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SEO for churches: help newcomers find you before Sunday

Most people visiting a church for the first time have looked it up first: service times, what to expect, where to park, whether there is something for the kids. Church SEO makes sure what they find is right, current and welcoming.

Free church SEO auditSee plans
For
Churches and congregations
Plans
From $125 a month
Included
Google listing work
Stone steps leading to the open wooden doors of a small brick church on a sunny morning

A newcomer's first visit usually starts on a phone, not on these steps.

01 Statement of need

What newcomers search for, and what they need to find

Someone new to town, a family looking for a children's program, a person returning to faith after years away: they rarely know your church's name. They search for "church near me", a denomination plus the town, or something specific like a Spanish-language service or a recovery group.

Then they look for four things, fast: when services are, what a first visit is like, where to go when they arrive, and whether people like them are welcome. If the website buries service times in a PDF bulletin, or the Google listing shows last year's Easter hours, many of them simply try the next church on the list.

Good church SEO is mostly hospitality made visible. It isn't about outranking the church down the road; it's about making sure the people looking for a church like yours can find it and feel ready to walk in.

See what newcomers find: free audit

02 Approach

Church marketing that starts with search

What our plans cover for a congregation, in the order newcomers meet it.

  1. Step 1

    A Google Business Profile that's right every week

    The church category that fits your tradition, regular service times as hours, special hours for holidays, photos of the entrance and parking, accessibility details and a link to your plan-your-visit page.

  2. Step 2

    A plan-your-visit page

    Times, what to expect, how long the service runs, what to wear, children and youth, parking and accessible entrances. Written as text so search engines and screen readers can read it.

  3. Step 3

    Ministry and group pages people can find

    Food pantry, recovery groups, youth, language services, weddings and funerals. Each with its own page, because each is its own search.

  4. Step 4

    Consistent listings and community links

    Citation cleanup across directories (old pastors' names and old addresses linger), plus links from denominational directories, community calendars and partners you already serve with.

See how your church shows up for 'church near me' in your town. The free audit takes one business day.

Get the free auditBook a call

03 Website

Church website design: the first screen matters most

Church website builders make it easy to publish a site, and most of them look fine. The difference is in what the first screen says. Lead with the service times and location, a short welcome and the plan-your-visit link. Put the sermon archive, staff page and giving page one click away.

If your site is slow, impossible to edit after the volunteer who built it moved on, or one long page, we can build a new one from $400, quoted in writing. See nonprofit website design for what every build includes.

04 Ad Grants

Google Ad Grants and churches

Churches ask about Google Ad Grants more than any other program. Google's own help page is worth reading closely: it notes that churches meeting 501(c)(3) requirements are tax exempt without applying to the IRS, but its nonprofit programs require IRS recognition of 501(c)(3) status, and organizations not registered with the IRS and not listed in the IRS's online publication aren't eligible.

In practice: check whether your church is listed with the IRS before you apply. Our Google Ad Grants guide covers the rest of the rules. We don't manage grant accounts; our work is the organic side.

05 Budget

Church SEO pricing

The same published plans as every organization, month to month. A single church with one campus usually starts with Silver; several campuses or a regional ministry, Golden or Platinum.

Not sure? Free audit firstBook a call

Month to month. Cancel by email. No setup fee. Same prices for every organization.

Budget line / Silver

Silver SEO plan

$125a month

or $140 for a single month's work, bought once

One location or one program area, and a website that mostly needs to be found for your own name and cause.

Included in every plan

Google Business Profile optimization
Categories, programs, hours, photos and description set so your listing shows up for nearby searches.
Citation building and cleanup
Your name, address and website made identical across directories, with duplicates and old addresses fixed.
Review work
A simple way to ask volunteers, donors and visitors for Google reviews that stays inside Google's rules, plus replies.

Link work each month

Keywords targeted
10
Guest posts (DA 20+)
10
Articles placed through outreach on other websites, each linking to yours.
Web 2.0 pages (DA 50+)
10
Pages we publish on high-authority publishing platforms, each pointing to your site.
Amplification links
3,000
Second-tier links aimed at those articles and pages (never at your site) so they get indexed and carry weight.
Websites covered
1
Delivered in
10-12 days
  • Standard keyword research
  • Monthly report: every live URL, target page and anchor text
Start Silver monthlyBuy one month once ($140)

Budget line / Golden

Golden SEO plan

$235a month

or $260 for a single month's work, bought once

A city or county service area, several programs, and other organizations showing up for the same searches.

Included in every plan

Google Business Profile optimization
Categories, programs, hours, photos and description set so your listing shows up for nearby searches.
Citation building and cleanup
Your name, address and website made identical across directories, with duplicates and old addresses fixed.
Review work
A simple way to ask volunteers, donors and visitors for Google reviews that stays inside Google's rules, plus replies.

Link work each month

Keywords targeted
20
Guest posts (DA 20+)
20
Articles placed through outreach on other websites, each linking to yours.
Web 2.0 pages (DA 50+)
20
Pages we publish on high-authority publishing platforms, each pointing to your site.
Amplification links
5,000
Second-tier links aimed at those articles and pages (never at your site) so they get indexed and carry weight.
Websites covered
1
Delivered in
12-14 days
  • In-depth keyword research
  • On-page audit of your key pages
  • Content gap analysis
  • Premium indexing
  • Monthly report: every live URL, target page and anchor text
Start Golden monthlyBuy one month once ($260)

Best value

Budget line / Platinum

Platinum SEO plan

$325a month

or $380 for a single month's work, bought once

Several chapters or a second website (a campaign or event site), and you want to see what the organizations above you are doing.

Included in every plan

Google Business Profile optimization
Categories, programs, hours, photos and description set so your listing shows up for nearby searches.
Citation building and cleanup
Your name, address and website made identical across directories, with duplicates and old addresses fixed.
Review work
A simple way to ask volunteers, donors and visitors for Google reviews that stays inside Google's rules, plus replies.

Link work each month

Keywords targeted
40
Guest posts (DA 20+)
30
Articles placed through outreach on other websites, each linking to yours.
Web 2.0 pages (DA 50+)
30
Pages we publish on high-authority publishing platforms, each pointing to your site.
Amplification links
10,000
Second-tier links aimed at those articles and pages (never at your site) so they get indexed and carry weight.
Websites covered
2
Delivered in
14-16 days
  • In-depth keyword research
  • On-page audit of your key pages
  • Content gap analysis
  • Premium indexing
  • Competitor analysis
  • Monthly report: every live URL, target page and anchor text
Start Platinum monthlyBuy one month once ($380)

Budget line / Titanium

Titanium SEO plan

$575a month

or $620 for a single month's work, bought once

Regional groups with many locations, statewide reach, or an older site with years of links that need a toxic link check.

Included in every plan

Google Business Profile optimization
Categories, programs, hours, photos and description set so your listing shows up for nearby searches.
Citation building and cleanup
Your name, address and website made identical across directories, with duplicates and old addresses fixed.
Review work
A simple way to ask volunteers, donors and visitors for Google reviews that stays inside Google's rules, plus replies.

Link work each month

Keywords targeted
100
Guest posts (DA 20+)
50
Articles placed through outreach on other websites, each linking to yours.
Web 2.0 pages (DA 50+)
50
Pages we publish on high-authority publishing platforms, each pointing to your site.
Amplification links
20,000
Second-tier links aimed at those articles and pages (never at your site) so they get indexed and carry weight.
Websites covered
4
Delivered in
16-18 days
  • In-depth keyword research
  • On-page audit of your key pages
  • Content gap analysis
  • Premium indexing
  • Competitor analysis
  • Toxic link check
  • Monthly report: every live URL, target page and anchor text
Start Titanium monthlyBuy one month once ($620)

06 Questions

Church SEO questions

Get the free auditBook a call
What is church SEO?

Church SEO is the work that makes your church show up when someone nearby searches for a church, a service time, a ministry or a denomination. Most of it is local: a complete Google Business Profile, consistent listings, a website that answers a newcomer's questions, and a few links from your community.

How much does church SEO cost?

Our plans start at $125 a month, month to month, the same price for a church as for any organization. Every plan includes Google Business Profile, citation and review work. A website build, if you need one, starts at $400 and is quoted in writing.

Can churches get Google Ad Grants?

Google's help page notes that churches meeting 501(c)(3) requirements are tax exempt without applying to the IRS. It also says its nonprofit programs require IRS recognition of 501(c)(3) status, and that organizations not registered with the IRS and not listed in its online publication aren't eligible. Check your church's IRS listing first.

Do sermon archives help a church rank?

Audio files alone rarely do, because search engines read text. A sermon page with a clear title, a short summary or transcript and the passage or topic can be found by people searching that question. Series pages that group sermons help even more.

Should a church with several campuses have one Google listing or several?

Google allows one profile per real location where people can visit during stated hours. Each campus that holds its own services can have its own profile, named the way the campus is actually signed, with its own service times.

Is it appropriate for a church to ask for Google reviews?

Many churches do, and visitors read them. If you ask, ask everyone (Google bans asking only the people you expect to be happy) and never offer anything in return. Some congregations prefer not to ask at all, which is a fine choice; a complete, accurate listing matters more.

Next step Your move

Make the first visit easier to plan

The free audit is a short written report: how your church shows up for newcomer searches in your town, what your Google listing says, and the first three fixes. By email within one business day.

Get the free nonprofit SEO auditBook a 30-minute call

Or ask the assistant in the corner: prices, Ad Grants, chapters, how canceling works.