A Growth Engine for Europe

SOS Amitié is an anonymous support service for people experiencing solitude, unhappiness or depression, who may be susceptible to suicidal thoughts. Almost 2,000 volunteers are on hand to listen, either over the phone or via the Internet, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.

Having started out with just one association in 1960, SOS Amitié now has 45 regional associations which receive 700,000 calls each year. One of these organisations is dedicated to online listening. As a result of offering this new type of service, SOS Amitié has had to develop a strategy to make its site more accessible to people in distress. The association opted for Google Ad Grants – Google’s online advertising tool intended for non-profit-making organisations. Within a short space of time, this strategy has helped make the association more visible online. Following the launch of the campaigns, Google Ad Grants accounts for approximately 80% of the traffic to the Paris IDF site, which equates to almost 7,000 visits every month. What’s more, over 46% of volunteer applications now come from the web, with the company receiving two to three applications on average per day. Maxime Bonin, Chairman of SOS Amitié Paris Ile de France, confirms that, “greater visibility on the web, and the fact that we can easily adapt our messages in line with our objectives, is a valuable tool to help us fulfil our mission.”