When the details don't match, visitors and Google both get confused
Your church's name, address, and phone number appear on dozens of websites and apps you may never have visited: map apps, directories, church finders, and your denomination's locator.
If any of them show an old address, a disconnected phone number, or a former church name, two things happen. A visitor may drive to the wrong place or call a number nobody answers. And Google, which compiles business information from many sources, including licensed data from other companies and your own website, gets mixed signals about which details are true.
Google's help pages explain that when sources report your information differently, Google may update your profile. If someone suggests an edit and you don't respond within 4 days, Google may publish it when other public information supports it. Matching details everywhere protects the accuracy of the profile you worked hard to build.
A church moves, merges, or changes its name. Years later, some directories still show the old name or address. A family searching on a Saturday night finds two listings and isn't sure which one is real.
Start with the sites that matter most
- Maps and search first. Google, Apple Maps (the default on every iPhone), Bing, Facebook, and Yelp are where most people look.
- Then the data suppliers. Data Axle, Neustar Localeze, and Foursquare supply business information to many smaller directories, apps, and navigation systems. Correcting your details there helps fix listings further down the line.
- Then everything else on the checklist that follows.
Write your master listing
Before you touch a single directory, write down exactly how your details should appear. Every listing should match this, down to the abbreviations. Keep it in your church's shared documents.
| Detail | Exactly as it should appear |
|---|---|
| Church name As on your sign | |
| Street address Pick "Street" or "St" and stick to it | |
| City, state, ZIP | |
| Main phone A local number someone answers | |
| Website The exact address, such as https://www. | |
| Service times | |
| Short description Two or three sentences |
Also gather your logo and three or four good photos (see Step 5). Many directories ask for them.
Work through the 40-directory checklist
Search each site for your church's name and city. Check the name, address, phone number, and website against your master listing, then tick the box when it matches.
| # | Directory | Where to check | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maps and search | |||
| 1 | Google Business Profile | business.google.com | |
| 2 | Apple Maps (Apple Business Connect) | business.apple.com | |
| 3 | Bing Places for Business | bing.com/forbusiness | |
| 4 | Facebook Page | Your page's About section | |
| 5 | Yelp for Business | business.yelp.com | |
| Data suppliers (they feed many other sites) | |||
| 6 | Data Axle | data-axle.com | |
| 7 | Neustar Localeze | neustarlocaleze.biz | |
| 8 | Foursquare | business.foursquare.com | |
| Your own channels | |||
| 9 | Your church website | Footer, contact page, and visitor page | |
| 10 | YouTube channel | Channel description and links | |
| 11 | Profile contact details | ||
| 12 | Nextdoor | business.nextdoor.com | |
| 13 | Church app or online giving page | Contact and location details | |
| General directories | |||
| 14 | Yellow Pages | yellowpages.com | |
| 15 | Superpages | superpages.com | |
| 16 | MapQuest | mapquest.com | |
| 17 | Better Business Bureau | bbb.org | |
| 18 | Manta | manta.com | |
| 19 | Hotfrog | hotfrog.com | |
| 20 | Brownbook | brownbook.net | |
| 21 | EZlocal | ezlocal.com | |
| 22 | Cylex | cylex.us.com | |
| 23 | MerchantCircle | merchantcircle.com | |
| 24 | ChamberofCommerce.com | chamberofcommerce.com | |
| 25 | ShowMeLocal | showmelocal.com | |
| 26 | CitySquares | citysquares.com | |
| 27 | 2FindLocal | 2findlocal.com | |
| 28 | Waze | Check in the app, suggest fixes | |
| Church finders | |||
| 29 | ChurchFinder.com | churchfinder.com | |
| 30 | SermonAudio Church Finder | sermonaudio.com/churchfinder | |
| 31 | The Gospel Coalition Church Directory | thegospelcoalition.org/churches | |
| 32 | 9Marks Church Search | 9marks.org/church-search | |
| 33 | Founders Church Search | church.founders.org | |
| 34 | Your denomination's church locator | PCA, OPC, URCNA, ARP, RPCNA, ACNA, SBC, and others | |
| 35 | Your presbytery, classis, or association | Its website's list of churches | |
| Your local community | |||
| 36 | Local chamber of commerce | Member directory | |
| 37 | City or town website | Community or faith listings | |
| 38 | Local newspaper | Church or worship directory | |
| 39 | Visitors bureau or tourism site | Places of worship listings | |
| 40 | Local ministerial association | Member church list | |
Some church finders are curated and ask churches to apply or affirm a statement of faith, and some charge a fee. Only join directories whose beliefs you share. Canadian churches should also check YellowPages.ca.
Fix what you find
| What you find | What to do |
|---|---|
| A listing you can claim | Claim it with your church's shared email address, correct every detail, and record the login with your other church records. |
| A listing you can't claim | Look for a "suggest an edit" or "report a problem" link, or contact the site. Correcting the data suppliers often fixes these over time. |
| Two listings for your church | Keep the accurate one and ask the site to remove or merge the duplicate. Don't create a third. |
| An old name or address | Update it, or mark the old location as moved or closed if the site allows it. |
| No listing at all | Add your church, using your master listing word for word. |
Keep it matching
Changes don't show up everywhere at once. Some sites update within days, others take weeks, so check again a month or two later. After that, a little upkeep keeps everything matching.
- When something changes, update your master listing first, then Google, then the rest of the checklist. A new phone system, a new website address, a move, or a name change all count.
- Check the top eight once a year. Maps, search, and data suppliers (items 1 to 8) matter most.
- Keep logins in one place. Record which email owns each listing, so access doesn't leave with a volunteer.
Of all seven steps, this is the one churches most often leave unfinished, and understandably so. Claiming and correcting 40 listings by hand can take many hours spread over several weeks. If your office is already stretched thin, it's the step most worth handing to someone else. Keeping listings in sync across 40+ directories is part of the work we do for churches every week.