National Nonprofit Mercy Housing Selects 90octane for Strategic Search Engine Marketing Program

DENVER, May 11, 2009 — Mercy Housing, a national nonprofit affordable housing organization based in Denver, has hired conversion-driven marketing agency 90octane to create and implement an integrated search engine marketing (SEM) program.

Search engine optimization (SEO) techniques will increase online visibility and drive prospective donors to MercyHousing.org through organic search results. In addition, complementary and targeted pay-per-click (PPC) advertising will aim to achieve a low cost per donated dollar while increasing online donations and attracting new donors through relevant online ads.

On behalf of Mercy Housing, 90octane (http://www.90octane.com) has applied for and secured a Google Grant(TM) that will support paid search advertising efforts and the overarching SEM program. The Google Grants program harnesses the power of the search engine's flagship advertising product, Google AdWords(TM), to assist nonprofits with informing and engaging their constituents online. With free, in-kind AdWords advertising, Mercy Housing's text ads will be eligible to appear online at the exact moment when users perform related search queries on Google.com. When users click on the ad, they will be taken directly to Mercy Housing's website.

Careful strategy and management will ensure that SEO, PPC and the Grants program work in unison to generate visibility, traffic and conversions.

"We are excited to partner with 90octane to increase awareness about Mercy Housing's work throughout the country," said Garth Jordan, Mercy Housing vice president of resource development and marketing. "Through 90octane, more people will learn about the importance of program-enriched affordable housing and how it improves the lives of low-income families, seniors and people with special needs."

About Mercy Housing
Mercy Housing, a national not-for-profit affordable housing organization headquartered in Denver, has a presence in 41 states, serves more than 117,000 people on any given day and has participated in the development, financing or operation of more than 35,700 homes. About 75 percent of Mercy Housing's portfolio is rental units, and the remaining 25 percent is homeownership. Mercy Housing serves families, seniors and people with special needs (formerly homeless, people with HIV/AIDS and the developmentally disabled). For more information about Mercy Housing, please visit http://www.mercyhousing.org.