Insights / Demand Generation
Nonprofit website content that helps people find you and take action
Donors, volunteers, service users and partners want different things. Give each one a page that knows why they came.
You could write the most heartfelt page on your site. If the person who lands on it can’t tell what to do next, it isn’t helping your cause.
Most nonprofit sites are organized the way the organization is: programs, departments, history, board. Visitors don’t arrive that way. They arrive with one need.
A donor wants to know the money matters. A volunteer wants to know when and where. Someone looking for help wants to know if they qualify and how to reach you. A funder or partner wants evidence you deliver.
Put all four on one general page and nobody gets what they came for.
The real question: when each of these people lands on your site, does a page meet them and show them the next step?
Four audiences, four jobs
Start by matching each audience to a page purpose and one next step.
| Audience | What they’re asking | Page purpose | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donors | Does my gift make a difference? Can I trust you? | Show what the work achieves and how money is used | Give once, or give monthly |
| Volunteers | What would I do, when and where? | Describe roles, time commitment and how to start | Apply, or book an info session |
| Service users | Can you help me, and how do I start? | Explain who you serve, eligibility, cost and location | Call, book or request help |
| Partners and funders | Do you deliver, and do you fit our priorities? | Show results, reports and who runs things | Contact a named person |
Your list may differ. Some organizations add members, event attendees or advocates.
Service users often matter most and get the least attention. People looking for help tend to search for their problem in plain words, often on a phone, sometimes under stress. If that page sits three levels under “Programs” and is written in funder language, you lose the people your mission exists for.
Write for the person, not the checklist
Old on-page SEO advice was mostly keyword placement: put the phrase in the title, the URL, the opening paragraph, the headers and the alt text. Some of that is sensible. Done as a checklist, it produces pages that read like they were written for a robot.
Use the words people use. If your program is called “Pathways” and people search for free job training, say both, clearly. A plain title helps: “Free job training in Mississauga” tells a visitor and a search engine far more than “Pathways”. Headers should guide the reader through the page, not repeat a phrase. Here’s how to find the words people search for.
A few corrections to common advice:
- Meta descriptions aren’t a ranking factor. Write one anyway. Google may use it for the snippet people see, and that can affect whether they click.
- Alt text describes an image for people who can’t see it. Describe the image. Don’t stuff keywords into it.
- Plain language and accessibility aren’t extras. Good contrast, readable type, clear link text and pages that work with a screen reader help everyone, and they help the people who need you most.
A sample page: volunteer roles
Say you run a community food program and need weekend volunteers. Here’s what that page might hold, in order.
Say what the role is.
A plain title and opening line: “Volunteer at our Saturday food market.” Then who it helps, in one sentence.
Answer the practical questions.
When, where, how long, what you’ll do, and whether you need experience. This is what people are checking before they commit.
- Can I come once a month?
- Is there parking or transit nearby?
- Is a background check required?
Show what it’s like.
A real photo of real volunteers, with alt text that describes it. A short quote from a volunteer, used with their permission.
Make one next step obvious.
“Apply to volunteer” or “Book an info session”. One button, repeated near the end. Not a generic contact form.
Say what happens after.
Who will reply, and roughly when. Then make sure someone does.
Link to the right next pages.
Other roles, the donate page, an FAQ. Internal links help visitors move on and help search engines understand how your pages relate.
The same pattern works for a donor page, a service page or a partner page. Change the questions. Keep the structure.
Where paid search fits
If you use Google Ad Grants, these pages do double duty. Each grant campaign needs a page that matches the search and makes the next step obvious. A site that already serves each audience clearly gives the grant somewhere useful to send people. Here’s why the grant can’t fix a website that doesn’t convert.
Every page should know who it’s for and what they should do next.
Keep the pages working
Pages drift. Volunteer roles change, programs end, eligibility shifts, phone numbers go stale. Review the pages that matter most on a schedule. Test the forms yourself, on a phone. A broken volunteer form can cost you a season of help before anyone notices.
You’re not just publishing pages.
You’re guiding real people
toward help, a shift, a gift or a partnership.
Make the next step easy.