Church Website SEO for Beginners
This article covers the basics of church website SEO and how you can use it to improve the Google ranking of your Church Connect site.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and refers to the process of improving a website's ranking in search engines, which can help increase web traffic.
This process is primarily done by adding "keywords" to a website. These are words or phrases that people type into a search bar when running a query in a search engine. If your site has words or phrases related to what someone types into the search bar, your website is more likely to appear at the top of the search results.
Why SEO is important for churches
When searching for a new church, most people look to two sources:
- Word-of-mouth recommendations
SEO improves your visibility with the latter.
Improving your church website's SEO increases the likelihood that your church appears first in search results and that Google Maps presents your church above the rest. This will help more people find your church and become first-time visitors.
The Basics of Church Website SEO
It can feel daunting if you are new to optimizing your site for search engines. Improving the SEO of your church website is simpler than it may seem. Below is where to begin:
Local SEO
The secret to easy church website SEO is Local SEO. Local search engine optimization focuses on keywords used in searches by people in your locality.
Most people search "churches near me" or "churches in my area" when looking up a new church. But many will also be more specific in their searches by including the name of their town, neighborhood, etc. In other words, they will search "churches in [district]" or "churches on [street name]" instead of the generic "churches near me."
Adding Local SEO to Your Church Website
Add words or phrases specific to your locality to your website. A popular thing many churches add to their website is a "Plan a Visit" or "What to Expect" page for guests to read ahead of their first visit. We recommend you add the "church in [neighborhood]"-type phrases related to your locality to those pages.
For example: In my area, churches that want to boost their website SEO could add phrases like "church in Orange Park" and "church on Park Ave" to the headers or body text of their website to improve the chances of appearing first when someone is looking for a church in that specific area.
Read on to learn how to customize the landing page description, and other SEO elements, in Church Connect.
Church Connect SEO Tools
There are easy-to-use tools in Church Connect that allow you to improve your website's ranking in search engines. Below is where to find them and how to use them:
The Landing Page
You can customize the URL of your site. Select the "Page Setup" tab, then select the "Customize Your Link Now" button near the top of the screen. We recommend adding your church or ministry's full name, or something close to it, in the URL. This helps search engines connect a person's search to your website.
You can also customize the page description of your landing page. This description will appear below the link to your site when displayed as a search result. See the image below for an example:
To customize the page description, select the Actions button in the top-right corner of the screen, then choose Page Options.
Form Cards & Page Cards
Adding Form Cards and Page Cards to Church Connect adds a page that you can further customize. You can access these pages in the Page Setup tab by selecting the Home/Welcome Page button in the top-left corner, and then choosing the page you want to edit.
You have more SEO tools for these pages. Select the Actions button, then choose the Page Options button to access these tools.
Here, you can customize the URL for this page in the Custom Path field, the title of the page in the Page Title field, and the description of the page in the Page Description field. All of these fields will change what appears in search results, as well as how a search engine categorizes the page.
Google Maps
In addition to the on-site SEO tips and tools above, there is one more resource your church needs to improve your SEO and help people find your church: A Google Business Profile
That's because many people begin their search for a new church with Google Maps. However, Google does not present search results based solely on proximity. Let's make sure Google presents your church first.
Step 1: Create a Google Business Profile
If your church doesn't already have a Google Business Profile, click this link to create one now. The process takes only a few minutes.
A GBP creates a "pin" in Google Maps. If someone clicks or taps on that pin, Google will display the church's profile with the information you enter as you create it.
Step 2: Ask Members to Add Photos and Reviews
You can upload photos of your church when you create the GBP. However, your members can upload photos, too. Pictures boost your church's ranking with Google search, so the more photos, the better.
Reviews play a big role in which churches Google promotes in Maps. Ask your members to leave 5-star reviews on Google.
Pro Tips
In Google's eyes, a static site is a dead site. A site that never changes will likely get ranked poorly by Google. You don't need to add new content every day, but don't let a month go without adding fresh content.
You don't need to add keywords and phrases to every webpage. Google can sense when you're stuffing your site with keywords to artificially boost your ranking and will penalize your site for it. Use your gut when adding keywords. Only add them where it makes sense and is relevant to the information on the page.
If more people look up your church in Google Maps and get directions, that tells Google your church is an important location that people need to get to, which can improve your ranking.