Having a presence in Google’s search results is crucial because it enhances visibility, allowing new people to easily discover your church and its ministries. This can ultimately lead to greater engagement in your church and a growth in membership.
Did you know that 40% of people find a church to attend just by searching google?
Let’s dive into 5 reasons why your church website might not be appearing on Google and how you can fix it.
1. Your church website is too new
Don’t stress if you’ve just launched your website, it can take Google anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to crawl your website.
You can check to see if Google knows about your website by running a search for: site:yourwebsite.com
If there are no results, then Google hasn’t found your website yet. You may be able to speed up the process by submitting your sitemap to Google Search Console.
Search Console > Sitemaps > Enter sitemap URL > Submit
You can often find your sitemap at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml if you already have one. If you can’t find it, you may want to create one.
2. Your church website isn’t being indexed
Has your church website been around for a while but still isn’t appearing on Google? Ensure your pages are being indexed properly. Google can be instructed not to index certain pages either through a robots.txt file or by using a “noindex” tag.
Check your robots.txt file and ensure that pages you want to be searchable aren’t set to “Disallow.” You can often find your robots.txt file at yoursite.com/robots.txt, or you can use Google Search Console.
Search Console > Settings > Open Report for robots.txt > yourwebsite.com/robots.txt
Double check your website builder for search engine visibility settings or check the HTML code to ensure you don’t see <meta name=”robots” content=”noindex”/>
Another reason pages on your website may not be discovered by Google is if they are not linked from other parts of your website (orphaned pages), which can make it difficult for Google to index them.
Ensure any pages you want to be found on Google have clear links to them either through buttons or your website’s menu.
3. Your church has no Google Business Profile
Claiming and maintaining a Google Business Profile not only puts your church on Google Maps but is a key aspect of local SEO. It helps improve your church’s ranking in search results, making it easier for people searching for local churches to find you.
If you already have a Google Business Profile, make sure your profile is complete and regularly updated. Encouraging people to leave positive reviews can also make a big difference.
4. Your church website lacks content
One of the most common issues we see on church websites is a lack of content. High-quality, informative content signals to Google that your website is valuable and can lead to improved visibility and higher rankings in search results. Make sure each event, ministry, or program your church offers has a page on your website with information about it. If it is hidden on an external page or sign-up form, people will not be able to find it on Google.
You can improve your search ranking on specific search terms by incorporating those keywords in your website copy. Have a look at the top queries people make to find your website using Google Search Console.
Search Console > Search results > Queries
5. Your church website isn’t optimized for phones
Mobile optimization is a significant ranking factor for Google because over 60% of global web traffic comes from mobile devices, and Google employs mobile-first indexing, meaning it primarily uses the mobile version of websites for ranking and indexing purposes.
To make your website more mobile-optimized, ensure the design adapts to various screen sizes with content that is easy to read, navigation and buttons that are touch-friendly, and the elements on the page load quickly.
Of course, if you are using The Church Co then this happens automatically.
Final thoughts
Improving your ranking on Google is a lot like growing a garden: both require ongoing care, and the more time you put into it, the more results you will see. It won’t happen over night, but stick with it and you’ll see your visibility grow on Google!