They say charity begins in the home, and it certainly does when it comes to internet users aimlessly browsing the net. Some of the longest-lived virals running around the net have been those focussed on charity. Users are more than keen to make the world a better place if all it takes is a click.

Most of these virals have been of the ‘urban myth’ kind. Everyone’s received a few of these in their inbox. ‘Forward this email to ten people and [insert business] will donate ten cents to charity’. ‘Every time you visit [insert site] they’ll give money to charity.’ The tactics and methods vary, but all of these continue to run around the net because people want to believe in them.

The longevity of these mythical charitable efforts has inspired the efforts of real businesses. Every so often, you will see an advertisement that reads ‘Click on me to improve the world’, or something similar. A recent campaign from an Australian major brand, Libra, is a good example. Libra’s campaign involves not only a game for users to play but a further incentive via a donation. It has been boosted by a pay per click campaign through Yahoo! mail. The campaign has many benefits for the company: it serves as a basic advertisement, gathers information from the users, provides them with entertainment, and makes the company look good.

The only surprise about these campaigns is how infrequent they are. Charity donations have been used as a marketing tool by business for a very long time, and many businesses are turning to virals as a way of advertising. For some reason, the full benefits of mixing charity with virals just haven’t sunk in for many businesses.

The benefits of a charity viral go well beyond the basic viral itself. As you are doing something newsworthy, you will be equipped with press release fodder throughout the campaign. These kinds of viral campaigns don’t have to be expensive, and if designed well can be cheaper than a video viral or a pay per click ad campaign. Even better, the money you eventually donate is a charitable contribution, which counts at tax time.

As with any viral campaign, a charity viral campaign needs to conform to your SEO tactics to have full benefit for your site, and you can talk to our experts at SEO Consult about preparing for viral campaigns. Part of the purpose of a viral campaign is to get users to talk about it. Planting keywords in the right places can ensure that you retain some control over keywords used when users spread the word. The URL you provide needs to be taken into consideration, and your landing page for the ‘SEO aware’ campaign needs to be carefully designed to attract users to progress further into the site.

No viral campaign is easy. As the popularity of virals as a business tool grows, the competition heats up. Featuring a charitable angle may be what gives your viral the edge for success.

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