How Nonprofit Organizations Can Leverage Google’s AI to Increase Visibility

How Nonprofits Can Get Featured in Google’s AI Results

1. Answer Real, Community-Focused Questions 

   AI Overviews thrive on natural-language queries, often tied to intent-driven searches like

   “Where can I volunteer to help refugees in Austin?”
   “Free mental health services for teens near me”
   “Nonprofits helping with food insecurity in San Diego”

   What you can do to adapt:

   • Create pages that directly address these types of questions
   • Use clear headlines (e.g., “How to Volunteer for Refugee Support in Austin”).
   • Offer concise, structured answers at the top of the page

2. Showcase Your Local Impact Clearly

   Local searches are particularly relevant to the visibility of nonprofits. Google’s AI wants trusted, location-specific sources.

   What you can do to adapt:

   • Create separate landing pages for each city or region you serve.
   • Include structured information like addresses, hours, and contact info

3. Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness

   E-E-A-T is a framework for quality guidelines that Google’s search engines use to evaluate content. 

   • Experience refers to firsthand experience and knowledge of a particular topic.
   • Expertise evaluates the qualification, credentials, or experience 
   • Authoritativeness evaluates the reputation as a trusted source of information in a specific field.
   • Trustworthiness focuses on reliability, accuracy, and the security and transparency of the website.

   If you are not already, you should:

   • Share real stories, testimonials, and community case studies
   • Include bios for your staff, board members, or program leads with credentials
   • Add author names and last-updated dates to blog posts and guides

4. Create Helpful, Action-Oriented Content

   AI Overviews reward content that helps users take the next step—whether it’s donating, volunteering, or learning more.

   Action Steps:

   • Publish step-by-step guides like “How to Host a Fundraiser for Our Shelter” or “5 Ways to Support Local Families in Need.”
   • Use the FAQPage or HowTo schema to structure your content.
   • Include calls to action like “Get Involved,” “Donate Now,” or “Find Help.”

5. Use Schema Markup (Structured Data) to Help AI Understand Your Site

   To help AI pull relevant info into overviews, you should add schema markup to your site. 

   Schema markup, also called structured data, is simply a type of code you add to your website to help search engines understand your content better. It makes it possible for search engines like Google to show rich snippets or rich results in search results, like prices, deals, and products. 

   So if you want search engines to display rich snippets, you must add schema markup to your site. In other words, schema markup is the way, while rich snippets are the outcome.

   It is worth mentioning that rich snippets do not improve your ranking but can help attract more clicks, which can indirectly improve your ranking. 

   Structured data (schema markup) tells Google exactly what your content is about—which helps the AI pull relevant info into Overviews.

   Key schemas for nonprofits include

   • Organization or NGO
   • Event (for fundraisers, awareness events, etc.)
   • FAQ Page
   • HowTo
   • Volunteer Opportunity (if applicable)

   Add these via your CMS or with tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper.

6. Create Cornerstone Content Around Key Topics

   Cornerstone content, as the phrase suggests, is the pillar content that provides a comprehensive and detailed guide on a particular topic. You can write cornerstone content around topics like

   • Hunger relief
   • Environmental conservation
   • Mental health support
   • Disaster response

   Action Steps:

   • Link related content together internally
   • Create cornerstone content that summarizes and links to all relevant subtopics
   • Provide downloadable resources, PDFs, or checklists for extra value

7. Optimize for Accessibility and Mobile Users

   Hello, it is 2025, your website should be mobile friendly by now. Most of your traffic will come via mobile devices. AI Mode takes that into consideration. Make sure not to commit an unforced error.

   Action Steps:

   • Make sure your site is mobile-friendly.
   • Use accessible design (contrast, alt text, keyboard navigation).
   • Improve page speed and avoid cluttered layouts

8. Create a Reddit Account

   Yes, you read that correctly—Reddit! Reddit answers have been frequently appearing on the first pages of search engine results pages, and rightly so. Reddit answers line up neatly with Google’s AI Mode because it aligns closely with search intent, and upvoted answers provide valuable and often authentic information.

   Action Steps:

   • Create a Reddit account and grow it through genuine connections and conversations. Note that Reddit users value genuine connections and detailed engagements. 
   • Join Reddit communities. With over 100,000 communities, chances are that you will find a few related to your nonprofit. Use the search function to find groups that align with your interests. Start commenting on newer posts that lack many comments to increase the visibility of your comment.

   Remember that upvotes make your content more visible, while downvotes have the opposite effect. Avoid controversial statements, polarizing topics, and arguments. 

9. Google’s Performance Max Campaigns

   Performance Max is a type of Google Ads campaign that provides advertisers with access to all of Google’s ad channels, including search ad campaigns, Display, YouTube, Gmail, and Maps, from a single campaign. For nonprofit organizations, PMax campaigns are free for qualifying nonprofit organizations. 

   It is important to note that Google Performance Max campaigns do not directly improve SEO. It can, however, provide some indirect benefits to your SEO campaign through increased brand awareness and valuable data insights that can be used for further SEO.

   Action Steps:

   If you have not already, sign up for Google for Nonprofits, activate your Google Ad Grant product, and start advertising. If you already have a Google Ad Grant account, make sure to take advantage of performance max campaigns. 

   If you need help optimizing your campaigns, schedule an appointment with one of our nonprofit partners.