Church marketing doesn't have to be complicated.

For many churches, however, making a meaningful connection online can pose  a significant challenge for churches.  The local church can often find itself competing alongside YouTubers and stream services.  The temptation is to fall prey to the pressure for the church to provide entertainment over sustenance.  

Churches are competing for more than just Sunday morning.

But they also have the opportunity for their content to be viewed 24/7.  The question is can we wrestle away that behavior of distraction? And in the 24/7 competitive world, most churches have yet to arrive as thought leaders.  

Make it simple. Preach the Gospel.

We all know that people crave the gospel and that the message of Jesus is full of hope. We can all attest to countless stories of the life-changing transformation of the gospel in somebody’s life.  

So where do you find the people?

Church marketing on Google means keeping up on the latest trends. Did you know that one out of every six searches at Google is a brand new term that they’ve never handled before?  This is what keeps Google relevant even alongside AI.

Saying that people can be found on Google is fairly obvious.  With a dominating share of search engine queries, Google is the clear choice to find people online.  But what you may not realize is just how large of an online economy Google has built beyond its core search engine.  This is where YouTube, Waze, and Google Maps reside. Yes, YouTube is a Google property and by itself is the second-largest search engine in the world.

Google Ads

The first step that most churches take on Google, is Google Ads. This pay-to-participate advertising platform can be an effective way to reach seekers of information.  A word of caution however, while extremely accessible, this platform is also significantly complex.  And as a result, it can be easy to waste money unnecessarily. And yes you can reach search queries on YouTube on the Google Ads platform too.  

In addition to search engine marketing, Google Ads features robust display advertising through its ad serving technology (previously known as DoubleClick). One of the best features of Google Ads is remarketing.  This technology allows you to serve display advertisements to previous website visitors as they consume media on the web. When handled correctly this is a great strategy for keeping your church top of mind.

Tip: make sure your content is localized and useful to your audience.  If you want to show up for “city church,” (where city is your city), then this content needs to be on your website

Search Engine Optimization

While Google Ads is immediate, perhaps a better first step is search engine optimization. SEO requires a deep understanding of your title tags, header tags, meta descriptions, and the ability to impact your page load speeds. It also requires an understanding of other factors that impact the Google search algorithm such as directory listings.  There are hundreds of elements that can impact your search ranking.  So while it is a great place to start (the only cost is your time), it is also a longer-term strategy.

Tip: make sure your content is localized and useful to your audience.  If you want to show up for “city church,” (where city is your city), then this content needs to be on your website

Meta includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads.

The brilliance of Meta is that they have created a self-contained ecosystem of engagement, basically they reinvented the internet.  Like Google, Meta has a number of powerful digital properties in its portfolio, and they are all reachable via its toolkit and advertising platforms.

Facebook is an essential platform for churches because of its robust targeting features, high level of online community connection, ability to broadcast, and potential for content to go viral and reach new audiences. Church marketing on Facebook can be highly effective.

Posts, Stories, Reels, and groups are great examples of how church marketers can distribute content.  Boosted content can create additional reach in the community, or with people who have common interests.

Groups and Business Pages allow churches to represent their brand, and share meaningful content.

Integrated services with Instagram can make posting updates super easy.

While Facebook can be more text-heavy, Instagram is a visual platform.

Facebook and Instagram Stories represent a powerful way to communicate specific calls to action.

Church marketing truly has the opportunity to shine on YouTube. But it's super competitive. Every minute there is more video content uploaded on YouTube than the average human lifespan.  This is a powerful platform that is integrated across devices and that features all of the data knowledge and targeting power of Google. 

With only 100 subscribers, a church can create it’s own custom url, and with 1,000 subscribers they can become a publisher who monetizes their content.

YouTube SEO is a tad more straightforward than Google Search, with thumbnails, descriptions, custom banners, and tags being the bulk of the heavy lifting.  But what really sets your church apart is the quality of your content. Useful content is why YouTube started.