SEO DIY for Small Nonprofits
Boost Your Mission’s Reach
Table of Contents
Understand Your Audience
Optimize Your Content
Focus on Local SEO
Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly
Leverage Social Media
Use an SEO Tool to Simplify the Process
Where should you start?
Final Thoughts
Boost Your Mission’s Reach with SEO DIY for Small Nonprofits
As a nonprofit organization, your mission is your heartbeat. You want to share your cause with as many people as possible, but with limited resources, hiring a professional SEO specialist might not be an option. While I’d love to personally help your organization with its SEO, I understand that tight budgets sometimes require a DIY SEO approach. The good news? You can improve your nonprofit’s reach yourself with a bit of time and effort.
Here are some actionable tips to help your nonprofit’s website get noticed by search engines and, most importantly, by the people who care about your cause. Nonprofits can also benefit from unique strategies such as emphasizing storytelling to connect with their audience, creating donation-focused landing pages to drive contributions, and collaborating with other nonprofits for mutually beneficial backlinks.
1. Understand Your Audience
Before diving into SEO, take some time to identify your target audience. Who are they? What are they searching for online? Tools like Google Analytics and surveys can help you understand their needs and behaviors. Once you know who you’re speaking to, you can tailor your content to address their interests and questions.
2. Optimize Your Content
Content is king in the world of SEO. Create high-quality, engaging, and relevant content that answers your audience’s questions. Use keywords strategically—think about the phrases your audience might type into a search engine. However, avoid "keyword stuffing" as it can hurt your rankings.
Here are a few quick tips:
Use your primary keyword in the title, first paragraph, and a few subheadings.
Write meta descriptions for every page.
Incorporate internal links to other pages on your site.
3. Focus on Local SEO
If your nonprofit serves a specific geographic area, make sure to optimize for local SEO. Claim your Google My Business profile, use location-specific keywords, and encourage supporters to leave reviews. This helps local supporters find you easily.
4. Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly
A significant portion of web traffic comes from mobile devices. Ensure your website is responsive, loads quickly, and provides a seamless user experience on smaller screens. Squarespace not only makes it easy to verify the mobile view of your page, but you can change the content layout in mobile view without impacting the desktop view.
5. Leverage Social Media
Social media and SEO go hand-in-hand. Share your blog posts, events, and updates on platforms like Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. This drives traffic to your site and encourages backlinks—both of which improve SEO.
For nonprofits, social media provides unique opportunities to run awareness campaigns that highlight your mission, share impactful stories, and engage directly with your supporters. Use features like donation buttons, event promotions, and live Q&A sessions to foster a deeper connection with your audience. Fundraising campaigns can also be amplified on social platforms, making it easier to rally your community around specific goals.
6. Use an SEO Tool to Simplify the Process
SEO can feel overwhelming, but tools can make it manageable. One of my favorite tools is the SEOspace plugin for Squarespace. It simplifies the technical side of SEO and helps you optimize your site effectively, even if you’re not a tech expert. From conducting a site audit to researching keywords, it’s an all-in-one solution designed specifically for Squarespace users.
If you’re ready to take your nonprofit’s SEO to the next level, I highly recommend giving SEOspace a try. If you were to hire me, this is the main tool I would be using to help you show up on page one of Google. Use my affiliate link - not only will it support your mission, but using the link also helps support mine—a win-win for both of us!
7. Where should you start?
Start with the top two things Google considers important in its search ranking algorithm.
Google’s mission = be everyone’s search engine of choice. They achieve their mission by providing high quality information in response to the search queries you enter into their search engine.
So, if you want to show up on the first page of Google search results, you need to be consistently publishing high-quality, engaging content and you should use the keywords you want to rank for in the Meta Title Tags of that content.
TIP: You should aim to rank for only one primary long-tail keyword per page / blog post on your website. You can add a secondary keyword if the search intent is the same as the primary.
Source: The 2024 Google Algorithm Ranking Factors
8. Final Thoughts
SEO can feel complex at first, but with consistent effort, you’ll see results.
For nonprofits, aligning your SEO strategy with your mission can make a real difference. Focus on creating content that demonstrates your impact, such as sharing success stories or showcasing volunteer efforts, to engage your audience and inspire action. Start small, track your progress, and celebrate the wins as your nonprofit’s message reaches more people.
Your cause deserves to be seen, and with these DIY tips, you’re well on your way to making that happen.
What SEO tools have you tried?
Share your experiences in the comments below—I’d love to hear how your nonprofit is growing its online presence!