How Nydus Foundation reached more readers and learners.
Nydus Foundation gives away free books and learning in English and Spanish. Aptic’s consultants and AI agents worked across the whole organization, from strategy and marketing to operations and technology. The goal was never just to spend a Google Ad Grant: it was to get more people reading the public-domain books the foundation manages and taking courses on its learning platform. Within three months, clicks grew 350-fold and each conversion cost 94% less.
-
350×
More clicks
Compared with the period before Aptic
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−94%
Cost per conversion
Each result now costs a fraction of before
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20×
More of the grant used
From a small share to most of the monthly grant
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3×
The required click-through rate
Well above the Google Ad Grants minimum
- Organization
- Nydus Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
- Focus
- Free public-domain books, online courses, and essentials
- Markets
- United States and Mexico
- Areas involved
- Strategy, marketing, finance, operations, and technology
- Period
- June to September 2026
A mission to reach readers, and a grant mostly unused.
Nydus Foundation manages a free online library of public-domain books, a learning platform with free courses, and programs that deliver school supplies and household essentials. Its challenge was reach: getting more people to open a book or start a course.
Google Ad Grants gives eligible nonprofits free search advertising every month, but when Aptic started only a small share of it was being used. The account could not tell which visits mattered, so it had little to learn from, and most of the grant went unspent each month.
Aptic treated the grant as one channel in a wider plan, not a budget to use up. Every change was judged by whether more people went on to read and learn.
Start with the mission, then build for how people search.
Aptic’s consultants and AI agents defined success in readers and learners, planned how to reach them, and started with the Google Ad Grant. Each change was proposed with its reasoning and made once Nydus Foundation approved it.
- 01
Set the goal around people
Success meant people reading books and taking courses, not grant dollars spent, and every channel was planned around that.
- 02
Make results measurable
Aptic made sure the account could see the reader and learner actions that matter, so it had a clear signal to improve against.
- 03
Build for two languages
A new account structure served readers in English and Spanish, organized around what people were actually looking for.
- 04
Reach the right readers
Aptic focused the ads on searches from people looking for free books, courses, and learning, and kept refining them as results came in.
- 05
Write and test the ads
Mission-led ad copy in both languages was drafted, approved, and measured against what ran before.
- 06
Put the grant to work
Spending was paced against the monthly grant, so more of it went to work each month while the cost of each result fell.
More than an ad campaign.
Google Ads was the first visible win, but the work covered every area of the foundation, from weekly reviews to a strategic roadmap and a marketing plan that reaches beyond paid search.
Strategy
Set the foundation’s strategy around reach and impact, built a roadmap refreshed each month, and ran weekly and monthly reviews. The next priority: turning readers and learners into supporters.
Marketing
Planned marketing across audiences, messages, and channels for the library and the learning platform, ran the Google Ad Grant in English and Spanish as the first channel, and recommended a focused brand refresh.
Finance
Set a clear financial checkpoint for growing fundraising with confidence. Advice only; no money movement.
Operations
Kept recurring work moving, turned ideas into step-by-step plans for new programs, and proposed a simpler way to track supplies and deliveries.
Technology
Reviewed the website and systems, made a simple, reliable donation journey the first priority, recommended building on the current platform rather than replacing it, and set out steps to strengthen access controls.
More readers, at a fraction of the cost.
The account went from a handful of clicks to a steady flow of readers, and the cost of each conversion fell by 94%.
Consecutive four-week periods. Source: the Nydus Foundation Google Ads account.
More readers
People who found the foundation through search went on to open and read books in its free library.
Ahead of target
Website visits passed the foundation’s reach goal and kept growing.
Pages that deliver
The library pages turned most ad clicks into conversions in both languages.
Efficient clicks
Strong ad relevance kept the cost of each click low while reach grew.
Two markets
Mexico became the largest source of readers, alongside a growing audience in the United States.
Well within the rules
Click-through rate stayed at about three times the level Google Ad Grants requires.
From readers to supporters.
With a steady flow of readers, Aptic’s consultants and AI agents are working with Nydus Foundation on the rest of the plan: more learners on its course platform, marketing beyond paid search, and donations connected to the campaigns that bring people in, so the foundation’s reach grows support for its programs as well as its library.
Results are from the Nydus Foundation Google Ads account and Aptic’s workspace record, read on September 24, 2026, comparing consecutive four-week periods.
Straight answers
Common questions.
Was this only an ad campaign?
No. The goal was getting people reading the foundation's books and taking its courses. Strategy and marketing beyond ads were part of the work.
Why are results shown as percentages?
To protect our client's data, we report results as multiples and percentages rather than raw figures.
Are these results typical?
Results depend on each organization's goals, records, and starting point. This case study reports what was measured for this client.
Can other nonprofits work with Aptic?
Yes. Nonprofits, NGOs, and community organizations can apply to work with Aptic, like any other organization.
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