How easy is it to find your church online?
If you had to rate your church’s online visibility on a scale of 1 to 10, what would you say? Maybe a 6? Perhaps a 4? Or lower?
We feel your pain. In fact, it’s probably the most consistent complaint we get when chatting with churches.
- “Why can’t I find my church’s website on Google?”
- “How do I make sure that more people know about us?”
- “How do I know what I’m doing even works?”
That’s why over the next few months we’re launching a new series of articles designed to help churches like yours position themselves well to be found online. At Digital Outreach, we’ve found that the key to success is a comprehensive approach – one that brings together specific digital pieces so they all work together in concert. The goal of all of this? Welcome new visitors through your church’s front doors.
So, without further ado, here are the four key areas to increase your church’s visibility, ranked by impact:
- 1. Google advertising
- 2. Social advertising
- 3. Website search engine optimization
- 4. Google Business Profile
In future articles, we’ll dive into three key areas: Google advertising (including the Google Ad Grant), social media advertising, and search engine optimization (SEO) for your website. What we’ve learned from the data is that excelling in each of these areas has a powerful, compounding effect on your church’s online visibility. Strength in one area, say your website’s search engine optimization, allows for strength in another (e.g. – your Google advertising). Everything works together to provide an inviting experience that encourages a Sunday visit.
The church visibility flywheel model above works like a spinning wheel that builds momentum over time. Instead of focusing just on one tactic to increase visibility, it’s about creating elevated digital experiences that welcome new visitors and position your church well, regardless of how someone hears about you.
With that context in mind, let’s explore why your Google Business Profile is a key cog in your church’s ability to appear in local searches, what elements make up a strong Google Business Profile, and where you should start.
Why is the Google Business Profile so Important?
According to Google, the Google Business Profile is able to generate user behavior in a way that should cause all of us to sit up in our seats:
- “Customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider a business reputable if they find a complete Business Profile on Google Search and Maps.”
- “Customers are 70% more likely to visit and 50% more likely to consider purchasing from businesses with a complete Business Profile.”
Those are compelling statistics for what could be misconstrued as a seemingly simple information delivery vehicle, and the innocuous experience that makes up your Google Business Profile. However, when we get a chance to peak under the hood, we find that we’re better able to understand why your Google Business Profile has the impact that it does. Let’s start by exploring how searches and search engine rankings work in the world of Google.
Google's E-E-A-T Algorithm
Google’s core mission is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Google invests heavily in a constantly-evolving proprietary algorithm to help achieve that mission, with an over-arching goal of delivering the most-relevant and most-useful content based on a user’s search intent. The lengths Google will go to consistently test and improve how they rank content (Google launched 4,725 changes to their ranking systems, user interface, and more in 2022) is what sets it apart from other search engines.
And, while it wouldn’t be particularly useful for this exercise to go into all of the details of the algorithm (and also since we don’t have it and Google’s not sharing it), a better path forward is to synthesize into broad categories what the algorithm is taking into account when it decides how to rank certain sites. Understanding this provides insight on how to maximize the exposure of your site in search results, and why your Google Business Profile plays a critical role in how you appear on Google.
If you want to understand how Google’s search engine works, simply remember the acronym E-E-A-T.
(Fun tip: Since Google is essentially a library for digital information, I often remember this by the phrase “E-E-A-T-ing at the Library.”
E-xperience: Google tries to ascertain the practical knowledge and hands-on experience an organization has for its applicable field. In the church context, Google is making an evaluation on the church’s ability to serve its congregation, as well as the local community. Elements such as the quantity and quality of reviews on your Google Business Profile, the display of different types of services offered (e.g. – different ministries), the date of when the church was founded/planted, and links to an active social presence all communicate a good “Experience” in the eyes of Google.
E-xpertise: Google wants to ensure that the content displayed in search results comes from knowledgeable sources. In a world where anyone can create information, Google attempts to rank organizations it has deemed more reputable higher. It does this by scanning your website and Google Business Profile for a depth of knowledge and competence in a given field. Ensuring you have a thorough Google Business Profile, with ALL applicable fields populated with up-to-date and accurate information will enhance your expertise score.
A-uthority: Google looks at the recognition and reputation an organization has within a particular category and uses that to decide the order in which different websites rank. Often, Google hopes to see things like backlinks, as well as a strong online presence and well-maintained website to consider a particular organization an authority in its sphere. From a Google Business Profile perspective, posting semi-regular, high-quality, informative, and engaging content, especially around welcoming people who are searching for a church or events that are outreach oriented, will help increase your authority score.
T-rustworthiness: At the end of the day, everything – Experience, Expertise, and Authority – is designed to point towards trustworthiness. Trustworthiness is crucial for any organization, including churches, as Google strives to push content that is reliable, honest, and accurate. And, while you may be a trustworthy organization, Google only knows of your trustworthiness through how you present yourself online. Once again, this is where the quality and quantity of positive reviews, as well as the accuracy of all the information on your Google Business Profile, becomes extremely important.
Google’s E-E-A-T acronym is a simple framework to understand how Google works, and a diagnostic to see where you can most impact where your church falls in relevant search rankings. Though you cannot force Google to show your church, taking action to sharpen each of these four categories certainly increases the likelihood that people will find you when they are searching. And we know one thing for sure: people are searching.
The State of Local Search
Now that we’ve established how and why Google ranks different websites the way it does for particular searches, it’s also helpful to understand all this in the context of “local search.”
In 2024, nearly half of all Google searches (46%) are seeking local products and services. And according to Soci, a company specializing in the aggregation of large swaths of search data, these local searches are increasing at a rapid rate:
- Consumers are searching locally for businesses more frequently. Our Consumer Behavior Index (CBI) research found that 80% of U.S. consumers search for local businesses weekly, and 32% do so daily.
- In the U.S., there are more than 5.9 million keywords related to “near me” and 800 million searches per month that contain some variation of “near me”
The number of searches for “churches near me” over the last twenty years
Source: Google Trends
These statistics, as well as the fact that over 70% of people who search for local businesses online visit them within 24 hours, means that Google is going to do everything it can to ensure that it’s delivering high quality results for local searches. This ensures that users keep coming back to Google to utilize its service. And since Google desires to prioritize organizations that demonstrate the proper experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness, it takes your Google Business Profile into account when it evaluates your rankings for local searches.
Elements of an Effective Google Business Profile Platform
With all of this talk about the importance of your profile on Google, you may be ready to ask the all-important question: What must I do to develop an effective Google Business Profile? Here are five items you to address to squeeze more benefit from Google than you’ve ever seen before.
1. Accurate and Updated Information
It is sometimes surprising how often we see churches get this wrong. Perhaps they’ve moved location or changed their service time. Perhaps their phone number has changed or they’ve added deacons or staff. They’ve thought to alert the congregation, but somehow failed to alert the searching world.
Things change over time, and it’s critical to ensure that the current experience people have of your online presence is accurately reflected on your profile. Getting these simple aspects wrong will invariably create a negative user experience, presenting an obstacle for searchers to visit your church.
It’s useful to put a reminder in your calendar to check in on this content at least once a year to ensure that it is accurate and up to date.
2. Quality Photography
Often the photos in a Google Business Profile are out of date, and do not provide an accurate sense of the church or its congregation. Visually telling your church’s story through photos can be a powerful way to invite people into your building. Therefore, it is imperative that churches invest time into the photos that fill their profile. Here are some aspects to consider when selecting photos:
Capture the atmosphere and show people–real people. Let them see smiling congregants, vibrant worship, and energized events.
Reflect your community engagement in your photos. Include items such as community outreaches, holiday concerts, and even service at soup kitchens.
Diversify the content of your photos, showing gatherings of youth as well as the elderly, singles and married couples, and men and women. This provides a holistic look at your church.
Regularly update your photos. This has more than aesthetics in view. Be sure to check that those represented in your profile are still active members in good standing at your church. And, yes, keep aesthetics in view as well.
3. Reviews and More Reviews...
Google Business Profile enables church members and visitors to leave reviews and testimonials, acting as word-of-mouth endorsements that can influence others’ decisions to attend services or events. Over 85% of consumers trust online reviews and ratings as much as personal recommendations.
Many churches with whom we interact do not have many reviews, which is a problem. Since reviews matter to the majority of searchers, the church needs to give them attention and do all it can to correct the problem.
One inherent problem with reviews is the fact that not all of them are positive. There are few things as disappointing as seeing someone post something negative about your church, especially when you know it’s untrue. And there are few things as discouraging to a potential visitor than a church who has negative reviews connected to its profile. So, how should a church think and approach this inevitable scenario?
- It’s important to recognize that reviews are increasingly more difficult to remove. Though you are still able to get some reviews taken down, it is now most likely the case that the review must clearly rise to the level of a personal attack, a threat, or some form of harassment, or contain verifiably false or misleading information.
- When Google evaluates a reported review, they take the history of the reviewer into account as well, prioritizing the removal of those who have posted other reviews that have been flagged as inappropriate. This means that even in some cases where you feel like you have a legitimate argument, Google might not necessarily agree with you based on the history of that particular user.
- The best way to combat negative reviews is to increase the ratio of positive reviews to negative reviews. Though it may seem counter-intuitive, it’s not necessarily a bad thing to have a few sub-par reviews, if you’re able to counteract that with a significant amount of 5-star reviews as well. There are a wide-variety of marketing experts that would even argue that having a few sub-par reviews makes you feel more real and authentic.
- Use the commendation of those who love the church. Consider soliciting reviews from your membership, especially your ministry leaders. Ask them to write a review of your church, but with a specific emphasis on their ministry. This allows the reviews to paint a much more complete and diverse picture of your church. For example, a 5-star review of your church talking about all the benefits a family has seen by having their children in your children’s ministry is more powerful than a 5-star review broadly stating they enjoyed the visit.
- This process can be done over time. Google does try to guard against organizations that dump hundreds of artificial 5-star reviews into its Google Business Profile. Slow and steady wins the race here.
4. A Q&A Feature
This is an often overlooked aspect of the Google Business Profile profile. The Q&A feature allows potential visitors to ask questions directly on the Google Business Profile, providing an opportunity for the church to engage with them, offer helpful information, and demonstrate their commitment to community involvement.
Does your office tend to receive the same types of calls from visitors? Do pastors at your guest reception (or while interacting with visitors) get similar questions? This is great content for your Q&A section. It provides yet another opportunity to demonstrate your church’s characteristics, beliefs, values, and what it is like to visit in question and answer form.
Here are a list of questions that we believe are worth asking and answering in the Q&A section:
- What’s the preaching like on Sunday morning
- What is your style of worship?
- What do you have for my kids?
- How long is the Sunday service?
- What should I wear?
- What time does the Sunday service start?
- Where should I park?
- What can I expect to encounter when I visit you?
5. Your Social Media Links
Ensure that your social media links are properly linked to your Google Business Profile profile. For most potential guests, a visit to your social media channels offers a look into the life of the church. While we don’t necessarily believe you need to post frequently, making sure there are regular updates shows an authentic view of church life, helping the potential guest feel more comfortable and familiar on their first visit.
Three Actions to Take Immediately
The stats are numerous and the verdict is in: your Google Business Profile really matters. We’ve already given you much to think about, but let’s conclude with a few action steps you could take immediately.
- Claim and Verify Your Listing – If you haven’t already, the very first step is to claim ownership of your Google Business Profile listing. Claiming your listing gives you control over the information displayed and allows you to optimize it for better visibility. Verify your listing through the verification process provided by Google, typically by mail, phone, or email. Once verified, you can update and manage your profile effectively.
- Optimize Your Business Information – Ensure that all the information in your Google Business Profile profile is accurate, complete, and up-to-date. Include your church’s name, address, phone number, website URL, service times, and any other relevant details. Make sure the information matches the details on your website and other online platforms to maintain consistency. Also, selecting the appropriate category that describes your church is important. This ensures that you show up alongside other churches for relevant searches.
- Add Compelling Photos and Videos – As we’ve discussed, visual content plays a crucial role in attracting and engaging potential visitors. Add high-quality photos and videos that showcase your church, your community, worship services, events, and other relevant aspects. Include images that reflect the atmosphere, diversity, and welcoming nature of your congregation.
A well-optimized Google Business Profile increases the likelihood of your church appearing in local search results, ensuring the church is more visible to individuals searching for a place of worship in the area. Furthermore, with a robust Google Business Profile account, the church’s location, contact information, and service times are readily available to users searching on Google Maps, making it easier for people to find and visit the church.
With your Google Business Profile now firmly optimized, we can now turn our time and attention to other areas of your church’s digital presence. Stay tuned for articles on:
- Your church website’s SEO (coming soon)
- Google Advertising (coming soon)
- Social Media Advertising (coming soon)
Need help with your Google Business Profile?
We believe that local churches are an essential part of Christian community, and a place where people can find Jesus, know Jesus, and grow in their relationship with Jesus. To that end, we’re deeply passionate about helping the local church connect with their surrounding community. If you’d like to chat about simple steps you can take to elevate your Google Business Profile, book a 15 minute conversation today:
Matt Engler
Digital Outreach, Co-Founder