But what exactly is content marketing and how do you do it well?

In this Search Engine Optimization Frequently Asked Questions (SEO FAQs) video blog, I address the question, What is content marketing for SEO? and share 6 elements of good content marketing.  

(The article below is a summary of the video, but you’ll get more details and examples if you watch the video.)

What is content marketing for SEO?

Let’s start with the dictionary definition for content marketing:

Content marketing is a type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material (content) that does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services.

So, here are three crucial takeaways from that definition:

1. Online: First off, we’re talking about stuff that lives on the internet.
2. Content: This refers to a wide variety of materials, including blog articles, infographics, videos, podcasts, and social media.
3. Not Explicitly Promotional: It’s not a sales pitch or a press release. It’s about building a connection with your audience, so they come to you naturally.

Now, let’s dive a bit deeper into…

6 Characteristics of Good Content Marketing

1. Be Helpful

First and foremost, good content should be helpful. It should answer questions, solve problems, or provide valuable information. It’s about being a resource for your audience.

Helpful content is not only good for human visitors but starting in August 2022, Google has introduced several Helpful Content Updates designed to give helpful content better search rankings.

2. Make Content Interesting and Engaging

Let’s face it, boring content doesn’t cut it. Make it captivating, and if you can, throw in a dash of humor.

Think beyond just text to images, infographics, and video, both long form and short form.

3. Step Up the Quality

In a sea of online content, quality matters. Don’t skimp on the effort; it’s a reflection of your brand.

Try to avoid assumptions and generalities by backing up statements with evidence. Link out to research and other experts that corroborates your conclusions.

Case studies, original research, and personal stories all add to the quality of your content.

4. Be Consistent

To be effective, you’ve got to keep the content train chugging along. Regularly publish new content on a consistent basis to keep your audience engaged.

Part of a good content marketing strategy can also be to take content created a year or two ago – especially content that experienced a lot of views and engagement – and updated it and reshare it.

But wait, there’s more! If you want your content marketing to be a powerhouse in your SEO strategy, here are two additional must-haves:

5. Target Relevant Keywords

Your content should align with what your organization is all about. If you’re doing church communication, no posting cat videos, unless maybe if your church is open to people bringing their pets. Do some keyword research to figure out what your target audience is searching for.

6. Optimize for Search

Remember when we addressed the question, “What is on-page optimization?” That applies here too. Whether it’s blog articles, podcasts, videos, or infographics, it’s important to optimize them for the keywords you are targeting.

When you create good content, it will cause people to want to link to it, boosting your authority. And each new piece of keyword-targeted content will get your website ranked in the search engines for more keywords.

The bottom line is…

Content marketing is the strategic way to educate and captivate your audience without a pushy sales pitch.

Let us help you create and share good, relevant content

If you’re a leader in your church, school, ministry or business, you probably understand the benefit of content marketing, but you’re also super-busy and probably thinking, “There’s no way I add content marketing to my plate.”

That’s why our team developed a unique way to create a year of high-quality, original content that has your personality and insight, but takes only an hour or two of your time – in the entire year!

If you’d like to learn more about website design or Christian SEO for your business, school or ministry, we’d love to talk with you!

Fill out the consultation request form below (mobile) or to the right (desktop)!

Comment and Share your thoughts:

• What questions do you have about content marketing?

Read or watch more SEO FAQ articles and videos!

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post What is Content Marketing for SEO? appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

A “Volunteer of the Month” feature can help to do that if you interview your volunteers (details below) and share their stories.

Do you wish your people interacted more in between meetings and events?

One of the big challenges within churches is that to create genuine community, people need to do more together than just show up once a week for a service. The same is true schools, nonprofits and even businesses that want to create a team culture. Getting people together in person can be difficult, so one way to foster more interaction is to do it online.

Do you wish your website, blog and/or Facebook page had more visitors and engagement?

A volunteer of the month feature is an easy to way to create foster more engagement online. I guarantee every volunteer of the month feature you publish will get lots of comments and likes as other people within your organization add their expressions of gratitude.

How to Create a “Volunteer of the Month” Website Feature

There are many different ways to feature a “volunteer of the month,” but I believe the two things that will help the most are to include a visual of the volunteer (picture or video) and to have the volunteer answer some questions.

The questions could be a part of an interview captured on video. Or you could email questions to a volunteer, and include their answers and a photo in a blog post or Facebook post.

Questions to ask your Volunteer of the Month

Here are some suggestions…

1. When did you start volunteering?
2. Tell us about what you do in your volunteer role?
3. What do you like most about volunteering?
4. Tell us about your most memorable moment as a volunteer. It could be funny, meaningful, heartwarming, or whatever.
5. What would you say to someone who sees this and wants to learn more about volunteering in a similar role?

Where to publish the Volunteer of the Month announcement

The best place to publish your Volunteer of the Month announcements is on your website, more specifically on the blog of your website. This is because with blog articles you can…

• Enable comments – so people who are a part of your church or nonprofit can add their words of appreciation for the volunteer as well.
• Include social share buttons – so people can easily share the announcements on their social channels
• Organize and archive – Blog articles are automatically organized by date, and archived so people can view previous volunteers of the month

All of the custom designed websites our team creates for clients are built using WordPress, the #1 blogging platform on the planet. And our do-it-yourself WP-EZ Website Builder is also based on WordPress, so every website has blog functionality included.

Share your Volunteer of the Month

After you publish each Volunteer of the Month announcement, share it on your church or nonprofit’s social media accounts. For best results…

• @mention the the volunteer, so they’re tagged in the posts.
• Encourage others to like, comment and share.
• Also like, comment and share using your personal social media accounts.

This is why we agree with Jim Fargiano when he said…

Gratitude and love are always multiplied when you give freely. It is an infinite source of contentment and prosperous energy. –Jim Fargiano

More benefits to showing appreciate to a Volunteer of the Month

While the primary motives for doing a Volunteer of the Month feature should be to recognize volunteers and build community, a side benefit is that creating fresh, interesting, and engaging content will help your website’s search rankings. In other words, it’s good for SEO.

If you’re tired of struggling on your own with web design or Christian SEO for your church, school, ministry or business, complete the form below (mobile) or to the right (desktop) to request a free phone consultation so we can discuss your situation and help you to discover how you and your organization can better live out your mission online.

Comment and Discuss…

• Do you do some sort of a volunteer feature on your website, blog or Facebook page? If so, post a link.
• If not, what’s holding you back?

Continue reading… More ways to Communicate Gratitude around Thanksgiving

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post A Great Way to Express Gratitude and Build Community appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

While many of the classic ways to express appreciation are still available to us – a phone call, a card, saying “thank you” in person, because this blog is about online communication, I thought today I’d share some ways we can express our gratitude to people online

1) Share a “memory” on Facebook.

Facebook often shows a “memory” or photo we posted several years ago along with the option to share that memory. When you see a “memory” that includes a photo of you and a loved one, share it and include a note about how much they mean to you.

2) Send a private thank you note via text, email, or private message.

If you want to express your gratitude more privately consider a quick note via text, email or a private message on your preferred social network.  Be specific about what you appreciate about them.

This is much more meaningful than a general “Happy Thanksgiving!” or “Love you all!” message posted to everyone on a social platform, group text or group email.

3) Write a blog post about the impact someone has made in your life.

If you want to go bigger, consider a whole blog post in which you share the impact a person has had on your life. If you lead or do communications with an organization, blog posts a great way to express gratitude to your staff and volunteers.

4) Send or post a video thank you note.

Someone once said, “If a pictures is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million.” Anyone with a smart phone can record a 30-60 second selfie video and either text it or post it to their favorite social media platform.

5) Post a positive online review to Google, Yelp or Facebook.

If you’re grateful for your church, a nonprofit you’re involved with, or even a business that’s served you well, give them a positive review. Your review will not only encourage the people in that organization, but it will encourage others to check them out and even help their search rankings, as we explain in the Ultimate Guide to Online Reviews.

6) Give someone special an online gift card.

Just about every company now offers gift cards online, so regardless of whether the person you appreciate enjoys peppermint lattes, historical fiction, crocheting holiday sweaters or even something more unusual chances are you can find an online gift card for it.

7) Express gratitude to God by sharing a Thanksgiving bible verse or quote image.

All the ideas above are for expressing gratitude to other people, but we can also express our gratitude to God online. It could be by sharing some of the 25 Thanksgiving Bible Verses or 25 Thanksgiving Quotes Images we published earlier this month. Perhaps thanking God for answering a prayer, providing in a time of need, healing, or for the people in your life.

The great thing about expressing gratitude is that not only is the person we thank blessed by it, but we are blessed by it too because it causes us to recognize how much we have to be thankful for.

It’s not happy people who are thankful. It’s thankful people who are happy. –unknown

If your Christian church, school, ministry or business would like to improve the visibility of your organization in search engines, increase website visitors, and better live out your mission online, learn more about how our Christian SEO services can do that, and complete the form below to schedule a call with one of our SEO experts.

Post a comment and share with other readers…

• Have you expressed gratitude in any of these ways in the past? If so, share that story.
• Got an idea for another way to express gratitude online? Post it in a comment

Continue reading more ways to express gratitude during the Thanksgiving season!

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post 7 Ways to Express Gratitude Online appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

Let me give you some of the back story…

Barabbas Road Church started less than 10 years ago with less than 10 people. At the time this article was originally written, they worshiped together at Pacific Beach Middle School, their third location in 10 years, which is about 10 miles north of downtown San Diego.

This gives them 4 serious disadvantages to ranking well in search engines

1. Lots of competition – San Diego is the 8th largest city in the U.S. Google lists more than 400 churches in the San Diego area.
2. Far from the city center – For local searches, Google gives preference to organizations closer to the center of the city, making it harder for churches on the outskirts to rank well.
3. Recent move – When organizations move to a new location, Google often doesn’t know it.
4. Shared space – When organizations share space with another organization, Google often gets the location information wrong.

Despite the disadvantages, Barabbas Road Church loves the people of San Diego and is determined to reach people. They understand that most people searching for a church start their search online, so they have been determined to reach people through search engines and connect with them on their website.

So, what specifically did Barabbas Road Church do?

Progressive SEO Service

First, Barabbas partnered with OurChurch.Com, utilizing our Progressive SEO Service plus our Local SEO service. I usually don’t talk about pricing in blog posts, but I think it’s important to note that Barabbas is a mid-sized church, and yet they made a significant financial commitment of hundreds of dollars a month for an aggressive SEO service.

We started their SEO service, with an SEO audit, and continued with technical SEO, keyword research, and on-page optimization.

Next we worked to improve their local search rankings by registering and correcting local search listings

These things all helped get Barabbas good search rankings, but the big thing that helped push them towards the top of the search rankings was…

Keyword-Targeted Blogging

Brett Schoeneck, who is the Minister of Media at Barabbas, told me in a phone conversation that he tries to ask everyone who visits Barabbas how they found the church. He said that when someone tells him he found them online, he asks what phrase they searched, and the vast majority of them say “Church in San Diego.”

Brett basically told me that while they appreciate being in the top 10 for lots of other phrases, none of that mattered if they weren’t in the top 10 for “Church in San Diego.”

I appreciate Brett’s forthrightness and I give him major kudos for asking visitors how they found the church and what they search for!

The Progressive SEO Service includes writing and publishing weekly blog posts. I did a 45 minute phone interview with Brett, and based on the information he provided in that interview, we began writing blog articles specifically targeting the phrase “Church in San Diego.”

Why blog articles?

1. Because search engines love fresh content.
2. Because people link to great content and links improve search rankings.
3. Because people share content on social media and social media helps improve search rankings.

This is an ongoing service, so we continue to write and publish blog posts, but already Barabbas is experiencing remarkable results. At the time this article was written they were #10 in the Google organic results for “Church in San Diego” and #3 on Google Maps.

(Update: Unfortunately, Barabbas Road Church discontinued their OurChurch.Com SEO service several years ago. Since then their search rankings have plummeted. Not only are no longer in the top 10 in the Google organic and Google Maps search results, but their church does not even appear in the top 100 results. Which is why I wrote about the importance of ongoing SEO in The Last Thing You Should Do for Church SEO.)

The bottom line is…

There’s no better way to improve search rankings than creating great content, and there are no shortcuts to great content.

Everyone wants to be in the top 10 for their top keyword, but the sites that are in the top 10 are the ones willing to commit the time and energy to create great content or commit the finances to have someone create it for them.

Partner with the Church SEO Experts

If you’d like to talk with one of our Church SEO experts about how OurChurch.com could help you with that, complete the consultation request form below (mobile) or to the right (desktop).

Comment and Discuss:

• How is your church SEO going? How are you church’s search rankings?

Read more about church SEO in The Ultimate Guide to Church SEO

Read more articles in our 25 Stories from 25 Years series.

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post How This Church in San Diego Went to #3 in Google appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Especially for Christian schools.

7 Ways Blogging Helps Your Christian School

1) Blogging helps others.

The main reason people blog is because they want to help others. A Christian school’s teachers and administrators have have an abundance of insight into helping kids develop – academically, spiritually, physically, and relationally. Sharing this insight through blog articles can help parents and students who are a part of your school as well as those who are not yet connected with your school.

2) Blogging builds credibility.

Sharing information, insight, and inspiration though a blog helps to establish your authority and credibility. Every school claims to be an expert in education and child development. By sharing your insight through a blog, people can read your perspective and see for themselves you are credible and worth listening to.

3) Blogging shapes culture.

The topics you choose to blog about, the issues you address, and the tone you use all contribute to the culture of your school and your community. Do you address controversial issues or avoid them? Do you address real-world concerns or focus on education theory? Are you argumentative or gentle with those who see things differently from you?

4) Blogging fosters engagement.

If you allow commenting on blog posts, they can be a great opportunity to build relationships and facilitate discussion among your school’s parents.

5) Blogging amplifies social media.

Social media continues to be an effective way to connect and engage with people online.  Blogging and social media compliment and amplify each other. Blog posts make great social media content. And in turn, when you and others share blog posts on social media, that helps to build your blog audience.

6) Blogging tells Stories.

A blog is a great platform for sharing the stories of what God is doing in your school. The most obvious stories are about your school’s achievements – gaining accreditation, winning academic or athletic competitions. The remarkable accomplishments of individual students also make for great stories.

In addition to that, look for personal stories you can share – stories of answered prayers, student baptisms, parents or students coming together to help one another. People love to hear stories about kids who are not just excelling academically but are impacting their community and the world!

7) Blogging improves search rankings.

Search engines love fresh content. Additionally, people tend to share and link to insight, inspiration, and stories far more than general info you might put on your web pages. These shares and links help to improve your search rankings.

To sum it up…

Blogging helps schools tell their stories, build community, help others, and improve search rankings.

Do you want to experience the benefits of blogging but are not sure where to start?

• If you’re looking for a new custom-designed school website with blogging capability, our team can help with that.
• If you’re a teacher who would like to communicate better with your class with a class website with a blog, our WP-EZ Website Builder is an easy-to-use, affordable option.
• If you want better search engine rankings to increase enrollment, our school SEO marketing services can make that happen for you. Our SEO services include taking care of the most challenging aspects of blogging for you.

Complete the form below (mobile) or to the right (desktop) to schedule a call – no pressure, no obligation – just a friendly conversation about your goals and options.

Comment and discuss:

• Does your school have a blog? If so, what benefits have you experienced? If not, what’s stopping you?

Continue reading: Making the Most of the “Back to School” Season

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post 7 Ways Blogging Helps Your Christian School appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

What’s new?

The blog has a completely redesigned homepage that features:

• A single, simplified menu
• A “Get Started” button in the menu for anyone who is ready to build a new website or wants to talk with us about web design or SEO.
• A new “grid” layout that shows recent articles by category
• A new “Featured Articles” category that shows our most helpful articles.

The blog articles themselves have also been redesigned:

• We removed the “Subscribe” form embedded in the article just below the first image
• We removed the Consultation Request form embedded at the bottom of the article.
• In the desktop version, we redesigned the right sidebar so it stops scrolling and the consultation request form (“Let’s Chat!”) stays with you as you continue to scroll down and read.
• We removed boxes around the content and changed to a sans serif font to make it less cluttered and easier to read.

And of course, we made sure everything is mobile friendly and loads quickly.

Usability is like love. You have to care, you have to listen, and you have to be willing to change. -Jeffrey Zeldman

If you’re not subscribed to our weekly Christian Web Trends email, subscribe at the top of the right sidebar.

And if you’re interested in working with our team to improve your web hosting, web design or bring more visitors to your website with SEO, fill out the “Let’s Chat” form to the right on desktop or below on mobile.

What do you think?

Post a comment and let us know.

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post Check Out Our New Blog Design! We Hope You Love It! appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

This is why we’ve declared February to be “Love Your Website Month” at OurChurch.Com.

Every meaningful relationship takes insight and effort, and this includes your relationship with your website. This month we want to help you understand your website better, spend some quality time together, and help your relationship with your website reach its full potential.

We’ll be expanding on many of these topics throughout the month. In this post, we’re just going to introduce the ideas…

9 Ways to Grow Your Love for Your Website

1) Make your site fun. Ask any man what qualities he’s looking for in a woman or ask any woman what she’s looking for in man, and usually in the top 5 you’ll hear a good sense of humor.   The same is true with the websites we love. Most of them – even those that are spiritual or mostly serious – weave some humor into them, or occasionally post something funny. Blogging and social media can be good media for humor. (Added 2/27/23) See 5 Ways to Infuse Your Website with Fun and Humor for more ideas.

2) Get a logo. Have you ever gone out with someone who lacked self-awareness? Pretty awkward isn’t it? Understanding your identity is important in a relationship. It’s also important on a website. A logo helps an organization communicate who they. If you’re interested, here’s more info on our logo design service. (Added 2/6/24) Read The why, when, and what of church logo design to go more in depth.

3) Get a free website review. Sometimes when a relationship is going through a rough patch or even when things are going well, it helps to see a counselor and get a fresh perspective on how to improve things. The same is true with a website. Get a free website review here. It’s like a free sessions with a marriage counselor.

4) Choose a theme you love. Hopefully, when considering someone you’d go out with, appearance isn’t the number one factor, but it’s nice to have some level of physical attraction, right? Same is true with a website. Appearance isn’t usually the most important thing, but you want a website that looks good to you. Our WP-EZ Website Builder has dozens of themes to choose from. There’s never a charge to switch to a new theme. (Added 2/13/24) See How to Create a Church Website Design You Will LOVE.

5) Watch video tutorials. One of the most important qualities in a love relationship is that both people have a humility and passion to learn about each other and learn about relationships. If you want to love your website more, learn more about how it works by watching the video tutorials in our knowledgebase. If you built your website with our WP-EZ 2.0 Website Builder, the WP-EZ Training Center will take you step by step through the most important things you need to know.

6) Make your site insightful. One of the things I appreciate most about my wife is the insight and perspective she brings to our conversations. I find the same is true of the websites I like. If you want to love your website more, post insightful blog posts, online resources or links to insightful articles that will provide wisdom and knowledge to help you visitors grow. (Added 2/7/24) Check out The Surprisingly Simple Thing that Changed My Life! and Resources that Boost Search Rankings, Attract Visitors, and Serve Your Community.

7) Take some new photos. We all take photos of the people and events that are important to us. If your website has stock photos on it or photos from 3 years ago, it implies the people and events from the last 3 years aren’t really that special to you. Take some new photos! Get them on the website! Everyone will love it and appreciate it! (Added 2/27/24) See Is that picture from 10 years ago? for more insight.

8) Add video. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many more words is a video worth? People who are considering visiting your church, school, ministry or business really want to see what you’re doing before they join you. For church websites, sermon videos are essential, a welcome or “what to expect” video is very helpful, and background video at the top of your homepage can have a huge impact.

9) Talk with our team. If you’re felling stuck and frustrated in a relationship, the wise thing to do is talk with someone about it. You need a fresh perspective. You need an objective opinion. And hopefully, the person you talk to has some experience and wisdom when it comes to relationships. Same thing with your website. If you’re feeling stuck or frustrated even in the slightest bit. Contact us by phone, email or live chat. We can help with whatever questions you have or challenges you’re facing.

BONUS: Check out Website Makeovers with Erica – Ep 1: Church of the Eternal Word to see how Erica took their website from good to great!

We are most alive when we’re in love. -John Updike

I’m not recommending you do all 9 of these things this month, just pick one or two to start. I’m confident your love for your website will grow as a result.

We would also love to get your honest feedback in this month’s survey so we can make our websites and web builder even more lovable.

If you’re looking to build a church website or a website for your school, ministry or business… or if you’re interested in getting a custom designed website or more website visitors through search marketing, we would love to help you with that, too. Just complete the consultation request form to schedule a call.

Post a Comment and Discuss…

• How’s your relationship with your website these days?
• Which 1 or 2 things from the 9 above are you going to do first?

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post 9 Ways to Grow Your Love for Your Website appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

Here are 3 specific ways you can use a blog to amplify your church outreach.

1) Stories of life transformation

There are people in your community who long for change. They have problems and issues they just can’t solve on their own. Blogging is a great way to share the stories of people in your church whose lives have been transformed by God. When people in your community see these stories, they will want to know more about God and how He can change their lives too.

2) Stories of community life

A blog is also a great medium to share what’s happening in your church. Are you doing a fall festival this year? Post info about it in a blog article and include pics from past events. After the event, share pics and stories. Did one of your life groups help someone move? Blog about it. Did a long-time member recently pass away? Honor them in a blog post. Many people in your community are looking for a loving church where people genuinely care about one another and do life together beyond Sunday mornings.

3) Discuss faith/life issues

A blog is also a great place to discuss life issues people face from a biblical perspective. The bible is full of wisdom on every aspect of life – work, marriage, parenting, health problems, money, suffering, and more. While sometimes a blog can be used to provide answers or solutions to life’s challenges, perhaps an even better use is to demonstrate that your church is a safe place to discuss difficult issues.

When you blog, share your posts on your social media profiles so your members can like and share them with others. Create an email list which people can subscribe to receive your blog posts by email.

Blogging will also help you reach people in your community through better search rankings.

Search engines love fresh content. People like to link to interesting blog articles, and those links help search rankings as well.

There’s no better way to improve search rankings than creating great content, and there are no shortcuts to great content. –Paul Steinbrueck

If you’d like help with your church SEO so your church can reach more people in your community, click and request a free consultation. We can even do your blogging for you.

Comment and Discuss… Does your church have a blog? If so, what do you blog about?

This concludes our blog series on church outreach. We hope you found it helpful and inspiring. To read any of the other articles about church outreach, click and scroll to the bottom of the first article where all the articles are listed.

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post How Use a Blog to Amplify Church Outreach appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

Blogging has been around for about 2 decades now. Because it’s no longer the “shiny new thing,” there is a tendency among some people to dismiss it as “old school” or no longer effective today.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

7 Big Benefits to Blogging

1) Helps Others. The main reason people blog is because they want to help others. As a church leader, the insight you have gained through your experience and time with the Lord, is valuable in helping to disciple others – both those who are a part of your church and those who might find your blog online.

2) Builds Credibility. Sharing information, insight, and inspiration though a blog helps to establish your authority and credibility. Every church and faith-based organization claims to know “The Way” and wants people to join them. And there are millions of non-religious people out there giving advice about how to live life. By sharing your insight through a blog, people can read your perspective and see for themselves you are credible and worth listening to.

3) Shapes Culture. The topics you choose to blog on, the issues you address, and the tone you use, can all contribute to the culture of your church. Do you address controversial issues or avoid them? Do you address real-world concerns or focus on abstract theology? Are you argumentative or gentle with those who see things differently from you?

4) Fosters Engagement. If you allow commenting on blog posts, they can be a great opportunity to build relationships and facilitate discussion among the people in your church.

5) Amplifies Social. There seems to be a lot more focus and excitement around church social media than blogging these days, but the question shouldn’t be which is better or more important. Blogging and social media amplify and compliment each other. Blog posts make great social media content. And in turn, when you and others share blog posts on social media, that helps to build your blog audience.

6) Tells Stories. A blog is a great platform for sharing the stories of what God is doing in your church. Some of the best stories include, individual stories of people coming to Christ, stories of answered prayers, stories of the people of your church helping one another, stories of the people of your church serving your community. This world needs to see that “Christian” isn’t just a label or a club you belong to, but it is a transformative relationship with the Living God.

7) Improves Search Rankings. Search engines love fresh content. Additionally, people tend to share and link to insight, inspiration, and stories far more than general info you might put on your web pages. These shares and links help to improve your search rankings.

These 7 benefits are why our church website builder tip of the day is:

The best church website builders have great blogging tools.

Bonus: COVID-19 Opportunity. We are now more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Blogging provides an opportunity for you to keep you congregation informed about your response. It can also be another “touch point” during the week to connect, encourage, inspire and point people to Jesus.

Our WP-EZ Church Website Builder is based on WordPress. WordPress was originally developed as a blogging platform and continues to have blog functionality at its core. So, if you’re looking to build a church website that is great for blogging and great for SEO, I encourage you to build your church website with WP-EZ.

And if you’re looking for more help with church SEO, we can do that too. Complete the form below to schedule a call – no pressure, no obligation – just a friendly conversation about your goals and options.

Comment and discuss… Does your church have a blog? If so, what benefits have you experienced? If not, what’s stopping you?

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post 7 Big Benefits to Blogging appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

As a church blogger there are several powerful tools online you need to be taking advantage of for effective blogging. From content research and creation, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Email Outreach, to Blog Analysis, there are powerful tools that can help you with greater results. In this particular article, we will be going through the list of 7 of these tools I believe to be the most useful tools for effective church blogging.

7 Most Useful Tools For Effective Church Blogging

Listed below are the 7 tools I consider to be the most useful tools for effective church blogging:

1. Popup Maker: WP Popup Maker is a wordpress plugin for creating popups and content overlays which are very useful for effectively collecting your blog visitors’ contact information for further follow ups or outreach. With WP Popup maker you can control how and when your visitors see your popups or overlays.
2. Grammerly: For effective blogging, your blog contents, especially your text contents have to be as error free as possible. And this is where Grammerly becomes very useful for your Church blogging. Grammerly helps you avoid as much grammatical and spelling errors in your blog posts as possible. If you blog with WordPress, Grammerly has a WP plugin for integrating with WordPress editor.
3. Yoast S.E.O: The success of any blog, including church blogs depends a great deal on effective search engine optimization tactics. The very popular and useful WP Yoast S.E.O Plugin helps you ensure your blog posts are as search engine optimized as possible before you publish. The Yoast S.E.O plugin helps you make your blog post as search engine friendly as possible from a very easy to understand user interface that does not require any technical knowledge at all.
4. keywordtool.io: Keywordtool.io is a free keyword research tool that uses the Google Autocomplete feature for giving multiple longtail keyword suggestion. Apart from keyword research from Google, Keywordtool.io also helps you research a keyword across the most popular websites internet users use for their information search.
5. Updraftplus: While you are researching and creating great blogposts for your church blog, you also need to always have security in mind. WP Updraftplus plugin helps you to easily backup your entire blog by just clicking some buttons from an intuitive user interface. And it becomes very useful if your blog is compromised for any reason or you want to migrate your WP blog to another hosting platform.
6. Mailchimp: Having gathered contact info from your blog audience, the very next thing you need to be doing often for your blogging success is to be reaching out to your audience through their emails. When you make a new blogpost or you have anything to send across to your blog audience, you need an email service provider like Mailchimp. Mailchimp allows you send free 10,000 emails to 2,000 subscribers per month.
7. Google Analytics: You use the popular Google Analytics tool for analyzing your blog audience and traffic. This will help you blog more effectively.

Using the right tools can help you achieve better results with your church blog.

Now over to you, do you know some other useful tools for effective church blogging? Share them with us at the comment section below.

emekrus

Emeke Odili, is a Christian Teacher, Preacher, Author, Programmer, and an Internet Marketing Specialist. He is the President of Righteous Faith Ministry. He has a divine vision of: “Practically teaching people, how to make success in every area of life, through absolute righteousness and Faith”. He shares life transforming Christian articles art his blog: righteousfaith.net.

www.righteousfaith.net

The post 7 Most Useful Tools For Effective Church Blogging appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.