One of the first things I do when I move to a new area is to find a local church. That process typically begins with a web search.

In this blog I want to share with you top tips for using SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) to make sure people find and stay connected with your church online.

As well as in-person gatherings at your church buildings, your website is your public face. That became even more true during the pandemic when most churches were forced to move online. So how can you be found and how can you best serve your potential new visitors?

We’ll come to some practical tips in a bit…

But, for now, let’s look at FOUR important reasons why churches should care about good SEO:

Attract new visitors and potential members 

Many people search online for local churches and places of worship, like I do. By optimising your website for search engines like Google, your church can rank higher in the results and attract more of these searchers to its website. Some of these visitors may end up becoming new members.

Share your message and content with more people

Your website will likely have content on your beliefs, sermons, blog posts, and events, etc. By optimising for search engines, this content can reach and impact many more people in the community.

Provide helpful information to the community 

You can optimise your website to rank for searches related to topics that help and support the local community such as "food bank," "marital counselling," "addiction support groups," etc. This allows your church to get info and resources in front of the people who need it.

Encourage online donations and event attendance

With an optimised website, your church will make it easy for people to find information on donating online or attending upcoming events. This can increase donations, ticket sales, and overall involvement in the church.

That’s the overarching reasoning behind why you need to take SEO seriously. 

Now let’s look at some practical SEO tips for churches.

Focus on local SEO

Optimise your website for local searches in your city or town. This includes listing your church address, contact details, and service times on your website. You should also claim and optimise your Google Business Profile listing.

Create an informative and engaging "about" page 

Your church's history, mission, values, and beliefs should be clearly communicated on your about page. Share photos and engage your visitors. This page should rank well for searches like "[church name] about" or "[church name] beliefs".

Write blog posts on topics your congregation cares about

Post sermon transcripts, updates on ministry work, stories of church members, advice on spiritual life, etc. Optimise these posts with engaging titles, content, and images. They will rank for searches related to the topics.

Use an easy to remember and SEO-friendly URL structure

For example, use "yourchurch/about'' instead of "yourchurch/info-pages/about2". Include your main keywords in the page URLs like "ministries/womens-ministry".

Optimise page titles and meta descriptions

The <title> tag and meta description for each page should include your main target keywords for that page. Keep them relevant, helpful and compelling.

Build high quality backlinks

Earn links to your site from other churches, ministry organisations, bloggers, local media, etc. One idea you could try is to submit a calendar of events and news releases to local websites. Also you could reach out to others for guest blog posts. For more on creating a good backlink strategy read our guide.

Have an active social media presence

Use Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok etc to engage your members and community, share photos, promote events, and raise awareness of your mission. Link back to your website content and events when possible. Although social media doesn’t directly affect your search rankings, it does bring traffic to your website, which will improve your impact and effectiveness.

Make sure your website is mobile-friendly

A fast loading, responsive website optimised for mobile devices provides a good user experience for visitors on the go. This is important for local searches and your Google rankings.

Consider paid advertising options

Use Google Ads to promote events or boost specific content on your site. Or sponsor relevant posts on social media. Paid search and social ads can complement your SEO efforts. You may also benefit from the Google Ad Grants program, which provides free advertising on Google AdWords to eligible non-profit organisations.

Here at Wild SEO Agency we love (like, literally LOVE) all things SEO.

We are here to help you whether you’re just getting started on this journey or you’re fairly familiar with the nuts and bolts of SEO but just need some help.

When the harvest is plentiful, but your SEO is lacking, it’s probably time to get your website’s SEO strategy sorted out.