If optimizing a website is like giving your car a tune up, link building is like putting in a bigger engine. Simply put, there are going to be keywords that are out of your reach if all you do is on-page optimization, especially if your church is in a large city. Link building is needed to bring those keywords into your grasp. Links are like votes for your website. The more votes your website gets, the more important the search engines think your site is. That causes then to move you up in the search results for the keywords you are targeting and can get you ranking well for keywords you can’t currently rank well for. So, what is link building and how do you do it? Read on my friend. Read more…

As you start to delve into the world of online marketing, it is important to be able to understand the terminology being used. We always try to limit the “tech talk” when possible and use terms normal folks use; however, there are times when there simply isn’t another word to use. You may also be reading though other resources and run into confusing terminology. So, we have created the Church Marketing Online Search Marketing Glossary.

We encourage you to look over this dictionary of search marketing terms before you begin reading through the rest of the articles. We also encourage you to bookmark this page so you can visit the page if you ever run into a word or acronym you are not familiar with. If it’s search marketing related, you should find it here. If not, post a comment to request a definition.

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Some people believe the church can be more effective by utilizing processes most commonly and effectively used in business today, including marketing.  In fact there are companies that specifically help churches develop a logo, a slogan, a website, brochures, and a multi-faceted marketing campaign much the same way other companies develop these elements to launch a new business.

On the other hand, some people abhor these practices and think the church should stay as far away from them as possible.  They believe marketing is deceptive, manipulative, superficial, worldly, and yes – evil.

And then there’s the middle ground where I think most of us find ourselves.  We want our churches to reach more people in our communities.  We want to express the passion and love we have for God and people.  If people would just come to a Sunday service, we know God would show up and touch their hearts and show them the amazing life they could have with Him in it.  We want to let people know about the opportunities God has for them, but it’s so hard to get people’s attention in this media-saturated culture.  We want to reach out, but we don’t want resort to hype, gimmicks, or starkly corporate tactics.

Is marketing the way to do that, or is marketing evil?

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