Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Anglican Communion and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It welcomes visitors from around the world for worship, tours, events and exhibitions.

As a charity, the Cathedral is eligible for up to $10,000 a month in free advertising through the Google Ad Grants programme, but it wasn’t using any of it. In May 2025 we were brought on to launch a new grant account and turn that unused allowance into visits, bookings and revenue.

Our objectives were to:

• Promote visits and admission tickets
• Raise awareness of events, services and exhibitions
• Drive shop, membership and donation purchases
• Make maximum use of the monthly grant allowance

Building the foundations

We built the account from the ground up, creating campaigns for every key area of the Cathedral: visits and ticketing, events and services, shop, and memberships. Each one speaks directly to what people are searching for and takes them to the right page.

Measuring what matters

We set up conversion tracking from the start, so we could see which searches led to real actions such as bookings, enquiries and purchases. When value tracking became available on the Cathedral’s website, we brought it into the grant account. That meant we could measure the revenue the grant was generating.

Continuous improvement

The account is never left to stand still. We regularly review performance, refine campaigns and adopt new Google Ads features as they become available. Ads stay fresh and seasonal throughout the year, so the Cathedral’s events and offers are always front and centre.

In just over a year, the Cathedral has gone from no Google Ads Grant activity to using an average of 94% of its monthly grant allowance, reaching almost its full allowance within seven months of launch. Clicks and impressions have more than tripled since the first three months, and click-through rate has stayed at more than three times Google’s grant minimum.

Once value tracking was established, over the peak Summer holiday period, monthly ticket purchases grew by 241% and conversion value by 286%, showing the grant is now driving real revenue for the Cathedral.