Strategic SEO and SEA for ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL:

More visibility and engagement for the weltwärts programme

The weltwärts programme is the development-focused volunteer service run by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for young people aged 18 and over. Participants from Germany volunteer in projects across the Global South, while young people from partner countries can undertake a voluntary service placement in Germany. With application numbers falling, the programme required a strategy to boost both its appeal and its reach.

Our task: An SEO and SEA strategy to increase visibility and applications

MONDIS developed an integrated SEO and SEA strategy to optimise the website and improve the performance of Google Ads. The aim was to engage the target groups more effectively and strengthen brand awareness to sustainably increase application numbers.

Our solution: A targeted SEO and Google Ads strategy

Drawing on extensive technical SEO and content audits, we improved the site’s crawlability and provided recommendations for enhancing mobile loading speed. Keyword research allowed us to identify relevant long-tail terms, develop optimised landing page concepts, and refine internal linking and backlink acquisition.

For the South–North component, which enables young people from partner countries to volunteer in Germany, MONDIS conducted keyword research for the English-, French- and Spanish-language sections of the website and adapted the content to reflect local search behaviour.

In SEA, we carried out a systematic analysis of the Google Ads account and restructured the campaigns. Through new Demand Gen and Performance Max campaigns, as well as targeted promotion of key themes such as inclusion and last-minute volunteer placements, we succeeded in reaching more potential applicants.

Results: Greater reach, improved rankings, higher efficiency

The targeted optimisation achieved top-three rankings for core keywords such as “FSJ Ausland” and “Freiwilligendienst Ausland”, as well as position 1 for country-specific terms like “Freiwilligendienst Südafrika”. Organic traffic increased by 40%.

SEA optimisation generated 45% more traffic, with a 40% reduction in cost per click, more efficient budget use and improved conversion rates. Thanks to MONDIS’ continuous optimisation, weltwärts was able not only to increase its overall reach and number of applicants but also to strengthen its long-term digital visibility.