Your church’s website is the front door of your church and one of the best ways to reach new people and grow your congregation. But if you’re not getting adequate website traffic, then something is amiss.
Let’s talk about five things that could be killing your church’s website traffic.
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Why Does Your Church Need More Website Traffic?
But first, you may be wondering how much your church’s website traffic actually matters. After all, aren’t you more concerned about connecting with people through services, Bible studies, groups, and events?
The truth is, getting a lot of clicks and website visitors isn’t the end goal. It’s simply the means to connect with people.
In today’s world, people look online for resources when they’re hurting. And if they’re considering visiting a church, they’ll scope things out online first.
However, just because you have a website doesn’t ensure that people will find it, and that’s why boosting your website traffic is vital.
5 Reasons Your Church’s Website Isn’t Getting Traffic
1. Your website is slow.
We’re not very patient anymore, and some statistics say that 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.
Website speed (or page loading time) is how long it takes for your website to load. The faster the church website loads, the more likely church members are to stay on your site. And the more traffic Google will send you!
Factors that affect your page load time include:
- The size and number of images on your website
- Videos or other media
- Poorly coded themes or plugins
There are other technical factors that affect your website speed. You can use Google’s free Page Speed Insights tool to help you understand more about what’s slowing down your website.
2. Your website is hard to navigate.
Can visitors easily understand what’s available on your website? And how to find what they’re looking for?
Your church’s website should be easy to navigate. That means having a simple, intuitive design, organized menu structure, and clearly labeled pages.
You want to organize your menu, and the information on your pages, and link everything correctly. Also, remember to use your footer menus for extra navigation links.
3. Your site isn’t mobile-friendly.
Having a mobile-friendly site is crucial for your church’s website traffic. That means having a responsive design that reformats content for smaller screens, as well as large buttons and easy-to-tap links.
Google published its “mobile-friendly update” in 2015 announcing that it would be boosting the ranking of mobile-friendly pages on mobile search results.
Since that time, there have been several other algorithm updates that favor mobile-friendly websites, and an increasing number of internet users logging in from mobile devices.
In fact, global mobile internet traffic accounts accounted for close to 60% of total internet traffic by the middle of 2022. Having a mobile-friendly site guarantees people will have a good website experience and keep coming back.
4. You’re not using keywords effectively.
Google is looking for keywords on your website to help them understand what your site is about. If you’re not using keywords effectively, then Google won’t be able to send you the right website traffic.
Your church’s website should be keyword-rich, without being too “spammy.” That means using keywords in the right places, such as
- page titles
- headers
- meta descriptions
- image alt tags
- body content
You can use Google’s Keyword Planner tool to help you find the right keywords for your church website
However, don’t stuff keywords! This will not only make your site look unprofessional, but it will also get you penalized by Google.
5. Your website has poor quality or outdated content.
If there’s nothing new on your church’s website, why would anyone bother coming back?
Make sure to regularly add fresh content in the form of
- blog posts
- photos
- videos
- event listings
This will give people a reason to keep coming back, and it will also help improve your search engine rankings over time.
When you publish new content, whether it’s a great resource in the form of a blog post or your weekend sermon, be sure to let people know.
Include links in your social media posts and email newsletters to encourage traffic to your website.
Getting More Website Visitors
If you’re a pastor, you know how important it is to have a strong online presence. Your church’s website is the first impression that many people will have of your church, and you want to make sure that it’s a good one.
However, there are a number of common mistakes that churches make that can kill their website traffic. If you can address the five listed here, you’ll go a long way towards boosting your website visibility.
What point above do you think is most challenging for your website? Let us know in the comments below!
Need to Boost Your Website Traffic?
Also, check out our free online strategy review to receive a downloadable PDF with a 100-point assessment of how your online presence ranks in ten key areas. Or, feel free to reach out to our team for help with your website.
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