Are you ready for Christmas?
Is your website?
If you are the person responsible for your church’s website, hopefully you have information about your church’s Christmas Eve services (and Christmas services, if you have them) on your church website.
Every year, we do research to see how Google responds to people searching for “Christmas Eve services near me”
What immediately stands out is how much different the search results look compared to December 2021. In fact, the Google search results page has changed significantly almost every year since I wrote the first version of this article back in 2018.
This means it’s important to pay attention to what Google is doing NOW and adjust accordingly.
Here are some observations and “Christmas Eve Service near me” church SEO tips.
1) Google Business Profiles top the results
Notice the screenshot above has the “local 3 pack” in it. Local 3 Pack listings come from Google Business Profiles (GBP). Therefore, if you want your church to show up at the top of the results for “Christmas Eve Service near me,” you need to have a GBP.
For more on this see How to Create, Claim and Verify Your Google Business Profile.
2) Put your Christmas Eve service info on your website
Notice in the screenshot above that next to each of the churches listed in the search results it says, “Their website mentions Christmas eve service.” If you don’t have your Christmas Eve service info on your website homepage yet, get to it! 🙂
It’s also important that the Christmas Eve service info you put on your website is in text. Google is getting better at reading images, but they still have a ways to go. In the past, we have seen churches put Christmas Eve graphics on their homepage but not show up in the Christmas Eve search results. Don’t misunderstand – it’s fine to put a Christmas Eve graphic on your homepage, but if you do, it’s important to repeat that info text on the page.
3) Set Your Website URL in your Google Business Profile
We said earlier the info shown in the “Local 3 Pack” comes from GBPs, but they also say “Their website mentions Christmas eve service.” The only way Google can make this connection between a church’ GBP and its website, is if the church has the correct URL of their website in their GBP. Make sure this is the case for your church.
4) No paid ads at the top
In past years, we’ve seen paid ads displayed at the top (2018 results)and bottom (2021 results) of the search results page. But this year, I’m not seeing ads in the search results, even for larger cities like Tampa.
Because there there seems to be little (or no) competition for ad spot, it’s likely a church could get their ad placed at the very top of the page for a very affordable rate.
5) Get your services listed on other sites
On the search results page, below the Local 3 Pack, Google displays the regular, “organic” search results. This year, about half the search listings there are for churches, while the other half are web pages that list Christmas Eve services happening at multiple churches in the community.
Contact the administrators of the websites listed in your search results and ask them to add info about your church’s Christmas Eve services to their page.
Or, if you want to take the initiative, gather service info for the churches in your community and publish a page on your website that lists all of those Christmas Eve services. There’s a good chance that new page will rank well in the search results.
6) Website reviews affect results
Earlier we showed you how Google is showing churches for which “Their website mentions Christmas eve service.” But for other searches, we found Google showing churches that have “Christmas service” or “Christmas Eve service” in website reviews left by members or visitors. See the BridgePoint Church listing below.
“Today’s Christmas service was spectacular” is an excerpt from a review someone posted to that church’s Google Business Profile. This means asking people to post a review and specifically reference your church’s Christmas Eve service can help.
See our Ultimate Guide to Online Reviews for more info.
Christmas is… a chance for us to connect with people who don’t normally go to church… Make your best stuff. Take some chances. This is your moment. -Stephen Brewster
If you would like some help with your Google Business Profile, website reviews or website SEO from our experienced church SEO experts here at OurChurch.com, complete the form below to schedule a time to talk.
Discussion
- Where does your church rank in Google for “Christmas Eve services near me?”
- What questions or comments do you have about setting up your Google Business Profile or ranking for “Christmas Eve services near me?”
Continue reading… Your 2023 Christmas Playbook
12 Comments
When we talk about website, we must remember about SEO.
SEO -search engine optimization. It helps your website to get high rank on Google. SEO has become an integral part of every digital marketing plan.
To get high rank on Google you need to use backlinks.
There are many tools you can use for backlink building. You can read about it my new article
https://www.linksmanagement.com/backlink-generator-software/.
Very informative
Hi! I could have sworn I’ve visited this web site before but
after browsing through some of the articles I
realized it’s new too me.Regardless, I’m certainly pleased I found it and I’ll be book-marking it and
checking back regularly!
Awesome! Its actually remarkable article, I have got much clear idea regarding from this post.
Hi, this weekend is fastidious in favor of me, as this moment i am
reading this impressive informative piece of writing here at my house.
Great work! This is the kind of information that are supposed to be shared across the net.
Shame on Google for now not positioning this put up upper!
Come on over and discuss with my website .
Thanks =)
I have been exploring for a little bit for any high quality articles
or blog posts in this kind of space . Exploring in Yahoo I ultimately
stumbled upon this web site. Studying this information So i am glad to convey that
I’ve a very excellent uncanny feeling I discovered exactly what I needed.
I such a lot unquestionably will make sure to
do not disregard this website and provides it a look on a continuing basis.
What’s up colleagues, pleasant piece of writing and pleasant
arguments commented here, I am actually enjoying by these.
Nice blog here! Also your site loads up very fast! What web host are you using?
Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my web site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
Good post. I absolutely love this website. Keep it up!