Charity SEO & Keyword Research
Before diving into keyword targeting, it's essential to understand how SEO uniquely serves charitable organisations. Unlike commercial entities, charities need to attract multiple audience segments including:
Potential donors
Volunteers
Service users
Grant makers
Corporate partners
Media and journalists
Each of these groups uses different language and has distinct search intents when looking for charitable organisations.
Understanding Charity-Specific Search Intent
Different user groups typically search with distinct patterns. In SEO-jargon this is refered to this as “user intent”. Below are some examples of typical charity user groups and how to think about intent when it comes to selecting keywords.
Donor Intent:
"how to donate to [cause]"
"best charities for [cause]"
"[location] charity donation"
"charitable giving tax benefits"
Volunteer Intent:
"volunteer opportunities [cause/location]"
"how to help [cause]"
"charity work near me"
"[cause] volunteering requirements"
Service User Intent:
"help with [problem]"
"[condition] support services"
"free [service] assistance"
"[location] support groups"
Identifying and Selecting Target Keywords For Charities
Step 1: Initial Keyword Research
Start with free tools accessible to charities of all sizes:
Google Search Console: Analyse existing search traffic
Google Trends: Identify seasonal patterns and emerging topics
AnswerThePublic: Discover question-based searches
Google Keyword Planner: Basic search volume data
For charities with larger budgets, consider:
SEMrush (from £99/month)
Ahrefs (from £79/month)
Moz Pro (from £79/month)
Step 2: Keyword Categorisation
Organise keywords into strategic groups:
Awareness Keywords:
"[cause] statistics"
"what is [condition]"
"[issue] facts"
Example: "childhood poverty uk statistics"
Action Keywords:
"donate to [cause]"
"volunteer [location]"
"support [cause]"
Example: "donate to homeless shelter manchester"
Support Keywords:
"help with [problem]"
"[condition] assistance"
"[service] support"
Example: "domestic violence support services london"
Step 3: Keyword Evaluation Metrics
Not all keywords are created equally, and just because a keyword has a large monthly search volume doesn’t mean it is necesarily the best fit for your charity. Assess keywords using these key metrics:
1. Search Volume:
- High: 1,000+ monthly searches
- Medium: 100-1,000 monthly searches
- Low: <100 monthly searches
2. Keyword Difficulty:
- Easy: 0-30
- Moderate: 31-60
- Difficult: 61-100
3. Click-Through Rate Potential:
- Check if SERP features (featured snippets, knowledge panels) might affect CTR
- Analyse current top-ranking pages' titles and descriptions
On-Page Optimisation Best Practices
You can read more about the importance of on-page optimisation and the process we use here: On-page SEO checklist
When we think about keywords-specifc things for charities, the following areas are things we cover.
Meta Title Structure For Charities
Primary Keyword | Secondary Keyword | Brand NameExample: "Volunteer at Food Banks London | Food Poverty Charity | FeedingHope UK"
Meta Description Format for Charities
[Compelling action verb] + [value proposition] + [call-to-action]Example: "Help fight food poverty in London. Our food banks serve 1000+ families weekly. Volunteer today and make a real difference in your community."
Content Structure For Charities
H1 Tag (Main Title):
- Include primary keyword
- Keep under 60 characters
Example: "Volunteer at London Food Banks: Join Our Fight Against Hunger"
H2 Tags (Main Sections):
- Include secondary keywords
- Address specific user intents
Example: "Food Bank Volunteer Requirements" or "Volunteer Shifts and Locations"
H3 Tags (Subsections):
- Use long-tail keywords
- Focus on specific details
Example: "Evening Food Bank Volunteer Opportunities" or "Weekend Sorting Team Positions
Common Charity SEO Mistakes to Avoid:
All of the points mentioned in the article so far are great, but in our experience, also helps if you avoid these common mistakes too.
Targeting Only Donation Keywords
Impact: Misses potential volunteers and service users
Solution: Balance keywords across all audience segments
Ignoring Local Search
Impact: Reduced visibility in community searches
Solution: Optimise for "[service] near me" searches
Poor Mobile Optimisation
Impact: Lower rankings on mobile searches
Solution: Ensure responsive design and fast loading times
Duplicate Content Across Locations
Impact: Cannibalisation of search rankings
Solution: Create unique content for each location/service
We hope this article has helped. If you would like to learn more about SEO for charities head over to the main section there.
If you think a quick chat to learn how to apply these techniques to your own site would be useful, please contact us to book in a free 30-minute chat.
