The Improve Group recently did a presentation at a leadership conference for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. As I fielded questions on how to use different forms of media to engage constituencies, I realized how varied the knowledge is on what marketing tools are available for nonprofits with a tight budget.

Many nonprofit organizations invest precious time and money perfecting their website to tell their message in a clear and compelling manner. The step that is sometimes missed is how to drive traffic to that website and generate donors, volunteers, goods or whatever is needed to support their mission. Today I am highlighting an opportunity that can help nonprofits get their name out there and get their website noticed.

This week’s pick: The Google Grants program which helps nonprofits by providing free Google AdWords (in-kind, keyword advertising) for at least 3 months with a cap of $10,000 per month. AdWords posts an ad for your non-profit in the Sponsored Links section on Google.com search engine pages. The ad would link directly to your website.

Google's website offers helpful topics explaining how to make your ad campaign effective. For instance, you can create a group of campaigns that are targeted to different geographic locations or languages. They also provide of summary of the ad’s performance and of the keywords people used that brought them to you.

Charitable organizations throughout the U.S. are eligible to apply along with nonprofits in selected foreign countries. A simple application form for this in-kind grant can be found online.