My name is Chris Jackson AKA SEO Priest, the founder of ChurchSEO.io. I am a tech-savvy pastor who helps churches get found online.Subscribe now to my newsletter: Church SEO Shapeup.
π Off-the-charts Google Volatility
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Hey, there, Chris Jackson (AKA SEO Priest) here. I hope you've been enjoying the ChurchSEO Shapeup workouts I've been sending your way. Trust me - if you follow the recommendations in the workouts, your SEO will improve. As I mentioned in the Intro email, from time to time I'm going to send an additional email to you. This is the very first one! I'm sending this out because there's lots of news to share with you, both in the broader realm of online search and with ChurchSEO.io. Here is what we are going to cover:
Let's get started Google's November 2024 Core UpdateWe are right in the middle of a Google Core Update. A core update is when Google makes a significant change in their algorithm. It affects the way they evaluate websites, and it also a big "reshuffling" of which sites show up higher in search results. Throughout a core update, you'll typically see huge swings - massive volatility - in where websites show up. If you've been doing decent SEO, a core update should be a pretty exciting thing for your church. Since most churches don't do SEO well, the likelihood is that you'll see your church's position in the SERPs improve. One way you can track your church's position in the SERPs is through the free level of Semrush. Semrush is an SEO tool that helps you do things like keyword research and rank tracking. The free level lets you track your website's position across about ten queries. But, the best thing to do to track your church's position is to simply keep an eye on the search engine results pages (SERPs). It's a good practice to frequently Google queries pertinent to your church. For example, if your church is located in Cedar Rapids, you should be in the habit of regularly Googling 'Cedar Rapids churches.' You'll get a sense of how your church appears and any changes that develop. One Quick Tip: Short Form VideoGoogle is hungry to provide short form video in the SERPs. It's popping up everywhere in local results. (Church SEO is local SEO). Don't worry - you don't need to all of a sudden get smoking hot and start a TikTok channel. I've seen super low quality Facebook shorts showing up in the SERPs. You could probably make a really simple welcome short-form video, post it on your church's Facebook page, and there's a good chance it will start showing up on the front page of Google. Just make sure to use the word 'church' and your local place name in the description. New ResourceThis week I released a free SEO checklist for churches. You can download it here: seo-checklist-churches.pdf . Feel free to share this around. New ProductI started ChurchSEO (not that long ago, lol!) thinking that I would just provide information. Turns out, people really want services. So, I've started to develop a few SEO products. I have one product 100 percent rolled out: the Stratospheric SEO Package. The Stratospheric SEO Package is a baseline SEO package designed to give Google confidence that your church is legit. It does this by establishing name, address, and phone number consistency across the internet and by sending links to your church's website.
MemeFinally, here is your meme: β
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Church SEO Shapeup Newsletter by Chris Jackson (SEO Priest)
My name is Chris Jackson AKA SEO Priest, the founder of ChurchSEO.io. I am a tech-savvy pastor who helps churches get found online.Subscribe now to my newsletter: Church SEO Shapeup.
Hello Reader, School's on lots of people's minds. Most people - thinking about school being out for summer. πΆοΈ Me? I've been thinking a lot about SEO for schools. π€ Education is the theme for this broadcast. But, even if your church doesn't operate a school, keep on reading. I have a free backlink and citation opportunity at the end of the email. That will help you no matter if you have a school or not, and I'm certain you'll pick up some sweet info along the way. Here is what weβre going to...
Greetings in Christ! I pray you had a blessed Easter. For the Jackson family, it was different, as it was the first Easter without our son at home. Still, a blessed occasion. I noticed a big change over the last few years - more people in Easter service than I've had in years. Many young people in the pews. I've heard many similar reports from fellow pastors and Christians worldwide on social media. Do you think there is some sort of global vibe shift, even something of a renewal happening?...
Hello Reader, Big news this week from Google for churches that run schools. I'll cover that in this broadcast, share some exciting coverage I've gotten in an SEO publication, and also share a free backlink opportunity. It's a bit of a shorter email blast because, well, Holy Week is coming. And, that's the theme of this week's meme: Google Dropping the Review System for Schools After April 31, Google will be dropping its review system for schools. It turns out they were constantly battling...