Seasonal Trends
Visibility Vs Authority
Link Acquisition
Content Performance
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10 minutes
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Brands ranked
Updated November 2023
"I am massively grateful for this report and there aren't many other useful ones I have found for online flower services."
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- BOX, Marketing Manager, Mike Hart
In our latest sector report, we’ve given a helping hand to charity sites, taking a deep dive into how charitable organisations perform online. If you’re at the helm of such a site, this is a must-read report – what’s more, it’s completely free!
We’ve gifted those looking for an online leg-up with a generous portion of insights into the online space. From top to bottom, we take a look under the hood of the top 100 charities and run through the most important online metrics, including visibility, social performance, page speed, and more.
Online charities have many features and considerations which set them apart from the big e-commerce sites. As such, we’ve taken a closer look into the mechanics of their sites within this report to really get a feel of what makes a charity site tick – we’re talking content placement, transparency, and everything in between.
Looking for an online charity cheat sheet that will broaden your understanding of the market and help to improve your site’s organic rankings? Look no further – get the free report now.
In our latest sector report, we’ve given a helping hand to charity sites, taking a deep dive into how charitable organisations perform online. If you’re at the helm of such a site, this is a must-read report – what’s more, it’s completely free!
We’ve gifted those looking for an online leg-up with a generous portion of insights into the online space. From top to bottom, we take a look under the hood of the top 100 charities and run through the most important online metrics, including visibility, social performance, page speed, and more.
Online charities have many features and considerations which set them apart from the big e-comm sites. As such, we’ve taken a closer look into the mechanics of their sites within this report to really get a feel of what makes a charity site tick – we’re talking content placement, transparency, and everything in between.
Looking for an online charity cheat sheet which will broaden your understanding of the market and help to improve your sites organic rankings? Look no further – get the free report now.
As a whole, the online charity space has suffered a -9% decline over the past year. While this may have been partly down to the financial implications of external factors, this indicates an online space which is ripe for rejuvenation.
What better time than now to kick your site into gear with the help of our insights. Not all online charity sites went the way of the overall market, however. In fact, some have had stellar years.
Sites like Children’s Society enjoyed a mammoth climb of 70%, while Comic Relief, NSPCC and PDSA all grew by over 30%. Some big names, such as the RSPCA, kept on an upward trajectory, with growth of 15% and a spot in our overall top 3. Away from the winners, however, the picture is far from rosy.
70% of the sample have hit negatives over the past year. Even up at the top end of the table, grips are being loosened. Take Cancer Research, for instance. While they sit in 2nd place overall, they’ve suffered a visibility decrease of -44% year on year. Their trajectory is heading in the wrong direction, and without a strategy to correct these losses, what’s gone up may well come down.
Want to see which position your charity landed in our rankings? Get your hands on a free copy of our report by downloading it today.
Here is a quick rundown of the top 10 online charity sites;
The top 5 fast growers in the online charity space are;
The 5 online charities who have gone through the biggest losses year on year are;
Social media is an incredibly useful, yet often under-utilised, tool. It’s safe to say there are varying fortunes across the online charities in our report. To assess social performance, we’ve devised a handy scoring criteria, taking followers and engagements into account across the big 4 of social media.
National Trust are our social media giants here, and a peek at their posts will tell you why. Their Owned Social Score of 4,019 dwarfs the competition, much of which is down to their 1 million Instagram followers.
Their posts are littered with idyllic images of the countryside, including educational posts around nature. They also focus on user contributions and engage their followers through ‘challenges’ revolving around user created content which earn a spot on their page.
Over on Twitter, they’re extremely responsive to their 902,300 followers. They encourage discussion from members as well as dealing with issues visitors may have had at their sites. They’re certainly the act to follow if you’re looking to put together a winning social strategy.
Here’s a quick look at the top 5 online charities who are killing it on social;
We also measured which names carry the most weight in this sphere. We do this by taking the overall social score alongside the number of branded searches each site receives. Having a strong brand reach and identity is particularly useful for those looking to achieve improved conversions with their charity site.
Here are the top 5 online charities who top the tree for brand reach;
Analysing where you sit in this brand hierarchy could be key to showing where you need to make tweaks. To survey the lay of the land, download the free report now.
Page speed is among the most vital indicators to Google’s ranking algorithm that your site is well-maintained and legitimate. Super speedy sites sit pretty in the SERPs, and the online charity space is no exception. Any site worth its salt takes page speed seriously and doesn’t leave potential donators waiting.
Here’s what PageSpeed Insights earmarked as the top 5 fastest online charity sites:
You can read more about the importance of page speed here.
If you’re a charity site looking to get your point across, you may be tempted to pen reams of enhanced explanatory content. You’d find yourself among the minority in doing so, however, per the findings of our report.
Straightforward content appears crucial to a well-run charity website. A whopping 83% of the top charities choose to present digestible chunks of vital information. After all, creating a steady donation stream is the primary purpose of most online charity websites, as evidenced by the focus on call to actions over reams of explanatory text.
A lack of enhanced copy hasn’t hampered the online presence of the big hitters. When it comes to visibility, the only charity in the top 10 found to have extended copy on their website is Cancer Research UK. 90% of the most visible charity sites focus on short, sharp, and meaningful content, engaging website visitors through imagery and layout.
Want to find out how to put together an effective content strategy for your site? Download the report today.
Displaying trustworthy and transparent information is particularly pertinent to online charities. After all, there’s no face-to-face door stopping at play here. Legitimacy has to be established through content and UX considerations. Or so it would seem.
As found in the report, only 38% of the sample charities give clear indications of exactly where the money is going. These include some of the more prominent names in the report. There are many ways to display this information to put donators minds at ease and educating them on where there many is going. Oxfam, for example, use attention-grabbing graphics.
A survey ran by Giftcoin suggests that improved transparency, particularly with regards to how money is spent, could see a 50% increase in donations. Opening the doors to the inner workings of a charity leaves potential donors with no questions. Food for thought for fundraising charities and NPO’s.
To find out how transparent your charity was found to be, download our free report today.
In tune with the charitable spirit, there’s no need to pay for this report. In fact, all of our sector reports are completely free. They’re our way of giving valuable industry insight while building relationships with organisations we’d love to work with. To download your free charity report now, simply use the form above.
As is the case with all of our reports, there is a threshold to hit. If your charity has fallen short, fear not. Our expert team are on hand to provide a personalised report and audit of your organisation. Get in touch and we’ll take care of the rest.
For more information about how these findings can help improve your online performance, get in touch from some friendly no-strings information on how we could create a tailored SEO strategy for you.
The Winners and Losers Of The Online Charity Space
The online charity space has increased its visibility by an average of 15% over the past year. This means that if your charity's visibility isn't increasing, it's going backwards.
What better time than now to kick your site into gear with the help of our insights? Whilst some sites have had stellar years, others have fallen flat…
The online charity space has increased its visibility by an average of 24% over the past year. This means that if your charity's visibility isn't increasing, it's going backwards.
What better time than now to kick your site into gear with the help of our insights? Whilst some sites have had stellar years, others have fallen flat…
Sites like the National Trust enjoyed a mammoth climb of 21%, while British Heart Foundation (+50%), Cancer Research UK (+25%) and, the Terrence Higgins Trust (+62%) all grew by over 20% YoY.
Change is afoot within the Top 3. Whilst the National Trust continues to reign supreme at the top from the previous two years, British Heart Foundation with its huge spike in visibility jumped 1 spot into second place.
Whilst the charity industry has, on average, seen visibility increases, some charities have seen their online presence diminish. The Cancer Research lost 8% compared to the market, and similar stories are seen with RSPB (-46%) and PDSA (-11%).
Want to see which position your charity landed in our rankings? Get your hands on a free copy of our report by downloading it today.
Which Are The Biggest Online Charities In 2023?
Here is a quick rundown of the top 10 online charity sites:
1. nationaltrust.org.uk
2. bhf.org.uk
3. cancerresearchuk.org
4. rspca.org.uk
5. mind.org.uk
6. ageuk.org.uk
7. diabetes.org.uk
8. woodlandtrust.org.uk
9. rspb.org.uk
10. dogstrust.org.uk
Which Online Charities Have Seen The Biggest Growth In 2023?
The top 5 fast growers in the online charity space are:
1. nationaltrust.org.uk
2. bhf.org.uk
3. cancerresearchuk.org
4. rspca.org.uk
5. woodlandtrust.org.uk
Which Online Charities Have Seen The Biggest Losses In 2023?
The 5 online charities that have gone through the biggest losses year on year are:
1. rspb.org.uk
2. britishlegion.org.uk
3. savethechildren.org.uk
4. unicef.org.uk
5. bbcchildreninneed.co.uk
How Do Online Charities Perform On Social?
Social media is an incredibly useful, yet often under-utilised, tool. It’s safe to say there are varying fortunes across the online charities in our report. To assess social performance, we’ve devised a handy scoring criterion, taking followers and engagements into account across the big 4 of social media.
Last year Cancer Research UK have replaced National Trust as our social media giant, this year roles have been reversed with National Trust now once again topping the charts. Their Owned Social Score of 4,669 dwarfs the competition, much of which is down to their 1.3 million Facebook followers.
Here’s a quick look at the top 5 online charities that are acing social:
1. nationaltrust.org.uk
2. cancerresearchuk.org
3. macmillan.org.uk
4. dogstrust.org.uk
5. mind.org.uk
Which Online Charity Sites Have The Most Brand Reach?
We also measured which names carry the most weight in this sphere. We do this by taking the overall social score alongside the number of branded searches each site receives. Having a strong brand reach and identity is particularly useful for those looking to achieve improved conversions with their charity site.
Here are the top 5 online charities that top the tree for brand reach:
1. nationaltrust.org.uk
2. dogstrust.org.uk
3. rspca.org.uk
4. mentalhealth.org.uk
5. rspb.org.uk
Analysing where you sit in this brand hierarchy could be key to showing where you need to make tweaks. To survey the lay of the land, download the free report now.
Which Online Charities Have The Fastest Page Speed?
Page speed is among the most vital indicators to Google’s ranking algorithm that your site is well-maintained and legitimate. Super speedy sites sit pretty in the SERPs, and the online charity space is no exception. Any site worth its salt takes page speed seriously and doesn’t leave potential donators waiting.
Here’s what PageSpeed Insights earmarked as the top 5 fastest online charity sites:
1. oxfam.org.uk
2. rnib.org.uk
3. shelter.org.uk
4. breastcancernow.org
5. drinkaware.co.uk
You can read more about the importance of page speed here.
Do I Have To Pay For This Report?
In tune with the charitable spirit, there’s no need to pay for this report. In fact, all of our sector reports are completely free. They’re our way of giving valuable industry insight while building relationships with organisations we’d love to work with. To download your free charity report now, simply use the form above.
Why Isn’t My Charity Included In The Report?
As is the case with all our reports, there is a threshold to hit. If your charity has fallen short, fear not. Our expert team are on hand to provide a personalised report and audit of your organisation. Get in touch and we’ll take care of the rest.
For more information about how these findings can help improve your online performance, get in touch for some friendly, no-strings information on how we could create a tailored SEO strategy for you.
