What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is an ever-evolving set of strategies used in online marketing to help organizations reach more of their target audience. It is the process of utilizing a variety of techniques to positively impact a website’s visibility in unpaid search engine results. The higher a website ranks when a person googles search terms related to it, the more web traffic it receives. Most people do not scroll past the first page of search engine results. With this important fact in mind, I challenge you to google Seventh-day Adventist Church, Jesus, Bible prophecy, or the name of your church, ministry, organization, etc. What do you find? What kind of digital “curb appeal” did your search results reveal? Was it good or bad? Are people being led away by the competition or misinformation?
This resource will dive into what SEO strategies involve and how it relates to each of our ministries, from local to global. By being intentional and strategic, we can improve our digital curb appeal and encourage more people to encounter, and possibly embrace, our message.
Just as Seventh-day Adventists made strides in popular media throughout history—from print to radio to television—it’s now time to leverage the near limitless missionary opportunities the internet and digital technologies provide for us.
We can’t ignore this vast online audience (“the online mission field”) that already wants what we have to offer—an audience we may never otherwise meet!
SEO is both highly technical and an art form. Professionals in this arena are highly sought-after and highly compensated by many types of businesses that know their true profitability depends on their findability and reputation online. But we can, with some education, invest the time (and sometimes money) ourselvesto implement these valuable techniques. This is your chance to learn insider information and use it for the gospel—ultimately aiding the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20).
As with all things digital, the technology and tricks-of-the-trade will continually change (please check back regularly for updated materials), but the underlying philosophy will remain largely the same. With careful, prayerful guidance, let us begin.
We recommend working through this series in the order presented below. Click on the link for each specific topic.
This series was created through a collaborative partnership between the Social Media + Big Data department of the North American Division and the Center for Online Evangelism.
Read the following press release to learn more about this partnership: The North American Division Releases a Comprehensive Guide to Search Engine Optimization for Ministries.
This resource will dive into what SEO strategies involve and how it relates to each of our ministries, from local to global. By being intentional and strategic, we can improve our digital curb appeal and encourage more people to encounter, and possibly embrace, our message.
Just as Seventh-day Adventists made strides in popular media throughout history—from print to radio to television—it’s now time to leverage the near limitless missionary opportunities the internet and digital technologies provide for us.
We can’t ignore this vast online audience (“the online mission field”) that already wants what we have to offer—an audience we may never otherwise meet!
SEO is both highly technical and an art form. Professionals in this arena are highly sought-after and highly compensated by many types of businesses that know their true profitability depends on their findability and reputation online. But we can, with some education, invest the time (and sometimes money) ourselvesto implement these valuable techniques. This is your chance to learn insider information and use it for the gospel—ultimately aiding the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20).
As with all things digital, the technology and tricks-of-the-trade will continually change (please check back regularly for updated materials), but the underlying philosophy will remain largely the same. With careful, prayerful guidance, let us begin.
We recommend working through this series in the order presented below. Click on the link for each specific topic.
This series was created through a collaborative partnership between the Social Media + Big Data department of the North American Division and the Center for Online Evangelism.
Read the following press release to learn more about this partnership: The North American Division Releases a Comprehensive Guide to Search Engine Optimization for Ministries.
| Download the Complete SEO PDF Guide |
Table of Contents:
- Why Search Engine Optimization Matters for the Adventist Church
- Intro to SEO—Helping More Seekers Find Your Ministry
- What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
- How Can SEO Help Our Church and Its Ministries?
- Glossary of Necessary Terms
- What's Involved in SEO?
- Basic Setup (Introduction Checklist)
- Writing and Optimizing Content
- User Experience Engineering (UXE)
- Off-page SEO
- Tracking and Analyzing Activity
- Technical Adjustments
- SEO Setup Checklist—How to Prepare Your Site to Play Well with Google (and other search engines)
- Google accounts for your organization
- Site security - SSL certificates
- What does “Mobile First” mean?
- Verify your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number)
- Building Your SEO Foundation—Google Analytics and Search Console Setup
- Intro to Keyword Research - Content Planning and Strategy
- What is keyword research, and why is it necessary?
- The evolution of keyword research
- Optimizing for topic, intent, and opportunity (long-tail keywords)
- Recommended tools and methods
- Intro to Content Marketing—Creating, Optimizing & Distributing Content to Engage Your Audience and Improve SEO
- Elements of Strategy
- Types of Content
- Content Strategy Worksheet
- How to Write for Online Audiences
- Copywriting Techniques
- SEO-specific Writing (Titles, Tags, Descriptions)
- Evergreen vs. time-sensitive content. Use both, how and when.
- Repurposing Content
- Using Map & Directory Listings to Improve Local SEO—a MUST for Churches, Schools, and Brick-and-Mortar Ministries
- What is Local SEO and who needs to know about it?
- Claiming Map Listings
- Google My Business / Google Maps
- Apple Maps, Bing and Mapquest
- Intro to Directory Listings
- Offsite SEO—Optimizing Your Entire Web Presence (Backlinking)
- The Practice of Backlinking: Tread Carefully!
- Off-Site Touch Points
- Playing the SEO Long Game for Big Results
- Tips for a long-term strategy
- What happens if you stop
- Why it needs to be a long game
- Before Diving In—Beware! 9 SEO Myths That Refuse to Die
- “We just need lots of clicks. Lots of traffic. The rest will fall into place.”
- “Google changes its algorithms all the time. What’s the point in trying to keep up?”
- “Our website is awesome. We don’t need to worry about all this extra SEO stuff.”
- “It’s all about using lots of keywords that get traffic.”
- “Don’t worry about all the technical SEO stuff. Just create good content.”
- “SEO is for the IT department. Let them handle it.”
- “If you do these things, you’ll rank on page 1 in 3-6 months...”
- “Get a sweet SEO setup, then relax and enjoy great traffic and engagement.”
- “We just found a company that will do all our SEO and content marketing for super cheap!”
Related Videos:
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Related Blog Posts:
External Articles:
External Resources & Tools:
Resources for Online Writing:
External Articles:
- How Mormons are Winning the Internet
- How to Check a Certificates Expiration Date
- How to do Keyword Research the Smart Way: Targeting Interest and Intent
- How to Find Long Tail Keywords
- How to Understand Searcher Intent and Use it to Boost SEO Rankings
- How to Use the Google Ads Keyword Planner Tool Effectively
- Keep Your Website From Being Marked Not Secure
- SEO Basics: What is Keyword Research?
- What Is Quality Content?
External Resources & Tools:
- Adwords' Keyword Planner
- A Complete Guide to the Google Search Console
- A Guide to the Standard Reports in Google Analytics: Audience Reports
- An Insider’s Guide to Using Google’s Search Console to Fix Your Site
- Answer the Public (content brainstorming tool)
- Automated Certificate Authority
- Beginner's Guide to Keyword Research
- Beginner's Guide to SEO
- Build and Submit a Sitemap
- Duplicate Content SEO Advice and Best Practices
- Google Analytics: Get Started Guide
- Google Search Console
- How to Do Keyword Research for SEO
- How to Get Actionable Data from Google Analytics in 10 Minutes
- Keyword Explorer
- Keywords Everywhere (free keyword browser extension)
- Keyword Research for SEO—The Ultimate Guide
- Link Building for SEO: The Definitive Guide (2018 Update)
- Local SEO for Multiple Locations: Everything You Need to Know
- Mobile-friendly Website Testing Tool
- Password Generator
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider (free tool to detect website errors) - Instructional PDF
- SEMrush
- Twinword (keyword research tool that can organize by intent)
- Ubersuggest (free keyword research tool)
- WIX SEO Guide (helpful resource tool)
Resources for Online Writing:
- 4 Reasons People Stop Reading Before the End of a Page
- 6 Way Writers Can Master SEO Best Practices in 2018
- 9 Evergreen Content Formats for Long-term Success
- 10 Common Online Copywriting Mistakes
- 10 Copywriting Tips You Think You Know
- 595 Power Words That Will Instantly Make You a Better Writer
- A Simple Guide for Content Creation That Drives Traffic
- Classic Copywriting Formula
- Conversational Copywriting
- Copywriting 101
- Finding Marketing Stories in Your Everyday Life
- Free Copywriting Worksheets
- How to Plan and Create Evergreen Content for SEO
- How to Research and Create Evergreen Content
- How to Verb Your Headlines
- How to Write for Social Media, A Comprehensive Guide (download a powerpoint)
- Is Your Website Written Conversationally?
- SEO Clickbait: How to Write Headlines Everyone Loves
- Steal These Insider Secrets to Get Your Content Noticed
- Tips for Improving Your Church's Digital Curb Appeal