Myelopathy
The first global scientific and clinical charity in Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy
Healthcare charity Myelopathy.org was struggling to connect with patients who needed their support. Complicated medical language and underused PPC campaigns meant they weren’t showing up in the search results that mattered. We came on board to help them use Google Ad Grants more effectively. Through sharper keyword strategy and smarter budget use, we made sure their site reached people who needed answers, giving them access to vital support in moments of anxiety. Myelopathy.org is the only charity in the world dedicated to Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy (DCM), a rare spinal condition that often gets misdiagnosed or overlooked. Their mission is simple: make sure patients feel supported, while also raising awareness among clinicians and building a community pushing for better care and research. Like many non-profits, resources are limited. That’s where Google Ad Grants makes all the difference. The programme gives eligible charities US$10,000 (≈£7,500) every month in free search advertising. It’s a benefit that helps smaller organisations stand alongside much bigger names without burning limited budget just to compete. For Myelopathy.org, an underused Google Ad Grant meant that campaigns underperformed, leaving its potential untapped and the audience harder to reach.
Myelopathy.org had access to a generous Google Ad Grant, but their campaigns weren’t structured to use it effectively. Without clear tracking or organisation, much of the US$10,000 monthly budget went unused. The team couldn’t see what was working, and key opportunities to reach their audiences were lost. For patients, the challenge was visibility. Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy is rare, and its symptoms are often mistaken for something less serious. People searched using everyday language rather than medical terms, so Myelopathy.org’s resources remained hidden when they were needed most. For donors, the challenge was scale. The global pool is small, and every click matters. Without precise targeting, ads reached low-intent audiences instead of those motivated to give. For clinicians, awareness was the main issue. Few knew about the charity or the condition, making it harder to find training materials and ultimately slowing diagnosis rates. Tracking compounded the problem. Without proper measurement, the team lacked visibility on performance and audience reach. We tackled this by rolling out new PPC tactics, including: • Bidding on real symptom searches • Reaching donors by country, language and income • Sponsoring clinician queries to drive CPD content and webinars • Linked the grant account to GA4 with Google Tag Manager to measure results.
To reset performance, we rebuilt Myelopathy.org’s entire Google Ad Grant account. The old structure held them back, so we reorganised campaigns around intent and tightly segmented keywords to reach the right people at the right moment. By bidding on real symptom phrases like “numb hands when walking” or “compression in neck spine,” we guided potential patients to clear, accessible resources. For donors, a small and valuable audience, we layered targeting by country, language and household income. This cut waste and made the full US$10,000 grant work harder at reaching those most likely to give. Clinicians were reached through specialist searches such as “cervical myelopathy guidelines,” directing them towards CPD content and improving early diagnosis. Behind the scenes, we connected the grant account to GA4 through Tag Manager and set up advanced conversion tracking. This revealed which campaigns actually drove donations and professional sign-ups. What once cost around £1.20 per lead became entirely free. From there, it was ongoing optimisation. We backed strong performers with increased budget and refined bids based on behaviour to ensure every part of the grant was fully used.
The refreshed PPC programme gave Myelopathy.org the reach they’d been missing. With the Google Ad Grant finally working at full capacity, the impact was easy to see. Engaged sessions grew by 25%, showing that patients, donors and clinicians weren’t just clicking, but staying to explore. Average monthly ad spend grew by 1000% as the account made full use of the monthly grant. Clicks on the “Donate” button jumped by 160%, clear proof of the strategy working hard to pull in an audience with stronger intent to give. Donations increased by more than 60% compared with the same period in 2024.
