PPC for charities
Charity PPC that keeps your Ad Grant live and working
We rebuild and manage Google Ad Grant accounts to stay within the rules, then add paid search where the grant cannot compete, with every click tracked to a donation or sign-up.
- Grant compliance checked monthly
- Paid and grant accounts joined
- Tracked to donations
Quick answer
ProntX is a charity PPC agency managing Google Ad Grants and paid Google Ads for UK registered charities. We keep grant accounts compliant with click-through, conversion and bidding rules, build campaigns for donors, volunteers and service users, and report cost per donation. Charity PPC management starts from £450 a month, with any paid budget going directly to Google.
Charity PPC usually means two things: getting full value from a Google Ad Grant and knowing when paid search is worth adding. ProntX manages both for UK charities, keeping grant accounts inside Google’s programme rules and building campaigns that bring in donations, volunteers and people looking for your help.
Why so many grant accounts underperform
Google’s UK Ad Grants page offers qualifying charities up to £7,000 a month in search ads. Many charities spend a fraction of it, or lose the account altogether. Typical causes are a low click-through rate, no working conversion tracking, ads pointing at a generic home page and campaigns nobody has touched since a volunteer set them up. The grant is free, but it is not self-running.
Where paid search fits
Grant ads only appear on Google search and sit behind paid advertisers in competitive auctions. For donation, emergency appeal and legacy searches, a modest paid account often reaches people the grant cannot. We plan both accounts together under our wider Google Ads management service, so they never bid against each other for the same searches.
Ad Grant rules
What are the Google Ad Grants rules in 2026?
Google’s account management policy for grantees sets clear minimums. Break them and the account can be paused automatically, without notice.
| Rule (per Google’s policy page) | What it means in practice | How we handle it |
|---|---|---|
| 5% click-through rate | Measured at account level each month; two months below it deactivates the account | Weekly search term reviews, pausing low performers, tighter ad groups |
| Meaningful conversions | At least one conversion recorded per month, such as a donation or sign-up | Tracking set up and tested in Google Analytics 4 and Google Ads |
| Conversion-based Smart Bidding | Accounts created since April 2019 must use Maximise conversions, target CPA or similar | Strategies chosen per campaign with values for each action |
| Geo-targeting | Ads shown where people can use your services or information | Targeting matched to your service area or UK-wide for national causes |
| Two sitelinks | At least two unique sitelink assets in the account | Sitelinks for donate, volunteer, get help and about us |
| Programme surveys | Grantees must answer periodic Google surveys | We flag them so nobody misses one |
We check these every month and send a short compliance note with your report. If your account has already been deactivated, we fix the causes and request reinstatement for you.
Campaign structure
What should charity PPC campaigns target?
Each audience searches differently, so each gets its own campaigns, keywords and landing pages.
Service users
People who need help
Searches for advice, support groups and helplines in plain, often urgent language. Copy is calm and clear, and pages lead straight to help, with safeguarding in mind.
Donors
People ready to give
Searches naming your cause, appeals or ways to give. Landing pages go to a donation form, not a home page, and Gift Aid is offered at the right moment.
Volunteers
People offering time
Local volunteering searches, targeted to areas where you have roles, leading to a short application form.
Fundraisers
Events and challenges
Runs, challenges and community fundraising, scheduled around registration deadlines and event seasons.
For charities with a separate paid account we add brand protection, so other advertisers do not take clicks from people searching for your name, and seasonal appeal campaigns that can scale up quickly for year-end or emergency giving.
Compliance
What advertising rules apply to charity PPC?
Beyond Google’s grant policies, charity ads must follow the same UK advertising and fundraising standards as any other appeal. Your fundraising or compliance lead approves final copy.
- CAP Code rule 4.2: ad copy must not cause fear or distress without justifiable reason, or use shock merely to attract attention
- Claims about how donations are used must be accurate and supportable
- Fundraising Regulator Code of Fundraising Practice, including standards on fundraising communications and advertising
- Charity-linked promotions with commercial partners must state what the charity will receive (CAP Code section 8)
- Data collected from forms handled under UK GDPR, with clear consent for future contact
- Google’s own editorial and destination rules on every ad
Sensitive topics such as legacies, bereavement and health need particular care in short ad copy. We write options, explain the trade-offs and leave the final decision with your team.
Our process
How do you fix an underperforming Ad Grant account?
We audit first, rebuild the structure around your real goals, then manage it weekly. Most rebuilds are live within two to four weeks.
1. Audit and tracking
We review search terms, quality of keywords, landing pages and policy compliance, and check whether conversions are recording at all. Broken or missing tracking is the most common problem we find, and it matters twice: Google requires conversions, and Smart Bidding cannot optimise without them.
2. Rebuild by audience
Old accounts often hold one or two campaigns full of loosely related keywords. We split them by audience and intent, write several ads per group and send each to the most relevant page. Narrow, relevant ad groups are the most reliable way to lift click-through rate above the grant minimum.
3. Weekly management
Grant accounts need regular attention: adding negative keywords, pausing terms that attract the wrong people, testing new ad copy and checking the account-level click-through rate before month end. We do this weekly, not quarterly.
4. Monthly review with your team
A short call covers results, upcoming appeals and events, and any new services you want promoted. Campaign timing is planned around your fundraising calendar, from spring challenge events to year-end giving, so budgets and ads are ready before demand rises.
Why ProntX
How is ProntX different from a grant-only agency?
We manage grants and paid search as one programme, and we can fix the pages your ads send people to.
Landing pages
Pages that convert
Low conversion rates often come from the page, not the ad. Our web team can build focused donation and volunteer pages without a separate agency.
Transparency
You own the accounts
Your charity owns the grant account, any paid account and the analytics. We work inside them with our own logins.
Plain reporting
Numbers trustees understand
Cost per donation, sign-ups by campaign and grant spend used, in one page each month.
ProntX has served more than 200 clients over six years. We do not hold a Google charity badge or claim charity awards. What we offer is a careful audit: our free audit checks your grant account against the policy above and records a personal video of what we found within two working days. If you need wider support, see our charity digital marketing service.
Pricing
How much does charity PPC cost?
ProntX charity PPC management starts from £450 a month on a rolling contract. The grant itself is free; paid budgets go straight to Google.
| Account type | Typical monthly fee | What is covered |
|---|---|---|
| Ad Grant only | From £450 | Compliance, campaign builds, weekly optimisation, monthly report |
| Grant plus paid account | Typically £650 to £1,000 | Both accounts planned together, brand protection, appeal campaigns |
| Multi-appeal programme | Typically £1,100 and above | Several appeals a year, landing page testing, CRM conversion imports |
The fee is set by the work involved, which depends on account size, number of campaigns and how often appeals change. We confirm it in writing before you start. Full details are on our pricing page.
PPC and Google Ads
from £450/month
Management fee. Ad spend is paid direct to Google
What is includedSEO and AI search
from £595/month
Local and small business SEO, GEO and AEO included
What is includedHow it works
What happens after you get in touch
- 01Free audit
We review your site, search visibility, ads and competitors, then send a short video walkthrough with the quickest wins.
Request audit - 02Plan and price
A one-page plan with goals, channels, timeline and a fixed monthly price. No surprises later.
See prices - 03Launch in weeks
Tracking first, then quick wins, then the bigger builds. You see progress in the first month.
See our work - 04Report and grow
Monthly report in plain English: leads, sales, cost per result and what we do next.
Talk to us
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FAQ
Charity PPC and Ad Grants questions, answered
Still unsure? Ask us anything. We reply within one working day.
What is Google Ad Grants and how much is it worth?
Google Ad Grants gives eligible charities free search advertising on Google. Google's UK page says each qualifying nonprofit can access up to £7,000 a month in search ads. It is in-kind credit, not cash, and it only appears on search results. You can run a separate, paid Google Ads account alongside it if you need more reach.
Is my charity eligible for Google Ad Grants?
In the UK you need to be registered with the Charity Commission, OSCR or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, or recognised by HMRC as a charity, and pass verification through Google's partner Goodstack. Government bodies, hospitals and schools are not eligible, though their charitable foundations can be. We check eligibility with you before applying, as the process uses the same login for Google for Nonprofits and Ad Grants.
Why was our Ad Grant account suspended?
The most common reason is a click-through rate below 5% at account level for two consecutive months. Missing conversion tracking, non-compliant bidding, poor geo-targeting or fewer than two sitelinks also break the rules. Google says suspensions can happen automatically without notice. Once the account is fixed you can request reinstatement, and we handle that process for you.
Is the Ad Grant worth the effort?
For most charities with a searchable cause and a website that asks visitors to do something, yes. The cost is time and management rather than money. It is less useful for a very local charity with little search demand, or a site with no clear donate, volunteer or get-help actions. We tell you honestly which case you are in during the audit.
Why pay for Google Ads if we have a grant?
Grant ads have limits. They only appear on search, and paid advertisers can outbid them in competitive auctions such as donation or legacy searches. A small paid account lets you appear for high-intent searches during appeals and emergencies, and protect your charity's own name. We run both together so they support rather than duplicate each other.
What conversions should a charity track?
Google's policy requires at least one meaningful conversion, such as a donation, volunteer application, event registration, newsletter sign-up or referral to a service. Page views and time on site do not count as conversions for grant purposes. We usually track several actions and give each a value, so Smart Bidding favours the outcomes you care about most.
Can grant ads target people who need our help, not just donors?
Yes, and they often should. The grant is meant to promote your mission, so campaigns for people searching for advice, support or services are a strong use of it. These searches use different words from donor searches, so we build them as separate campaigns with their own landing pages and safeguarding-aware copy.
How much does charity PPC management cost?
ProntX charity PPC management starts from £450 a month on a rolling contract, covering grant compliance, optimisation and reporting. Accounts that combine a grant with a paid account, or run several appeals a year, usually cost more depending on size. Paid budgets are billed by Google directly to your charity.
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