Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT
Non-Profits Gain Free Revenue through GoodSearch
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 by Michael Holley
I've written before about how non-profits can benefit from
search engines through SEO, but today I'm writing about something
more direct and immediate. With the GoodSearch search engine, every
time a user searches for something, a small donation is made to the
non-profit organization of the user's choice.
Founded in 2005 by Ken and JJ Ramberg, Goodsearch has amassed
over 82,000 registered non-profit organizations eligible for
donation. Their engine is powered by Yahoo, and donates 50% of the
revenue that is generated from each search. The service couldn't be
any easier to use; all you have to do is type in your preferred
non-profit, select it from a list to confirm, and you're in
business immediately.
Non-profits: you should be promoting this heavily! It's
literally free money, and given the trend of rising search engine
use, it's a revenue source that is positioned to become more
lucrative as time passes. GoodSearch estimates that the revenue generated
from each search is about a penny. That isn't much if only a few
people are doing it, but it can definitely add up if you get your
whole network involved. Some of the largest benefactors of
GoodSearch are boasting revenues in the tens of thousands of
dollars. GoodSearch provides a list of suggestions for promotion here.
It's also important to note that there is a GoodSearch Toolbar
available for IE 6 and 7, and a search box plugin available for IE
7, Firefox, and Safari. I would recommend including links to these
downloads in your promotion efforts, as a growing number of
internet users are using their browsers for search instead of a
landing page. Also, there are some restrictions as to which type of
searches generate donations, outlined here. Basically, any time someone web (not
image or video) searches for something that they don't already know
about (and thus might be inclined to click on an ad), revenue is
generated.
Interested Users: Head over to the GoodSearch homepage to learn more and to try it
out. Download the toolbar or search box if you like. Unless you
hate Yahoo search, there's really no reason NOT to use this.
Based on my non-scientific analysis of the available "amount
raised" information on the homepage, this appears to be a tool with
a ton of potential but that is widely underutilized. If you know
anyone who wants to give but can't afford it, tell them you've
found the easiest imaginable way to do it!
Best,
Michael Holley
Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support
& Consulting
Rochester
IT Support & Consulting
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