In a net-savvy world, there is no question of whether or not digital marketing should play a role in a companys overall marketing strategy. But how do the rules of the online playground affect such traditional institutions as the Church? How can church ministries learn and adapt to these popular new models? Author Kevin W. Shorter delivers an upbeat, easy-to-implement guide to search engine optimization for churches in his new book, Church Search: How to Get Your Ministry to Show Up in Search Engines.
The theory of if you build it, they will come does not work online, writes Shorter on the motivation behind writing his new guide. Potential visitors to the website need to be able to find it. Most prospective visitors to a church will go online to research the choices before walking through the door. Realizing a hole in the outreach programs of most churches, Shorter set to work to educate readers about the importance of an online presence. Among other lessons, Church Search instructs readers on how to:
* Leverage the power of search engines * Determine whether your website is user-friendly * Uncover how new users are finding your site and how to generate more users * Utilize keyword analysis, blogs and customized web-material
Ideally used as a complement to the work of traditional ministries, Church Search offers readers a tool to reach both non-believers and Christians new to a particular area. As Shorter writes: Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. If you are not thinking with regards to search engine traffic, you might be leaving it up to other people to tell your story.
