Homeownership (PTH), offers a free credit score management course to help low-credit individuals improve their financial standing and become eligible for homeownership.

To attract participants, PTH runs a Google Ad Grants campaign and tracks the following conversions:

1. Views of the course signup page
2. Calls to the office for more information
3. Completed signups for the credit course

After several weeks, PTH notices a key issue:

• Many users visit the signup page
• Several people call the office for information
• Few actually sign up for the course

Additionally, some of the people clicking on the ads have good credit scores and don’t need the course, leading to wasted ad spend.

Key questions for the case

1. How can we adjust our conversion tracking and bidding strategy to ensure that Google prioritizes users who are most likely to complete the credit course signup rather than just visiting the page or calling?

2. What audience targeting strategies can we use to specifically reach people with low credit scores who need this course, while filtering out users who don’t require credit improvement?

3. How can we refine our ad messaging and landing page content to better communicate that this course is designed for individuals struggling with low credit scores, increasing the likelihood of qualified signups?

What did PTH decide to do?

After reviewing their campaign data and discussing solutions, Pathway to Homeownership (PTH) developed a strategic approach to ensure their credit score management course was reaching the right audience—individuals with low credit who genuinely needed the program.

1️⃣ Refined Conversion Tracking and Bidding Strategy – PTH assigned higher conversion values to completed course signups ($100), ensuring Google prioritized these over lower-intent actions like page views ($5) and phone calls ($25). They also switched to Maximize Conversion Value bidding, allowing Google to focus ad spend on users more likely to enroll.

2️⃣ Implemented Audience Targeting to Reach Low-Credit Individuals – PTH leveraged Google’s Custom Audiences and In-Market targeting to focus on people searching for terms like “how to improve my credit score” and “bad credit home loans.” They also excluded high-income ZIP codes and other areas where fewer people likely needed credit assistance.

3️⃣ Refined Ad Messaging and Landing Page Content – PTH updated their ad copy to clearly state that the course was designed for people struggling with low credit (“Credit Below 600? Get Help to Become Home Loan Ready!”). They also added a quick self-assessment on the landing page (e.g., “Is your credit score below 640? This course is for you!”) and included testimonials from past participants to increase trust and encourage signups.

4️⃣ Ongoing Monitoring and Adjustments – PTH committed to weekly performance reviews of their Google Ads reports and conversion data to ensure their campaign was continuously improving, making further refinements as needed.

By implementing these changes, PTH significantly increased the number of qualified course enrollments, reduced wasted ad spend, and ensured their Google Ad Grant was being used effectively to support individuals working toward homeownership.