Have you ever Googled churches in your town? Give it a try and see if you can find your church’s name on the first page.
The best result is to see your church listed in one of these search results locations.
If you’re not in local search on Google, you’re missing out on potential church visitors finding out about you. How do you get your church listed there, you ask? Start by creating a listing in Google Places. Read this explanation from Search Engine Watch to learn more about Google Places and how to create your own listing.
Google Places is the information that a search engine receives and uses when listing your business. A search engine will probably already have your business listed in results, but your Google Places page allows you to control what information Google has and presents to searchers about your business. You can fill in your Places page with information like a description, images, hours of operation, and contact information.
You manage all of this information in your Google Places dashboard, so you can change it anytime you wish. You have to sign up for Google Places here, fill in your information, and then verify your account – you have to verify either by phone or by mail, which Google will walk you through, and then you’re set to go and start taking control of your brand. **
In the excerpt above, business refers to your church. For your church’s Google Places listing, I recommend including a description of your church, your church logo or an image of your worship location, church office hours or worship times, and your contact information. Once you’ve completed your Google Places profile, your church will be listed on the Google Map for certain searches and may also be listed in the local search results. Get listed here and start getting found on Google!
**Excerpt from Google Places for Business vs. Google+ Local by Amanda DiSilvetro
Thank you for this article. I am the media manage for Church On The Hill in Hillsboro TX. I have done all of this stuff a while ago along with lots of google analytics.
I have a question though was are some ways to get higher on the list. I have been working on it and just can not get past where we are on the list.
Thanks for your time.
Andy, I’m glad to hear you’re ahead of the game on Google Places. It’s always a good idea to occasionally check listings for accuracy too. We’ll be talking more about how to get better positioning on Google. Be sure to watch the blog for more tips!
Question for you – I’m planting a church and we rent out a building for a location. I’d like to list our church in google places but can’t receive the mail postcard at the rental location in order to verify. It’s not giving me the option to verify by phone. What’s a guy in my position to do as this is a big deal for getting found online?
Hi Danny! I’m so glad you’re taking advantage of this opportunity for your church plant via Google. You pose an excellent question. Google is cautious when it comes to phone verification, which may be the reason why you were not provided with that option. Unfortunately they do not give any alternative for organizations in your situation. However, I did find a way that you can talk to a Google specialist so they can hopefully help you find a solution. If you enter your information on this page (https://support.google.com/places/contact/c2c_places_na?rd=1), they will contact you by phone. I hope this helps you get your church plant listed on Google Places!