Unity Church Marketing

You have your church website set up for Web 2.0. It doesn’t look or feel clunky, have a hundred links on a single page and you have not only read my article on things that will insure that I don’t come back to your website, but you have implemented everything possible to cover any areas to make sure I keep coming back.

But what if I never get to your site?
The trouble is what if no one ever finds your site? They look in the search engine and the only way someone can pull up your site is if they type in the exact name of your church. And believe it or not, you still aren’t even in the top 10 with that search criteria! Ouch!

Maybe it is time you looked under the hood!
Again, one of those things that my clients hear me talk about from time to time. “Simple, but not easy” is a term that I use to describe tasks that while simple in nature are a little more challenging if you don’t have the expertise.

Chances are you may have thought about things like SEO when you developed your site, but did you pay it attention throughout?

Getting your website evaluated is easier and better than ever!
Once you complete your initial site, I would definitely get your website graded to see where you are at. There are some great tools on sites such as Website Grader that will give you a better understanding of what, if anything needs done.

I did just that thinking I would be fine. After all, I have been doing this for awhile. I use optimized titles and a SEO Word Press theme. What should I have to worry about I thought.

Wouldn’t you rather know that there is an issue sooner rather than later?
So with confidence I put in my website name and waited for the report. The report came back and depending on the curve, my grade would rate a “C”.

While I wasn’t shocked, I wasn’t happy either. Some of the things that were on the report were things that I self-assuredly thought had been completed when I first put the site together. Then I remembered that while these things were on my list, the launch of a website can be pretty hectic and perhaps these items just fell through the cracks.

Having your website evaluated pinpoints the areas you need to work on!
Some of the fixes (in fact a lot of the fixes) take just a few minutes to correct. Here were the areas that I needed to work on:

– Meta data — this was one thing that I knew had to get done, but just didn’t give it enough focus.

– Keywords and missing descriptions — not on all the pages, but on several.

– Google Page Rank — I knew mine, but when I ask, many of my clients don’t have a clue as to what I am talking about.

– Traffic rank — Just like I tell my clients to look at the metrics, this is one where if you grade your website regularly, can see the results in black and white.

– Inbound links — I have to say that I was pleasantly pleased here, but know that this is an area that needs work. At the very least, you can get a feel for how others value your content.

– Found directories — I had totally bypassed registering in search engines that would develop more traffic for me (ie. Yahoo was one) On this I felt like a bonehead. Don’t do like I did. Get your site registered in places/directories such as Technoratti that will drive traffic to your site.

– RSS feed — Actually, this one was a relief to me as I had been having some challenges in setting my sites feed up. It was good to know I finally got it right.

In summary…
Using a website evaluation tool is a great way for someone to bring the issues to you, rather than you have to learn everything about website design (still not a bad idea). From there, you can see where your challenges/weaknesses are and go about correcting them.

Even though I got a “C” on this grade, I know that future grades will only get better. You are always going to have some weaknesses. Don’t guess at them. Use a website evaluation tool for your church (or business) website and determine the areas that need your attention.