In 2025, search engines aren’t the only way people discover causes. Tools like ChatGPT, Alexa, and Google Assistant are now shaping how donors, volunteers, and supporters find nonprofits, often without visiting a search engine.

If your organization isn’t showing up in those results, you’re not just missing traffic, you’re missing opportunities.

That’s where SEO (Search Engine Optimization) comes in, and why SEO for nonprofits is more important than ever.

What is SEO?

SEO is the practice of making your website easier to find when people search for relevant topics online. That could be on Google, Bing, or even through a voice assistant or ChatGPT.

When someone asks, “Where can I donate to a local animal shelter?” or “How do I support public media?”, your site should be one of the answers. Good SEO helps make that happen.

For a deeper look at SEO basics, check out Google’s SEO Starter Guide.

Two Types of Search

• Paid Search: You pay to appear at the top of search results.
• Organic Search: You earn your spot through relevant content and a well-optimized site.

Important: Tools like ChatGPT only show organic results. If your site isn’t optimized, you won’t appear at all, even if you’re running ads.

Real-World Example

Try this: Ask your phone or smart speaker,
“Where can I donate clothes?”
“How do I support my local PBS station?”

The answers you get aren’t random. They’re the result of SEO. Voice assistants and AI tools rely on top-ranked, well-structured web content to decide what to surface and recommend.

If your nonprofit isn’t optimized for search, you’re likely missing a critical discovery moment, especially when users ask for help, services, or causes to support.

One of our clients realized they weren’t showing up when asking ChatGPT about organizations in their category. That was their wake-up call, and their turning point.

How the Search Game Has Changed for SEO for Nonprofits

Search used to mean typing into Google. Now? People are “ChatGPTing” their questions, from “best volunteer programs near me” to “nonprofits that help kids in crisis.”

AI tools are crawling the web, scanning millions of websites, and surfacing only the most relevant and well-structured content. If your blog, homepage, or donation page isn’t optimized, you’re invisible.

Did You Know?
Over 60% of ChatGPT’s answers link to websites with strong on-page SEO. Nonprofits without it? Left behind.

CBA’s SEO Services for Nonprofits

At Carl Bloom Associates, we help nonprofits stay visible, even as the search rules continue to evolve.

We offer monthly SEO partnerships designed to increase your exposure, strengthen your digital presence, and align with modern supporters’ discovery and engagement with causes.

Our Services Include:

Blog Content Built to Rank

We create weekly blog content tailored to your audience and optimized using SEO tools and human insight. Each post targets real questions your supporters are asking and helps drive consistent traffic to your site.

On-Site Optimization

We enhance the performance of your most crucial web pages, like your donation, “About Us,” and program pages, to ensure they’re search-ready and easy for AI tools to understand.

SEO Audits & Keyword Strategy

We conduct in-depth audits of your website to identify technical issues, content gaps, and missed opportunities. Then we build a tailored keyword and content plan focused on increasing visibility for the search terms your audience is already using.

Coordinated Paid + Organic Search

We align your paid Google Ads (including Google Ad Grants) with your organic strategy to maximize results without doubling your effort.

One food bank optimized their Thanksgiving donation page just before the holidays. Simultaneously, they ran a paid ad targeting “holiday food donations.” Both efforts reinforced each other, driving more traffic and donations.

Why It Works

We help you show up when people search for what you do, even if they don’t know your name.

Think of real searches like:

• “Best tutoring nonprofit near me”
• “PBS programs for children”
• “Charities that support disaster relief”

With SEO for nonprofits, your site becomes part of that conversation.

And unlike a one-time campaign, SEO compounds over time. Month after month, your visibility grows.

Our monthly SEO program is designed to deliver measurable progress, not just clicks, but meaningful conversions. We focus on consistent, compounding visibility that helps your nonprofit grow its impact over time.

Ready to Be Discovered?

We’d love to talk if your nonprofit is ready to be found by more people, including those using ChatGPT. Contact us to start a helpful conversation about what’s possible.