People search online for churches for many reasons—being new to an area, life events- (having kids, marriage, death of a loved-one, divorce) spiritual support, community, events, fellowship, and more. Whether they’re looking for guidance, a new place to worship, or just want to know where to find you, your physical address and hours of operation are crucial to getting discovered by new members.
A helpful tool called Google Business Profile, or GBP (formerly known as Google My Business, or GMB), can help a great deal, especially today where most people start online. Even though it’s called a ‘business’ profile, many community organizations use GBP, so why not for places of worship?
If you’re interested in improving your online presence for your church, the helpful and knowledgeable team at True Engagement Media is the answer. Learn more about our online presence services and how they can benefit your ministry.
What is Google Business Profile, and how can it help my church?
For years, Google has had an online map and listings service called Google My Business, which was recently rebranded as Google Business Profile. Aside from being part of Google Maps, it also is a place that lists necessary data: name, address, and phone number, as well as Google Reviews, website, and hours of operation.
Even if you’ve never claimed your church’s listing, it likely already exists. So, what does claiming it mean?
It means that you can create a free online profile in a few easy steps and get to work managing and updating your listing, adding posts about your upcoming events, answering common questions, and more to help your listing look its best.
Our team at True Engagement Media has found that approximately 80% of churches have incorrect listings. Many people may avoid your institution or move on to the next one, which means they won’t get to experience all the things that make your church unique.
How can I get started and maintain my GBP listing properly?
At True Engagement Media, we know how busy church leaders and staff are! Amidst service and sermon preparation, day to day operations, volunteer opportunities, community building, events, and more, it can be hard for you or your staff to find time to juggle another task like maintaining your digital presence. However, investing in your online persona will only welcome more people into your church community, helping it grow!
Let us help. Among our suites of services, like website building and social media management, we also have an online listings management system that will allow you to:
- Update significant directories like Google, Facebook, and Bing directly
- Syndicate accurate listings over 300 local search sites and directories
- Make sure missing and inaccurate listings are claimed and corrected
We can guide you to the proper steps to ensure you’ll always be easy to find online.
Contact us today to get started on your church’s online presence. We will be happy to do a free online digital presence review providing you with an executive report showing your areas of strength and opportunities for improvement. It will give you tips you can implement yourself or if you need help we will work with your staff on those solutions. With True Engagement Media, we help you engage, tell and compel those searching for a new church while also increasing engagement of your current congregation. Our goal is to help you spread love of Jesus, welcoming more people to join your community.