Your bidding strategy will improve over time, this is what’s meant by “optimization”. We begin by identifying some specific goals like maximize overall conversions, maximize the budget, or leverage automated bidding to gain new insights etc. After identifying what your goals are, we launch campaigns to gather data and improve performance. Let’s have a look at some bidding strategies to consider.

Smart Bidding:
Smart Bidding takes advantage of machine learning to automatically adjust bids for each auction. The goal of this approach is to make sure you don’t miss out on clients who fit your criteria even if their search keywords are outside of the traditional budget. Nonprofits in housing especially can benefit from this automated approach because the audience may act differently depending on fluctuations in the housing market. Smart bidding works best with sufficient historical data, so make sure your campaigns have enough conversion history to guide the algorithm.

Conversion Maximization:
Conversion Maximization focuses on driving the highest number of conversions within your set budget. It does not factor in the value of each conversion (unless you switch to Maximize Conversion Value). For housing, this means you can potentially reach more individuals seeking services or support. While this strategy can boost overall engagement, you may find these users to be less specific to the program criteria.

Target CPA (Cost-Per-Acquisition):
Target CPA bidding aims to achieve a predetermined cost per conversion by adjusting bids in real time. This is particularly useful for organizations who need to spread a budget across multiple services. However, this approach requires a stable conversion history to set an effective target, and setting the CPA too low might limit your campaign’s reach.

This means determining which actions on your website represent the most valuable interactions such as completing a contact form, scheduling a consultation, or downloading educational resources. It’s important to map these key touchpoints to your broader organizational goals so that the data you collect accurately reflects real-world impact. Additionally, consider the user journey and ensure that your conversion events capture not only final actions but also intermediary steps that may indicate interest and potential for deeper engagement. By carefully selecting and monitoring these conversions, your organization can optimize campaigns and better allocate resources to achieve the conversions which are most meaningful to your organization.

Assigning conversion values is important to ensure Google’s algorithms prioritize the most meaningful engagements. Here’s what to consider:

Service Inquiries as High-Value Conversions: Assign the highest value to actions that directly connect people with housing support, such as completed intake forms, appointment bookings for counseling, or calls to the office. These indicate strong intent to solicit and engage housing assistance.

Educational Engagement as Mid-Tier Conversions: Downloads of housing resources, attendance at webinars, or spending +5 minutes reading content on the site can be assigned moderate values. These actions reflect engagement and indicate a potential future need for services.

Email Sign-Ups and Awareness as Lower-Value Conversions: While email subscriptions or general website visits are important for long-term outreach, they should be assigned lower values compared to direct service engagement. This prevents Google from prioritizing less mission-critical actions over those with immediate impact.

Fundraising should be considered separately when assigning values to conversions since the primary purpose of the Ad Grant is to promote mission-driven services rather than direct fundraising. But if you are aiming for online donations, these should be valued appropriately based on typical donation amounts and fundraising goals. Keep in mind the grant program prohibits the use of overly commercial ad strategies, including financial incentives like “donate now” messaging as a primary call to action. Using the ad grant for fundraising requires a strategic yet subtle approach that you may want to consult with one of our experts to achieve.

By strategically assigning values, you can ensure that Google’s bidding algorithms optimize for conversions that drive real impact.

We absolutely encourage the nonprofit housing services community to engage with AI tools to improve the efficacy of their campaigns. Important among these are Google Ads Smart Bidding and its machine learning to adjust bids in real-time, ensuring that campaigns prioritize conversions like a signup for counseling or enrollment in a course. Outside of google we encourage AI tools such as Microsoft Clarity to create AI-driven heatmaps and session recordings to analyze how users interact with a site, helping nonprofits improve conversion rates.

Google’s Price Simulator also known as Performance Planner can help housing nonprofits estimate how budget changes impact website traffic and conversions. When housing demand is high and supply is low, more people may be searching for resources like housing assistance, foreclosure prevention, or rental support, increasing competition for search terms. The Price Simulator can model how increasing your budget during peak demand periods can help maintain ad visibility and attract more visitors. Conversely, during times of lower demand, nonprofits can use the tool to adjust spending, ensuring funds are allocated efficiently without overspending on lower-priority traffic. By leveraging budget forecasting, housing organizations can scale their outreach efforts based on market trends, optimizing ad performance while staying within financial constraints.

Keyword insertion in search ads is a dynamic feature that automatically updates ad text to match a user’s exact search query, making the ad more relevant and engaging. By using a special {KeyWord:default text} format in Google Ads, nonprofits can insert search terms directly into their headlines or descriptions. For example, an ad set to display

“Homebuyer Education in {KeyWord:Your City}” might show as “Homebuyer Education in Miami” or if they not search for a specific location the default “Homebuyer Education in Your City”.

This technique helps improve click-through rates by ensuring the ad aligns closely with what users are actively searching for, making it a valuable tool for housing nonprofits looking to reach people in need of specific services. Below are some examples where Keyword Insertion might be especially relevant and attract more traffic to your site.

Mortgage Rate Fluctuations

As mortgage rates increase, more people may search for “mortgage assistance” or “foreclosure prevention” resources.

Conversely, lower rates may boost demand for homebuying assistance programs, making it important to dynamically insert terms like “low-interest mortgage help” or “down payment assistance.”

Government Policy Changes

New housing grants, subsidies, or assistance programs can drive spikes in search traffic for related keywords.

Keyword insertion can help ensure ads stay relevant by dynamically including phrases like “2025 first-time homebuyer grants” or “new rental relief program.”

Seasonal & Crisis-Driven Housing Needs

Hurricane season, natural disasters, or economic downturns can lead to increased searches for “emergency housing aid” or “disaster relief housing.” Keyword insertion can ensure that nonprofit ads reflect timely needs without constant manual updates.