The Google Ads grant can be a highly impactful resource for eligible charities and nonprofits - but eligibility is just step 1. The next step centres on creating an account and campaigns that comply with Google Ads’ various grant policies - and this is where mistakes often creep in.

These requirements apply specifically to grant-holders, and non-compliance can result in account suspensions. Complicating matters, there is no single Google help doc that covers all compliance requirements in 2026. 

As a solution, our guide breaks down Google’s Ads grant policies in a non-technical way, so you have a simple, unified checklist to work through when setting up your account.

A quick primer on Google Ads grant policies

Google Ads grant policies as we know them today were mostly introduced in 2018, although there have been some notable changes since.

In 2026, the policies relate to 6 aspects of your Google Ads activity:

1. Keywords - The search terms you want your ad to appear for
2. Account and campaign structure - How your account is organised behind the scenes, including ad groups, extensions, and targeting settings 
3. Performance and quality maintenance - The minimum performance metrics your ads must hit to stay active 
4. Website - Strict technical, security, and quality website standards to protect searchers and maintain trust
5. Conversion tracking - Establishing conversion baselines and what counts as a meaningful conversion
6. Administrative and programme policies - High-level rules ensuring your organisation aligns with Google's charitable guidelines 

The sheer number of individual Google Ads grant policies may seem daunting, but many of them are closely linked, and simple actions can support compliance across multiple policies.

Additionally, Google’s compliance requirements set the foundation for more effective campaigns, so whether you’re trying to increase donations amid donor fatigue, promote an event, or increase volunteering rates, these policies will help you succeed.

Side note: Importantly, Google Ads grant policies do not replace Google’s standard policies for paying advertisers. Your Google Ads grant activity must align with both sets of policies. If you’re unsure what Google Ads’ general policies cover, you can read about them in Google’s help doc.

Keyword policies

Keyword policies place restrictions on the types of searches your ads will be eligible to appear for on Google’s results pages. 

Compliance at a glance

You can comply with all 3 keyword policies by pausing or removing low-performing keywords from your campaign.

Policy 1: No single-word keywords

Your ads funded by Google’s grant cannot be set to appear for single-word searches, such as “poverty”, “homelessness” or “environment”.

This is these are very broad search terms and it’s not clear what the searcher is looking for. This means your ads may not be relevant and will not perform well.

Google does not class hyphenated words as single words, but they may still be too generic (see the next policy) to qualify for use in your Google Ads grant campaign.

How to comply with this policy

Pause single-word keywords in your campaign. Targeting longer, more specific search terms is essential to both compliance and campaign performance. 

While more descriptive keywords aren’t searched as much as single-word terms, they generally carry a lower cost, and they offer more clues about what the searcher is actually looking for - what we call the intent behind the search.

If you understand what the searcher is trying to accomplish, you know how relevant your ads will be to them. And the more relevant your ads are, the greater the chance that the searcher will click.

Let’s say you’re a cat charity. Instead of targeting the keyword “cats”, you could target something like “adopt a rescue cat Derby”, connecting directly with your key audience the exact moment they want to act.

Get more tips for optimising your Google Ad grant in our guide: How nonprofits can make their Google Ad grant work harder

Exemptions

You can still target single-word keywords if they are:

• Your brand name (if it’s a one-word name)
• Certain medical conditions, such as cancer, autism, diabetes, Alzheimer's, depression, and malaria
• Approved highly relevant single-word keywords:
  • Charity
  • Charities
  • Donate
  • Donation
  • NGO
  • NGOs
  • Nonprofit
  • Nonprofits
  • Volunteer
  • Volunteering

Policy 2: No overly generic keywords

Multi-word keywords that don’t give enough clues as to what the searcher is looking for cannot be targeted using the Google Ads grant.

This is just an extension of the no single-word keywords rule, as more words doesn’t necessarily mean the keyword conveys enough information about what the searcher wants.

Google Ads grant overly generic keywords examples:

The examples Google gives of overly generic keywords are ‘free videos’, ‘e-Books’, and ‘today’s news’.

Some more that would fall into this category include:

• Get help
• London UK
• Mental health
• Support group
• Support meetings

How to comply with this policy

Pause or remove any keywords that do not imply a specific goal. For each keyword, ask yourself if your charity or nonprofit has the answer or service the searcher is trying to find. If you can’t say with certainty, it may be too broad or generic.

Another way to check for generic keywords is your landing page experience rating. Below average suggests that searchers weren’t finding what they expected on your page - meaning the keyword and page are mismatched.

Policy 3: No keywords with a “Quality Score” below 3

Google rates keyword quality on a scale of 1 (low quality) to 10 (high quality) based on the following criteria:

• Projected CTR - how likely searchers are to click your ad when this specific keyword triggers it 
• Ad relevance - how closely the text in your ad matches the intent behind the keyword 
• Landing page UX - whether the webpage users land on is relevant to the keyword, fast, easy to navigate, and directly delivers what the ad promised 

Any keywords that score below 3 are not permitted.

The Google Ads grant quality score requirement is a further extension of the first rule, ensuring chosen keywords are suitable regardless of word count or intent signals.

How to comply with this policy

Check your keyword scores and remove or pause any with a score of 1 or 2. 

You can also set up a rule that pauses these keywords automatically. TDMP can support this and other technical aspects of your Google Ads grant campaign. Explore our Paid Media services or request a free PPC audit.

Exemptions

If you see keywords that show ‘—‘  instead of a numerical score, this means these are exempt from the policy and are fine for you to use.

Account and campaign structure policies

Google Ads grant account structure requirements ensure that your ads are grouped tightly by topic so they remain focused and highly relevant to the search terms you’re targeting.

Compliance at a glance

Build every campaign with distinct sub-topics, at least one active RSA for each topic, extra site links, and location settings restricted to where you actually operate.

Policy 1: At least 2 active ad groups per campaign

Inside Google Ads, a campaign is the top-level umbrella (e.g., "Fundraising" or "Community Services"), and ad groups are sub-folders underneath it. The Google Ads grants ad group per campaign requirement stipulates that you must have at least 2 ad groups per campaign.

While a campaign defines your high-level goal and budget, an ad group is where the actual targeting happens. Each ad group acts as a container for two main elements that must match each other closely:

• Tightly themed keywords: A small set of specific search terms people use when looking for help, services, or ways to contribute.
• Tailored ads: The specific text ads designed to answer those precise searches and direct users to a relevant landing page.

These groups ensure individual ads have a clear focus and that keywords are highly relevant.

How to comply with this policy

Break campaigns down by specific themes or sub-topics. For example, if your Campaign is "Youth Services", the two ad groups may be:

1. Ad group A: Keywords around "after-school clubs"
2. Ad group B: Keywords around "youth mentoring programs"

Policy 2: At least 1 active Responsive Search Ad (RSA) per ad group

Every ad group in your Google Ad Grants account must contain at least one active Responsive Search Ad.

Side note: If you read older grant guides, you might see a requirement for "at least 2 active ads per ad group". Google officially phased out static text ads in June 2022. Because RSAs automatically test multiple variations within a single ad, having just 1 active RSA per ad group now satisfies policy compliance.

How RSAs work

Rather than writing multiple rigid, static ads, an RSA allows you to provide multiple “building blocks” within a single ad setup:

• Up to 15 headlines
• Up to 4 descriptions

Google’s machine learning then mixes and matches these headlines and descriptions to figure out which combination gets the best results for different searchers.

How to comply with this policy

Create one RSA per ad group packed with varied messages. For example, for a Youth Mentoring ad group, your single RSA might include:

• Impact Headlines: "Help Local Youth Today", "Change a Young Person's Life"
• Action Headlines: "Become a Youth Mentor", "Volunteer 2 Hours a Week"
• Descriptions: Mix programme details, local community impact, and clear calls to action.

Policy 3: At least 2 active sitelink extensions

Sitelinks are the extra blue links that appear directly beneath your main ad text, directing users to specific sub-pages on your site. You must have at least two active sitelinks set up in your account. 

Sitelinks make your ads larger on the search page and give searchers direct shortcuts to helpful information.

How to comply with this policy

Select at least 2 highly relevant pages to link to in your ads via the ‘Assets’ option in the menu.

You don't need to create unique sitelinks for every ad group. Set up at least 2 sitelinks at the Account level (such as "About Us", "Ways to Give", or "Contact Us"). These will automatically cover all your ads across the entire account, satisfying policy in a single step.

Policy 4: Specific, relevant geo-targeting

The Google Ads grant geo-targeting requirements state that your campaigns must be set to target specific geographic locations where your organisation actually provides services or engages supporters. 

You should not set up national or multinational ad targeting unless your mission explicitly operates at that scale. 

Targeting the right geographical areas isn’t just important for compliance; it prevents wasted spend on ads that reach people beyond the remit of your campaign.

How to comply with this policy

Match your campaign location settings to your operational footprint. Here’s how it could work based on the scale of your organisation:

• Local organisation: Target specific cities, postal codes, or radius boundaries (e.g., "Greater Manchester + 20 miles")
• National organisation: Target your country (e.g., "United Kingdom"), but split regional services into localised campaigns where appropriate.
• International organisation: Target by country, not globally.

We’d also recommend selecting the ‘People in’ option in ‘Location options’, rather than ‘People in or interested in’. This prevents your ads being served to people outside your operational zone when they use search terms that are relevant to your service area.

For example, someone in London might search ‘food bank Manchester’ out of curiosity or for research. If your campaign uses ‘People in or interested in’ your ad will trigger for that London user, spending your Grant budget on someone who cannot physically visit your location.

Performance and quality maintenance policies

These policies are designed to ensure your account remains active, well-managed, and genuinely useful to searchers. These policies require ongoing attention.

Compliance at a glance

You can comply with all performance policies by switching your campaigns to Smart Bidding and routinely pausing low-performing keywords. 

Policy 1: Maintain 5% minimum click-through rate (CTR)

Every calendar month, your entire Google Ads account must achieve an average CTR of at least 5%. CTR measures the percentage of people who see your ad and actually click on it. 

If 100 people see your ad and fewer than 5 click, Google interprets this as a sign that your keywords or ads aren't relevant to what people are searching. If your account CTR drops below 5% for two consecutive months, Google will temporarily suspend your account until you fix the low-performing elements.

For new accounts, you’re afforded 90 days to reach the CTR threshold. That’s roughly 3 months, which can feel like a tall order if you’re just getting to grips with Google Ads and the additional grant requirements. This is one of the reasons many charities and nonprofits turn to experienced PPC agencies like TDMP for Google Ads grant management.

Exemptions

The 5% CTR threshold does not apply if:

• You’re only using Smart Campaigns
  • Google’s fully automated, entry-level campaign type designed for small teams. Google automatically writes ads and chooses keywords based on your website content. 
• You’re using Performance Max campaigns
  • An AI-driven campaign type that matches search intent using audience signals and website content rather than fixed lists of keywords.

How to comply with this policy

Regularly review your keywords. Pause or remove low-performing keywords (those with high impressions but very few clicks), and add “negative keywords” to block irrelevant search terms. Negative keywords are simply those you definitely do not want to target. They tell Google’s systems what not to bid on, even if they seem relevant to your campaigns.

You can check keyword CTR in the “Ads and keywords” section of your account. If you have a very low average CTR, we’d recommend pausing or removing any keywords below 5%. Once your CTR average becomes healthier, you can keep those just under the threshold if you think they may improve - and pause or remove only the very lowest performing keywords.

If you’re struggling to raise your overall CTR, consider adding branded keywords to your campaigns. These have high quality scores because they’re directly relevant to searches that include your brand or service name, and typically bring in more clicks than non branded terms.

Policy 2: Smart bidding - and the Google Ads grant $2 CPC cap

For accounts created on April 22, 2019 or after, Smart Bidding is mandatory for all campaigns.

Smart Bidding refers to a collection of different AI-driven, conversion-focused bidding strategies available in Google Ads:

• Maximise Conversions - Aims to automatically get you as many signups, downloads, leads, etc. as possible within your monthly budget.
• Maximise Conversion Value - Aims to drive the highest total financial return, which is ideal if you track varying donation amounts.
• Target CPA (Cost per Acquisition) - Aims to secure conversions while keeping your average cost per action at a strict target you set.
• Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) - Targets a specific financial return for every dollar spent on ad space (best for revenue-focused campaigns).

How to comply with this policy

All of the above are compliant options, but you don’t have to choose one from the very start of your campaign. Google understands that you may need to use a non-conversion-based bidding strategy to begin with to gather data quickly. 

Related - 5 ways charities can strengthen data management to boost marketing ROI

Maximise Clicks is a common choice for new campaigns because it requires zero historical conversion data to run. It drives an initial stream of visitors to your site so Google's AI can begin learning about searcher behaviour and your conversion setup can start capturing real data.

However, as soon as you have sufficient data, Google expects you to transition to one of the Smart Bidding options. Aim to get a minimum of 15 conversions within 30 days, then make the switch.

Failure to comply usually results in Google issuing a compliance warning and forcibly overriding your bid strategy, which can lead to unexpected changes in bid amounts and budget pacing.

Exemptions

If you run Smart Campaigns, you are exempt from manually assigning a Smart Bidding strategy. Because Smart Campaigns are fully automated by Google’s machine learning, bidding is handled behind the scenes without manual controls. 

What about the $2.00 CPC cap?

Google Ads grants are capped $2.00 per click for manual keyword bids, but Smart Bidding, which is now mandatory, overrides this cap. Only grant accounts that were created before April 22, 2019 and use manual bidding are held to this cap.

The CPC limit was put in place pre-2018 to protect paying advertisers, prevent grant vs grant keyword price inflation, and encourage more of a focus on ad quality and relevance. But it also meant that charities and nonprofits couldn’t compete for valuable keywords above the $2 threshold.

Now, Google’s Smart Bidding strategies can automatically adjust bids beyond the cap in order to compete for these essential but more costly keywords.

Performance tracking policy

While technically just one policy, this area comprises 3 distinct Google Ads grant conversion tracking requirements

Area 1: Meaningful conversions tracking

Google Ads grant conversion tracking requirements stipulate that your account must have valid, active conversion tracking that records meaningful conversions.

Conversions are the actions you want your audience to take when they click on your ad.

As for what "meaningful" means in this context, think about actions that show genuine user engagement and support versus passive browsing. It’s the difference between a donation (meaningful) and a page view (trivial).

Other meaningful conversions include:

• Newsletter signups
• Event ticket sales
• Membership registrations
• Volunteer signups
• Form completions
• Other forms of contact, such as phone calls to your organisation
• Petition signatures
• Email signups

How to comply with this area

You can still track less significant conversions. In fact, this can be a great way to build up your data quickly. However, any conversions that don’t qualify as meaningful must be set as ‘Secondary’ conversions in the ‘Other’ category.

This means they won’t be included in the main ‘Conversions’ column of your account.

Area 2: Minimum meaningful conversions

Your tracking must remain active. If your account goes an entire month without recording at least 1 conversion, Google will flag the account for non-compliance.

How to comply with this area

Keep tracking active and optimise your account and campaign structure to ensure you’re able to generate the required monthly conversion.

Area 3: Avoid unrealistic conversion rates

If your conversion rates are sky high, it signals to Google that something’s not right with your tracking. For instance, if your conversion rate is almost on par with the number of people who click on your ads, it could mean that you’ve accidentally set a trivial conversion, such as page views, as primary rather than secondary.

How to comply with this area

Monitor your conversions. If they seem inflated, check your primary conversions list for actions that don’t belong there, then relegate them to the ‘Secondary’ list.

Website policies

Google requires that any website receiving free grant traffic supports a high quality user experience. Google reviews your website periodically to ensure it remains compliant over time. Non-compliance typically results in automatic account suspension.

Compliance at a glance

Ensure your ads direct users to an HTTPS-secured website you own that clearly explains your mission and features original content - with zero third-party display ads. 

Policy 1: An owned domain

Your ads must send users to a domain your organisation owns and controls. It doesn’t matter whether you use .org, .com, .foundation, or another variation - as long as you have full control over content, structure and technical aspects, you're compliant with this policy.

Policy 2: A secure domain

Every page on your site must be secured with an active SSL certificate. This means your website uses https rather than http.

Policy 3: High quality UX

Google Ads requires you to provide a great user experience for your grant traffic by:

• Populating pages with substantial and unique content
• Making your mission and activities clear
• Ensuring easy navigation and functionality
• Maintaining a fast loading speed
• Adopting a mobile-friendly design

Policy 4: Commercial and advertising restrictions

Your website must focus primarily on your charitable mission. While selling mission-related merchandise or event tickets is allowed if funds are reinvested, you cannot host third-party ads (like Google AdSense) or affiliate marketing links on your site.

This is because the Google Ads grant is to promote and further charitable causes rather than subsidise commercial ventures.

Administrative and programme policies

These requirements focus on account administration and keeping your nonprofit’s relationship with Google active and transparent.

Compliance at a glance

Advertise only for your mission and answer Google’s annual survey.

Policy 1: Mission-aligned advertising

Similar to the advertising restrictions placed on your website, you cannot use grant funds to promote third-party products, commercial ventures, or unrelated causes. 

How to comply with this policy

Make sure every campaign, ad, and keyword in your account directly relates to your core charitable purpose. 

Policy 2: Annual programme survey

The Google Ads grant annual survey requirement helps Google to gather feedback and assess the impact of the grant.

It may seem like a simple policy to comply with, but the email is easily missed if the recipient address isn’t well monitored. The survey email has been known to land in spam folders!

How to comply with this policy

Ensure the email address in question is closely monitored. Take care that this continues even as team member roles change or the person responsible for monitoring the address leaves your organisation.

To reduce the chances of the survey falling through the cracks, we also recommend opting into notifications from Google for Nonprofits and labelling Google’s notification addresses as safe senders.

Why work with a Google Ads grant specialist?

Understanding how to set your Google Ads grant campaign up for compliance is a great start, but it’s entirely separate from optimising your account. Google’s policies only help you establish the minimum requirements. While they prevent significant, structural mistakes, they do not reveal or tap into opportunities.

Working with an expert PPC agency specialising in paid advertising for charities ensures a truly optimised Google Ads grant and maximum returns to take your mission further. If you’re ready to get more out of your grant, let’s talk - and TDMP will help you turn it into a powerful marketing tool.