Eleven local charities have been given free help to improve their websites and boost their online profile during the pandemic.

The Evergreen Agency, based in Bicester, lent a helping hand to good causes whose fundraising was hit during the lockdowns.

The digital marketing agency specializes in Search Engine Optimisation, ensuring that organisations appear high on a list of results returned by a search engine.

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It ran a Giving Back project during 2020 providing each charity with a month’s free technical support, a charity SEO guidebook and on-going training and guidance via online videos and a private Facebook group throughout the year.

The charities that were helped were Special Effect, Helen and Douglas House, Sobell House Hospice, Oxford United in the Community, Oxfordshire Youth, Tap Social, Ronald McDonald House, Headway Oxfordshire, African Children’s Fund, SeeSaw and Oxfordshire Youth.  

The African Children’s Fund, based in Longworth, received a technical audit and support to attract more online visitors.

The charity supports local initiatives to benefit disadvantaged children including offering education, providing essential items, and counselling.

'A pleasure to help'

Tamsyn Wymer, social media and events coordinator, said: “As a small charity, we simply don't have SEO experience in-house, so The Evergreen Agency’s support was hugely appreciated, and it's also left us with a guide of what to consider when we're creating new website content too for the future.”

Since last April, the charity has seen a 43 per cent increase in organic website traffic – visits coming from a search engine not paid advertisements.

Aaron Rudman-Hawkins, managing director at The Evergreen Agency, said: “It has been a pleasure to help so many fantastic local charities improve their online presence and fundraising opportunities.

“We had a strong response to our campaign, and it has been great to see each charity’s website improve.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has created enormous challenges for charities and so the campaign could not have come at a better time in terms of providing much needed support.”

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