There's been a lot of writing on the internet about the disadvantages nonprofits face in the world of search engine optimization (acronym: "SEO"), and the disincentives to SEO work for a nonprofit website. I've done my fair share of writing in this regard as well; nonprofits, traditionally, shy away from pay-per-click advertising, link-development campaigns, or paid directory submissions and press releases, all of which for-profit businesses use to their advantage in the search engine ranking game, often referred to as the Google dance.
However, I thought it was time someone began outlining the many advantages nonprofits have in the Google dance. And believe me, there are many...and these can often outweigh the expensive, intricate options that businesses use to gain rankings. Nonprofits typically have advantages in several areas crucial to search engine optimization work, including value of content, value of inbound linking and references to their sites, and the ability to promote their online presence on a variety of high-value website partners, including fellow nonprofits, newspapers and other online publications, and university / college websites.
