What You Need To Know About Google Business Pages

Free Church Google Business Page Setup

Most people would start improving the online reach of their Church with their website or Social Media, but I would start with your Google Business Page & Maps.

The purpose of “The Finder Resource” is to help people actually FIND your Church, not only your Church Website.

Something many people do not realize is that potential new visitors and guests may not be searching for or FINDING the Church Website FIRST. They might not go to Google search first to find a church.

Even if they do, it is a challenging process for you to figure out what to do to your actual website to make you rise in the search engine rankings.

What I would do instead is go for simple changes that can have a more immediate impact on people finding you.

You will always be working on and adding content to your website. But these initial steps are focused on things you can put in place [hopefully once unless you change physical locations] that will continue to bring in new guests to visit your church in the future.

Why START with Google Business & Maps?

There are a few simple reasons why this is a great place to start…

  • You are correcting bad NAP [Name, Address & Phone Number] information on Google right from the beginning. This establishes and sets you up for the other sites you will place your correct NAP onto. Google uses your Church Name, Address and Phone Number to verify that you are a real church that has a real person managing their online activity.
  • You are connecting your correct website to a Google property right from the start, which will most likely ensure your site gets crawled regularly by the Google search engine robots.
  • You are making it easy for people to find you on a site THEY already use – Google Maps. People will search in Google too, but if I were trying to find a church around me, or a coffee shop or whatever, I would use Google Maps.
  • You are claiming and optimizing the MOST IMPORTANT Local Business Directory first. The other Local Business Directories we are going to claim and optimize are very important too for verification that you are a church that is still in operation and being managed by a real person. But your Google Business Page and getting on Google Maps is the MOST important.
  • People will have instant access to GPS Driving Directions sending them straight to your Church on a site or app they are already used to using – Google Maps.

What are some things you need to know about Google Business & Maps?

  • Google Business Pages are always CHANGING.
    Google cannot seem to settle on how this system is going to work for business owners and churches claiming and operating their pages. This means you have to check your page from time to time to see if everything looks up to date and that profile pictures look correct.

  • Your Google Maps Listing is CONNECTED to your Google Business Page.
    The way you claim, optimize, correct and add to your Google Maps listing that shows up on the Google Maps Android and iPhone Apps and at www.Google.com/Maps is by updating your Google Business Page at www.Google.com/Business.

  • It is possible for your Church to have DUPLICATE Google Business Page and Maps Listings.
    This can be confusing for people who find you, and usually at least one of the listings will have INCORRECT or OUTDATED information. You will need to claim all of them and delete all but the main one.

  • Positive Reviews on your Google Business Page are VERY important.
    This used to be one of the main things Google would use to choose who to boost to the top of search. But even if you never receive an increase in search ranking from a positive review, they are still an excellent and FREE promotion tool for your church.

    When people see positive reviews on your Google Business page it makes it more likely that a potential NEW Guest will visit your Church.

    Encouraging your Church members to leave a positive review is an easy way to gain social proof that your church is real and real people love it.