A complete profile is easier to find, and easier to trust
Once your church has claimed its Google Business Profile, the next question is simple: does it answer what a first-time visitor wants to know? When do you meet? Where do I park? What is it like inside?
Google says it plainly in its own help pages: businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local search results. Google ranks nearby places mainly on three things:
| Factor | What Google means by it |
|---|---|
| Relevance | How well your profile matches what someone searched for. Complete, detailed information helps Google understand what your church is. |
| Distance | How far your church is from the person searching. You can't change this one. |
| Prominence | How well known your church is, based partly on reviews and how many websites link to you. |
Relevance is the factor you have the most control over, and Google gives you a free tool to work on it: the Profile Strength Indicator. It points out missing information, checks that your details match across Google Search and Maps, and reminds you to add photos, videos, and posts.
The Profile Strength Indicator only appears on verified profiles. If you haven't claimed and verified your church's profile yet, start with Step 1 of this series. Then set aside about 30 minutes and have your service times, a short description of your church, and a few current photos ready.
Open the Profile Strength tool
This works best on a computer.
- Sign in to the Google account that manages your church's profile.
- Search Google for my business, or search for your church's name, to open your Business Profile.
- Click Profile Strength.
- Follow the on-screen instructions. After you update an item, click Next. To move past an item for now, click Skip.
- On the last screen, click Go to profile.
Google shows you how complete your profile is and what's still missing. Work through the list until your profile strength looks good, then come back to it whenever you make changes.
Work through each item
Here is what the tool typically asks for, and what a church should enter. Picture a neighbor who has never visited, reading your profile on a phone on Saturday night.
| Item | What to enter for a church |
|---|---|
| Description | Up to 750 characters, no links. Say who you are, when you meet, and what a visitor can expect. Use plain words a newcomer understands. (Step 1 of this series includes a sample.) |
| Category | Pick the most specific accurate category as your primary one, such as your tradition's church category. Google allows up to 9 more, but most churches need only one or two. Don't add categories just as keywords. |
| Contact info | A phone number someone answers or a voicemail someone checks, and your website address. Link to a "Plan Your Visit" page if you have one. |
| Hours | See Part 3 before you fill this in. |
| Opening date | The month and year your church was founded. On some Google pages this may be used to show how many years you've been serving your community. |
| Attributes | Factual details such as a wheelchair-accessible entrance, restroom, or parking. Visitors with young children or older parents look for these. |
| Social links | Where Google offers it, add one link per platform, such as your Facebook page or YouTube channel. Only add accounts your church keeps current. |
| Logo and cover photo | Your church logo, and a clear, current photo of your building with its sign. |
| Photos and videos | The outside, the entrance, the sanctuary, and your people. Step 5 of this series covers this in detail. |
| Posts | Short updates about sermons, events, and holiday services. Step 6 of this series covers this in detail. |
A note about service times
The tool may ask you to add hours. Churches need to think about this one carefully.
Google's written guidelines say that certain places shouldn't provide hours, including places with varied schedules, and they name worship services as an example. Regular hours are meant to show when a place is open to walk in, and a church that meets Sunday at 10:30 AM and Wednesday at 7:00 PM isn't "open" in that sense.
List your office hours, for example Tuesday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, as long as someone is really there to answer the door and the phone.
Leave hours blank rather than guessing. A blank field is better than a visitor arriving to a locked door.
Either way, put your worship service times in your description and on your website's home page, where a visitor will see them right away. When your schedule changes for Christmas or Easter, share it in a post (Step 6).
Keep it consistent everywhere
Part of your profile strength is whether your details match across Google Search and Google Maps. Google also compares your profile with other sources, including your own website, and may update your profile based on what it finds there. Check these match exactly:
- Name exactly as it appears on your sign, with nothing added.
- Address written the same way on your profile, your website, and your bulletin.
- Phone number the same everywhere, and one your church controls.
- Website pointing to your current site, not an old address that redirects.
Google may notify you by email or on your profile when someone suggests an edit. You then have 4 days to accept or reject it. If you don't respond, Google may publish the change if other public information, such as your website, supports it. Changed details may show in blue in the profile editor. Make sure the email for your profile reaches someone who reads it.
Keep it strong month to month
A profile that was complete a year ago can quietly go stale. A new associate pastor, a changed phone line, or a new Sunday school hour can all slip through. Set a 10-minute reminder for the first week of each month and run through this list:
- Open Profile Strength and fill in anything new it suggests.
- Read your description. Are the service times still right?
- Call your listed phone number. Does someone answer, or does the voicemail work?
- Click your website link. Does it load the right page?
- Check for any Google updates or suggested edits waiting for your review.
- Add at least one new photo and one new post.
- Reply to any new reviews (Step 4).
Common mistakes to avoid
| Mistake | Why it causes trouble |
|---|---|
| Chasing a full score by entering made-up hours | Visitors arrive when no one is there, and it goes against Google's guidelines for worship services. |
| Adding phrases like "Bible-Teaching Church in Springfield" to your name | Google doesn't allow it and can suspend your profile. |
| Choosing extra categories as keywords | Google's rules say categories should describe what you are, not what you want to rank for. |
| Writing the description in insider language | Newcomers may not know what "session," "narthex," or "consistory" mean. Explain or use everyday words. |
| Ignoring Google's suggested edits | After 4 days, Google may publish a change you never approved. |