Do you know where people getting info about your church online?
Earlier in the series I wrote
In the digital era, it’s critically important that your online presence support your offline outreach no matter what that outreach looks like
For this reason, it’s important that people who you connect with through your church outreach events or church marketing be able to find your church website in search engines.
It’s also important to keep in mind…
Your church website is not the only source of online information about your church.
For example, let’s say First United Methodist Church in Middletown, OH does an outreach event in their community. A person in Middletown learns about the event and is curious, so they Google “First UMC Middletown OH.” They would see this in the search results:
(Click on the image to see a full size screenshot)
On the left side of the page, you can see the church’s website is listed first in the search results, which is good.
On the right side of the page, you see information that comes from their Google My Business listing, including, “4.6 ***** 13 Google reviews”
It’s very likely someone whose interested in the church will click the link to view the 13 Google Reviews and see this:
They will see some very nice, positive reviews that have been posted by people in their community. This can only have a positive effect on the person’s decision whether to show up at the outreach event or visit the church on a Sunday.
Now, consider what might happen if the church had no reviews? A person might wonder, “Doesn’t anyone in their church like the church?” Or, “Maybe the people of their church don’t use the internet much?”
Or even worse, what might happen if they only had a few reviews and they were all negative? That would be a huge red flag.
The bottom line…
Encourage the people of your church to post short, specific, 5-star reviews on Google. It will help your church outreach.
For more on this check out The Ultimate Guide to Online Reviews. And if you’d like help with your Google My Business listing and church SEO, let’s schedule a call to talk about your church outreach.
Comment and discuss…
- How many Google reviews does your church have?
- What are you doing to encourage people to post Google reviews?
Read other articles in our Church Outreach blog series…
7 Things on Your Church Website that will Scare Visitors Away << Church Outreach >> 7 secrets to keeping your church informed
Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com
Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.
An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.
Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication.