[Case Study] From Grazing to Gathering: Sioux Falls Agriculture Experience Sees Google Ad Success
For any non-profit organization, grant money can be the jump-start needed to make improvements or expand services.
More often than not, grants are given to be used for specific purposes — like a donor giving a grant to be used to fund a new building project or a Google Ad grant that must be used on search engine marketing. This grant money is usually also for a specific set amount, and therefore must be used wisely by the non-profit.
This was the case for Sioux Falls’ own Stockyards Ag Experience. This non-profit located just behind the namesake falls near the city’s downtown received a Google Ads grant. This gave the organization a fresh opportunity to raise local awareness and to provide a new event space.
The Challenge
The team at the Stockyards Ag Experience didn’t have past experience with Google Ads.
That’s when they reached out and applied for 9 Clouds’ Marketing From the Heart program — a service we provide every year to local non-profits for free help with digital marketing.
After 9 Clouds selected the Stockyard Ag Experience for the program, we crafted a plan to best use that Google Ad grant money, giving the Stockyards Ag Experience a wider reach to their audience. We didn’t just do the work for the team, though; we also provided Google Ads training so they could successfully continue the search engine optimization strategy after our partnership ended.
With a set grant amount, the challenge was to figure out how to best use that money to increase site engagement and general awareness of this local non-profit through Google Ads. Our team has a history of working with small marketing budgets to determine which keywords, images and text options drive results for a variety of businesses, so we were happy to help a Sioux Falls museum.
The Solution
Our first mission: set the Stockyards Ag Experience up with a Google Ad account and determine what keywords to focus on to get the best engagement with the set budget. With our Google Partner Accredited team members taking on that project, we showed our clients how Google Ads works and how to maintain and grow the success.
We set goals for these search ads based on similar industry benchmarks. We set out to achieve a 4% click-through rate on the Google Ads, while aiming to keep the cost per click under $2.46.
The Results
After just three months of using the Google Ads grant money, the Stockyards Ag Experience saw strong results, both on Google and on their website.
As of June 2021, our Google Ads had an average click-through rate of 7.2% and a cost-per-click of $1.94 — both metrics exceeding our goals.
These newly implemented Google Ads, on top of the work we did to kick-off an email marketing campaign and improve their site’s search engine optimization (SEO) by adding informational landing pages and blog posts, gave our client all of the tools to see digital growth — even through the struggles of a lingering pandemic.
“The 9 Clouds team has made a significant impact on our organization by increasing our online presence in a big way. Not only did they set us up for success, but they gave us tools to continue this important work into the future.”
Abby Bischoff, Stockyards Ag Experience executive director
Want to know how your Google ads are performing compared to industry standards? Check out our Google Ads Grader to see how you stack up.
Learn More About Our Services
Marketing your business is no small feat. The 9 Clouds team can take your efforts and help produce maximum results. We can help you optimize Google Ads for your nonprofit to help you accomplish your goals.
Want to learn more? We are here to help — as a resource or your partner.
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