Is Your Nonprofit Website Traffic Dropping? You’re Not Alone — And Here’s What You Can Do About It
Across the nonprofit world, more and more teams are reporting steady declines in website traffic.
At first, I chalked it up to Google’s algorithm updates. But as I looked closer and talked to others in the field, I realized something bigger was happening — something that isn’t just temporary.
It’s zero-click searches and the rise of AI-generated answers.
AI Search Is Changing the Game for Nonprofits
More and more people are using AI platforms (like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude) as their default search engines. Even Google has jumped in, rolling out AI Search Mode and Overviews as prominent features. That means instead of clicking on websites, users are often getting their answers directly from an AI — no need to visit your site at all.
Many of us in the nonprofit world have built our web strategies around search traffic. But now, we’re entering a new era. One where showing up in Large Language Models (LLMs) may matter more than ranking high in traditional search.
The kicker? According to industry experts, the drop in web traffic isn’t a blip. It’s the new normal.
I Went Down the Rabbit Hole — So You Don’t Have To
Like many of you, I wear multiple hats. I needed to understand this shift, fast — but most of the content I found was built for commercial companies with products to sell, big SEO teams, and even bigger marketing budgets.
What I didn’t find was something written for people like us — comms and digital folks in nonprofits who:
Don’t have five-person SEO teams
Don’t have money for enterprise-level analytics
Do have to be scrappy, strategic, and mission-driven
So I decided to create it myself.
Introducing: The Nonprofit LLM Visibility Playbook
This free PDF resource distills what I learned from a deep dive into AI search and LLM visibility. It’s a practical, no-fluff guide to help nonprofits:
Understand how AI platforms pull and present information
Learn what makes content more likely to be surfaced by LLMs
Take actionable steps to improve your organization’s visibility — using tools and skills you already have
You won’t need a big budget or a fancy tech stack. This playbook is built for real-world nonprofit teams.
One Important Note
Showing up in LLMs won’t solve the traffic problem. AI-generated results don’t always link back to your site — and clicks may still be hard to come by.
But visibility in this new landscape still matters. It’s about ensuring your organization’s name, expertise, and resources are discoverable and accurately represented, even if fewer people end up on your homepage.
Download the Playbook
If you’re a nonprofit communicator navigating this shifting terrain, I made this resource with you in mind.
Let’s adapt together — and make sure nonprofits don’t get left behind in the age of AI.
