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Case study · Nonprofit

How Nydus Foundation reached more readers and learners.

Nydus Foundation gives away free books and learning in English and Spanish. Aptic’s offices 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.

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  • 350×

    More clicks

    Compared with the period before Aptic

  • −94%

    Cost per conversion

    Each result now costs a fraction of before

  • 20×

    More of the grant used

    From a small share to most of the monthly grant

  • 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
Service
Management
Offices involved
Eight of the nine offices
Period
June to September 2026
The starting point

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.

What Aptic did

Start with the mission, then build for how people search.

The Strategy and Marketing offices 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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 03

    Build for two languages

    A new account structure served readers in English and Spanish, organized around what people were actually looking for.

  4. 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.

  5. 05

    Write and test the ads

    Mission-led ad copy in both languages was drafted, approved, and measured against what ran before.

  6. 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.

The whole team

More than an ad campaign.

Google Ads was the first visible win, but eight of Aptic’s offices worked on the foundation, from weekly reviews to a strategic roadmap and a marketing plan that reaches beyond paid search.

Marketing

Planned the foundation’s marketing across audiences, messages, and channels for both the library and the learning platform, and led the Google Ad Grant in English and Spanish as the first channel.

Strategy

Set the foundation’s strategy around reach and impact, built a roadmap refreshed each month, and set the next priority: turning readers and learners into supporters.

Product Management

Made a simple, reliable donation journey on the website the first product priority.

Management

Ran weekly and monthly operating reviews and turned ideas into clear, step-by-step plans for new programs.

Operations

Kept recurring work moving and proposed a simpler way to track supplies and deliveries for the foundation’s programs.

Finance

Set a clear financial checkpoint for growing fundraising with confidence. Advice only; no money movement.

Brand

Recommended a focused brand refresh under the Nydus Foundation name, with a clear, evidence-led voice.

Technology & Cybersecurity

Reviewed the website and systems, recommended building on the current platform rather than replacing it, and set out practical steps to strengthen access controls across connected systems.

All services
The results

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%.

Clicks, compared with the period before Aptic
  • Before Aptic 1×
  • Month 1 106×
  • Month 2 309×
  • Month 3 350×

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.

What comes next

From readers to supporters.

With a steady flow of readers, Aptic’s offices 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 get similar support?

Nonprofits, NGOs, and community organizations can apply for our pro bono program.

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