OurChurch.Com News and Announcements

New and Improved Search Marketing Services

pdstein — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:54:57 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2010-03-10.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

It's Search Marketing Month here at OurChurch.Com and with that OurChurch.Com is proud to announce the re-launch of 4 of our SEO services as well as the introduction of one new service.

For over 5 years OurChurch.Com has been providing search marketing services for Christian churches, businesses, schools and ministries. Nearly two years ago OurChurch.Com pioneered local search marketing for churches and schools with the Top Church Search Rankings and Top Schools Search Rankings services. Soon after, we launched the Local Business Search Marketing service.

NEW LOCAL MINISTRY SEARCH MARKETING SERVICE

While OurChurch.Com has served several ministries with our marketing services, we knew it was time to develop a service specifically designed to meet the needs of the local ministry. Similar to the Top Church Search Rankings service, the Local Ministry Search Marketing service (http://marketing.ourchurch.com/ministry-marketing-services.php) will include:

- Local SEO for the city your ministry is located in and 2 additional cities located next to the city in which your ministry is located
- SEO for up to 3 descriptive keywords (i.e.: food pantry, youth group, pregnancy counseling)
- Listings in Google, Yahoo, and Bing's local search listings
- Listings in the Internet yellow pages, internet review websites, and Christian directories
- A web page on your website with links to your ministry's reviews and listings so customers can quickly and easily create positive reviews for your ministry
- Google Webmaster account setup
- Google Site Map submission
- Monthly search ranking reports to monitor your website's rankings
- Regularly maintained SEO so you can make changes to your website without worrying about the SEO
- Regularly updated SEO to keep your site up to date with the most recent trends and strategies in SEO
And we guarantee at least 20 top ten rankings!

IMPROVED SEARCH MARKETING SERVICES

In addition to the in introduction of the Local Ministry Search Marketing service, we have also improved the other three local SEO services and the Standard SEO Management. We have added new directories, updated our keyword research tools, and added Google Webmaster Tools setup and Google Sitemap submission.

- Standard SEO Management 2.0 (http://marketing.ourchurch.com/marketing-local-business-marketing-services.php)
- Top Church Search Rankings 2.0 (http://marketing.ourchurch.com/marketing-church-marketing-services.php)
- Top Schools Search Rankings 2.0 (http://marketing.ourchurch.com/marketing-school-marketing-services.php)
- Local Business Search Marketing 2.0 (http://marketing.ourchurch.com/seo-campaign-management.php)

Marketing is an investment in your ministry or business. We've taken our services to the next level and now we'd like to help you take your organization to the next level. So, check out the new and improved marketing services and request your FREE, no obligation marketing consultation (http://marketing.ourchurch.com/marketing-consultation.php) today!

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Post your comments and questions concerning this announcement here in our forums.

Put Google, Bing, & Yahoo! to Work for You

pdstein — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:10:24 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2010-03-03.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

You've got a mission. You've created a website to help with the mission. But you can't accomplish your mission unless people go to your website and connect with you.

What's your plan for getting people to your website?

If you're just hoping search engines will find your site, ranking it well for important keywords, and send you a flood of visitors... well, good luck with that.

It's critically important that you either learn the fundamentals of search engine marketing and execute them, or hire a professional to do it for you.

March is Search Marketing Month at OurChurch.Com. Whether you choose to go the do-it-yourself route or hire a professional, we can help. Keep reading to learn how.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Search Marketing Month Features
===============================
1) Put Google, Bing & Yahoo to Work for You
2) Get a $100 Visa Gift Card
3) Search Marketing Case Studies
4) Church Marketing Online University
5) Search Marketing Q&A

1) PUT GOOGLE, BING, & YAHOO TO WORK FOR YOU
Search engines can bring a tremendous number of new visitors to your website. But you have to get your site ranking well for the right keywords to for that to happen.

Chances are you're a busy person. You don't have time to learn the intricacies of search marketing - the keyword research, the optimization, the link building, generating and monitoring rankings reports. Let our experienced, professional search marketing team take care of those things for you, so you can focus on running your business, church, or school.

No budget for search marketing?

We hear that all the time. It's time to stop thinking of search marketing as an expense. Better search rankings will generate more sales, tithes, or tuition than it costs. People who want to grow their organization recognize marketing - including search marketing - is an important investment in their future.

OurChurch.Com is the leading provider of search engine optimization and marketing services to Christian organizations. No one has been doing it longer. No one does it better. No one else guarantees top 10 results. Find the service that's right for you.
http://marketing.ourchurch.com

2) GET A $100 VISA GIFT CARD
Not sure which search marketing service is right for your organization? Request a free phone consultation. We'll listen to you, learn about your organization and its goals and recommend the search marketing service that will best help you reach those goals.

If you do a phone consultation with us before the end of March and eventually move forward with a search engine optimization service, we'll give you a $100 Visa gift card. We know a lot of organizations have long approval processes, so we don't require a contract or first payment before the end of the month to receive the gift card, just the call. Request your free consultation now.
http://marketing.ourchurch.com/marketing-consultation.php

3) SEARCH MARKETING CASE STUDIES
Maybe you're saying to yourself, "Sure, you say search marketing services produce results that more than pay for themselves, but how do you know?" Great question. Measuring results is critical, and not just counting visitors but seeing how many of those visitors result in sales for a business, new visitors for a church, or new students for a school.

This month we'll be publishing a series of case studies to our blog. Each case study tells the story of an organzaion, detailing their circumstances prior to doing search marketing, the search marketing that was done, the results, and how those results impacted the organization. The first was published Tuesday and describes how Christian Leadership University grew enrollment by 10% during the recession with search marketing.
http://blog.ourchurch.com/2010/03/02/growing-through-search-marketing-a-case-study/

4) CHURCH MARKETING ONLINE UNIVERSITY
If you work with a church and decide you're going to go the do-it-yourself path with your search marketing, we've put together a great educational resource called Church Marketing Online University. CMO University is a series of 12 in-depth articles explaining search engine marketing and its specific applications for churches, plus a handy glossary to help you understand all the lingo. Take a look in the left sidebar at Church Marketing Online.
http://ChurchMarketingOnline.Com

5) SEARCH MARKETING Q&A
In addition to the case studies and the CMO University resource, we will be talking a lot about search marketing on the Christian Web Trends blog. We're starting things off simply by listening:

Where does your organization stand when it comes to search engines?
http://blog.ourchurch.com/2010/03/01/state-of-the-union-of-church-ministry-and-search-engines/

Post your search marketing questions/issues in the comments, and we'll respond either with a reply in the comments or perhaps even an entire blog post on your issue.

Post your comments and questions concerning this announcement here in our forums.

Introducing the Universal Login Bar and the MyOCC Dashboard

pdstein — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:34:58 -0500

We are excited to introduce you to OurChurch.Com's Universal Login Bar and the MyOCC Dashboard, which will simplify and enrich your experience at OurChurch.Com.

The Universal Login Bar is being added to the top of pages throughout the OCC site and enables you to login from anywhere and access any OurChurch.Com services without being prompted to login again.

Previously each website created with our NE1 Web Builder had its own username and password, but now you can log into all your NE1 sites using the same OCC username and password.

Once you've logged into the Universal Login Bar, you're always one click away from the new MyOCC Dashboard.

The MyOCC Dashboard includes all your important OCC stuff, including:

- Links to update your contact info and password.
- Links to your OCC websites and their admin.
- Info on your premium services and renewal dates.
- Links to your OCC search listings and to edit them.
- Links to manage your partnership settings (if a partner).
- Links to view your advertising (if an advertiser).
- The latest OCC news, blog posts, & tweets.

Give the Universal Login Bar and MyOCC Dashboard a try. Tell us what you think about them by posting a comment in our forums.

What do you like about them? What do you dislike about them? What should we add or change? This is just the beginning. The future of the Universal Login Bar and MyOCC Dashboard will be determined by your feedback.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

New Custom Website Package with No Up-Front Design Fee

pdstein — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:33:50 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2010-02-09.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

You spoke and we listened. OurChurch.Com is excited to announce the release of our new and improved Custom Premier Website. The Custom Premier Website has been available for a year now, but after listening to churches, schools, and other ministries we found that it included some things that were not really needed and did not include other features that important to Christian organizations.

So what has changed? Below, we have listed the items that have been added to the Custom Premier package with a brief description of each. This is in addition to tons of other features already included with the Premier package:

1. Two Custom Templates: Previously there was one custom template included in the Premier package. However we have found that many organizations want a design solely for their homepage and a similar, yet different design for their internal pages. There are also many churches with schools that want a different design for the church and the school section of the website. The Premier package now accommodates those needs.

2. Facebook Fan Page: Encourage interaction with your Facebook page. Display the Avatars of some of your Facebook fans as well as your FB latest posts.

3. Easy Twitter Status: Showcase your Twitter updates and link to your Twitter profile. Display your latest Twitter status updates on any page in your site.

4. Inclusion of both Event Registration & Full Feature Shopping Cart: Sell products, services, tickets, etc from your website. Also, eliminate the hassle of paper forms by providing a simple way to register for events on your website. If payment is required, visitors can make payment on the site.

5. Custom Forms Creator: Create your own custom forms by using a simple 'Drag-n-Drop' interface. Choose where the information is sent when the form has been submitted.

6. Business/membership directory: Provide a great resource of a business, member, or student directory for your organization. Keep the information secure by having it password protected.

7. Admin Notification System: Notify Administrators of updates to content pages and allow them to view previous versions of content pages.

8. Social Networking Platform: Build community with your visitors/members/students/customers with your own social networking platform (similar to Facebook).

9. Advanced Document Management System: Organize downloadable documents on your website. Visitors can search and sort documents for easy access.

10. New expanded disk space: Now includes 20GB of disk space which means plenty of space for audio, video, and pictures.

Please go to http://www.ourchurch.com/design/custom-web-design.php for more information on the Custom Premier Website and to request a free consultation.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Post your comments and questions concerning this announcement here in our forums.

Transform Your Site in Website Design Month

pdstein — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:18:19 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2010-02-02.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

Do you like the look of your site? Are visitors able to easily find the information they're looking for? Does it do everything you want it to? If not...

Transform your website!

We can help.

February is Website Design Month at OurChurch.Com. Our goal for the month is to raise awareness about website design issues, facilitate the exchange of ideas with other website designers/managers, and challenge each other to improve our websites.

Sure, we also have some website design services that can help improve your website, but most important thing is that you have a great looking and great functioning website. Whether that means providing the tools and advice so you can do it yourself or creating a completely custom website for you, we're happy to help any way you'd like.

Check out the things we're doing for Website Design Month below.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Website Design Month Features
=============================
1) Get a Custom Website That Produces Results
2) Win an Extreme Makeover OCC Edition
3) Show Off Your Customized NE1 Site
4) Save $50 On Custom NE1 Templates & Headers
5) Website Design Tips

1) GET A CUSTOM WEBSITE THAT PRODUCES RESULTS
Are you ready to take your website to the next level in 2010? Do you want a site that:

- Looks great
- Has advanced, interactive functionality
- Is guaranteed to rank at the top of Google's search results.
- Is easy to update
- Is affordable

Consider one of OurChurch.Com's Custom Design Packages, which include all of the above with no up-front cost and affordable monthly payments. Take a look at this video testimonial from a client who was so pleased with the results of the first site we developed for him that he had us develop a second site for another business. Check out the latest sites added to our portfolio (http://www.ourchurch.com/design/web-design-portfolio.php). Then request your free phone consultation.
http://www.ourchurch.com/design/free-web-design-consulting.php

2) WIN AN EXTREME MAKEOVER OCC EDITION
Several weeks ago we began posting weekly Wednesday Website Weviews to our blog. These reviews have included lots of helpful recommendations the website owner could implement to improve their site. This month we're taking it one step further. For one lucky winner, we'll actually make the recommended changes for them.

The Makeover may include a brand new Flash header, improved menu navigation, custom graphics for the content of the site, and more valued at up to $1,000 or more.

To be eligible, you must post a request to receive a Wednesday Website Weview per the instructions in the forum topic by noon Eastern on Tuesday February 9. In addition to the conditions for the Wednesday Website Weviews, only sites created with our NE1 Website builder and our custom CMS clients are eligible to win the Extreme Makeover OCC Edition. You must be able to reply quickly to our emails during the makeover. And you must be willing to allow us to make the changes recommended in the review.
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?t=6043

3) SHOW OFF YOUR CUSTOMIZED NE1 SITE
One of the things we want to do is encourage our members who use our NE1 Website Builder to customize their sites using the NE1 Template Editor. More than 2/3 of the 200+ templates available for use with our NE1 Website Builder can be customized. You can change the text & link colors, swap in a personalized header graphic, and add modules for Facebook, Twitter, weather, verse-a-day, and more to the sidebar. Have you customized an NE1 template? Show it off in this forum topic.
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?t=6077

4) SAVE $50 ON CUSTOM NE1 TEMPLATES & HEADERS
While you can do a ton of customizing on your own with editable NE1 templates, OCC can help you take your NE1 site to another level by creating a custom template or header for you. This month only NE1 custom templates and headers are $50 of the regular price. Click for more details:
http://www.ourchurch.com/hosting/design-services.php

We also have monthly payment options available if you'd like to spread out payment for the custom header or template over a full year. Contact us at 727-723-2454 or through our help desk for more about that option.

5) WEBSITE DESIGN TIPS
Of course, we're going to do all we can to provide you with tips and advice about website design in our Christian Web Trends blog this month. Check out today's post 12 Reasons to Redesign Your Website and check back daily (or subscribe to the RSS feed) for new articles throughout the month.
http://blog.ourchurch.com/2010/02/02/12-reasons-to-redesign-your-website/

Post your comments and questions concerning this announcement here in our forums.

Get the Best Website in the World!

pdstein — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:37:28 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2010-01-13.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

OurChurch.Com is excited to announce a way that you can have the best website in the world: Hire the top 100 programmers and marketers to work for you. However, if this approach is a little beyond your means, we have another way to create a new website (or get your current website) to produce exceptional results: OurChurch.Com's new Consulting services.

Note: This is only for people that are extremely serious about their website!

And yes, this mean financially serious as well. This is a serious service that is only meant for those who are committed to having an exceptional website. So, if you are thinking that you can get a top tier website, built and marketed by top tier professionals, for a few thousand dollars, then click the "x" on this email (this is not for you). However, if your website is an essential component of your business, church, school, or ministry and you are tired of having a good looking website that produces mediocre results, then keep reading...

OurChurch.Com's Consulting packages include a variety of services. Depending on your needs, your package can include:

* Custom Website Design.
* Content Structure and Flow Creation.
* Superior Website Hosting.
* Unlimited Free Hosting Support.
* Usability Tests to Ensure you website is marketable to your target demographic.
* Monthly maintenance to ensure your website is kept up to date.
* Top Search Engine Rankings in the major search engines.
* Google AdWords campaign management.
* And much more...

For details about OurChurch.Com's Consulting services and to Get Serious about your website click to:
http://www.ourchurch.com/consulting/website-consultation-services.php

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Post your comments and questions concerning this announcement here in our forums.

New Web Hosting Prices, Packages and Bundles for 2010

pdstein — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:10:41 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2010-01-05.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

OurChurch.Com is excited to announce new web hosting packages for 2010 with lower prices, more disk space, and more bandwidth than ever before.

Many organizations are using audio and video to engage first time visitors to their site and keep them coming back regularly.

Are you?

Have you set goals for 2010 to grow your business? Grow your organization? Grow your website traffic? Communicate more effectively? Save money?

Multimedia and broadband have gone mainstream

My soon-to-be retired mother does a weekly podcast with her 2nd grade class. We host rural churches with less than 100 members that post video of their sermons online. We host missions organizations that are finding sponsors for impoverished children by posting their pictures and stories online.

This is the time for you to take your website to the next level, and OurChurch.Com can help you do it.

The Deets!

- Hosting packages start as low as $5.95/mo for our Starter package.
- 2010 packages have 4x the disk space and 2x the bandwidth as last year.
- All packages include fantastic support 365 days a year from our friendly, knowledgeable, Christian staff.
- Get 2 months free when you pay annually.
- Save even more when you purchase hosting and search engine marketing services together in a website services bundle.

Order now!
http://www.ourchurch.com/edit/order2.php

Or see our web hosting packages comparison page for more details.
http://www.ourchurch.com/hosting/web-hosting-plans-packages.php

If you already have a paid hosting package, you must contact our support staff via the help desk (http://www.ourchurch.com/support/) to switch to one of the new 2010 packages.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Post your comments and questions concerning this announcement here in our forums.

Quadruple Your Web Hosting Disk Space Today!

pdstein — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:55:42 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2009-12-02.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

OurChurch.Com is doing a huge end-of-the-year sale on web hosting. Order a new web hosting account or upgrade any existing web hosting account and we'll QUADRUPLE the disk space and DOUBLE the bandwidth!

- Order our starter package and get 200 MB of space instead of 50 MB.
- Upgrade to the bronze hosting package and get 2 GB of space instead of 500 MB.
- Order silver and get 6 GB instead of 1.5 GB.
- Get a gold package and receive 24 GB up from 6 GB.

You'll get the increased disk space and bandwidth for as long as you continue your hosting account.

This offer if not available for simply renewing an existing hosting package. You must order a new account or upgrade a current account to a better hosting package than it currently has to take advantage of this opportunity.

Order now!
http://www.ourchurch.com/edit/order2.php

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Inspire Gratitiude in Give Thanks Month

pdstein — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:07:11 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2009-11-03.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

We've turned another page on the calendar, and Thanksgiving is only weeks away. As I blogged earlier today, there are few things more powerful than an attitude of gratitude. When we are thankful, we are focused on the half of the glass that is full. It helps us overcome so many negative emotions like disappointment, frustration, bitterness, resentment, and jealousy.

November is "Give Thanks Month" at OurChurch.Com. We hope you'll join us as we raise up the value of giving thanks to God and other people. Read on for more info on how we're doing that. We'd especially like you to read the last entry as we express our gratitude to our members.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Give Thanks Month Features
==========================
1) Save an Additional $70 on Silver/Ad-Free
2) Express Your Gratituesday
3) Thanks You, Our Members!

1) SAVE AN ADDITIONAL $70 ON SILVER/AD-FREE
You can already save big by purchase a year of any hosting package, but this month only save an additional $70 when you purchase a year of the Silver Hosting Package and the Ad-Free Option together. This combination gives you just about everything you could ever want for your website - a domain name, calendar, shopping cart, and tons of email addresses, disk space, and extra features. Order today!
http://www.ourchurch.com/edit/order2.php

2) EXPRESS YOUR GRATITUESDAY
One of the ways we are going to raise the value of gratitude this month is by posting a blog article each Tuesday about something we're grateful for. It's something we're calling Gratituesday. Most of these posts will be a non-techy change of pace, but we kicked things off today with a post called Thank God for These Websites! Check out the websites we're thankful for and tell us which sites you're thankful for.
http://blog.ourchurch.com/2009/11/03/thank-god-for-these-websites-gratituesday/

3) THANK YOU, OUR MEMBERS!
How could we talk about giving thanks without thank you, our members. Thank you for entrusting us with your website. It truly is an honor. We love serving you. Special thanks to those who support us financially by purchasing web design, hosting, search marketing, or advertising. We could not exist without you. Each weekday this month we're going to thank one of our members with a public expression of gratitude and a gift. Check the OCC Fellowship forum each day to see who we are thanking that day.
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewforum.php?f=9

Post your comments and questions concerning this announcement here in our forums.

New Progressive SEO Management Service

pdstein — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:55:36 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2009-10-06.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

OurChurch.Com is proud to announce the launch of its Progressive SEO Management service, an aggressive search engine optimization (SEO) service designed to not only get your website ranking in the top 10 in the search engines now, but also build your site's strength so over time so you can compete for better, more popular keywords (search terms).

Most websites are not able to rank well for their best keywords when they first start search marketing. It takes a lot of time and effort and an aggressive search marketing strategy to build a website up in the search engines to the point that it can compete for the most popular keywords. The Progressive SEO Management service does just that.

The Progressive SEO Management service combines search engine optimization and a comprehensive link building strategy to build your website up in the search engines so it can eventually compete for the best keywords in your field. Better rankings for better keywords means more traffic to your site.

This service is perfect for businesses with a website that want to grow their business and want to rise to the top of their market.

Learn more about OurChurch.Com's Progressive SEO Management service:

http://marketing.ourchurch.com/search-engine-optimization-management.php

Don't have a website for your business yet? OurChurch.Com can create an amazing custom-designed site for your business (http://www.ourchurch.com/design/) and bundle your custom design site with the Progressive SEO Management service.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Post your comments and questions concerning this announcement here in our forums.