Make Your Site More Visible on Google Search Results By Improving Your PageRank.

How Does Google Determine Search Ranking?

Many new visitors to your church website find you through search engines. Whether they type in generic terms like “churches in downtown Louisville” or your exact ministry name, you want your website to be the first in lists of search results. To make this a reality, you should know about search engine optimization (SEO).
Dominate among search engines is Google who utilizes its own system for the order of how websites are listed in search results. Their PageRank formula is a important part of that system.

Simplified, the formula Google uses to determine whether your ministry is the first site listed when someone enters in a search query that relates to you is this:

Search Ranking = Relevance x PageRank

Relevance
To determine your site’s Relevance, Google looks at your site’s content and compares it with other sites similar to yours, in both quality and quantity. So, for example, if another “church in downtown Louisville” uses those words and phrases less than you do on your site, your Relevance is likely to be higher. If the title of your site’s pages all include your name and someone searches that name, your Relevance will be higher than other sites.

PageRank
Google assigns a number from 0-10 (10 being best) to each website to measure its credibility and overall quality. This number is determined primarily by how many other websites link to your site, with links from sites with higher PageRanks counted as much more significant because their links are more valuable. Think of it this way, a job reference from the President carries much more weight than one from the lunch lady.

Here is a summary of PageRanks and the sites that make them up, from HubSpot.com:

0-1: New sites; sites with not many other sites linking to it
2-3:  Sites with minimal links
4-5:  Popular sites with a fair amount of other sites linking to it
6:  Very popular sites that have hundreds of links, many of them quality links
7-10:  Usually media brands (NYTimes.com), big companies, or A-list blogs.

To find out your PageRank, use one of the free tools below:
PageRank Checker
WebSiteGrader

How to Bump Up Your Google Search Ranking

Here are a few easy steps you can take you improving your PageRank:

1. Spell-check the content on your site. Visitors can't find you if you spell Calvary Church “Cavalry Chruch.”
2. Include words that people might enter in their searches in your content. If your ministry is in Louisville, make sure it says so on your site.
3. Make sure each page on your site has a title in the top toolbar.
4. If you have partner ministries, include a page on your site where you link to their sites, and encourage them to do the same. The more sites you can get linking to you, the better.
5. Be picky about who you link to. Only link to quality sites who update their content regularly.
6. Update your home page and other pages constantly with fresh content, news items, and events. Use our Widgets Feature to do the work for you.
7. Sign up for Google Analytics and use it. Using this free tool will let you see traffic to your site and give you insights on how to improve your content.
8. Link to other content on your site using hyperlinks. In the text of a news item, link to an event so visitors can register. In a blog, link to a photo gallery. These links help balance your PageRank over your whole site.
9. Take pride in the quality of your content. Avoid duplicate pages and information. Make text clear and brief.
10. When you link to other pages or sites, use keywords. Instead of writing "click here" and making it a hyperlink, use text that relates to the item you are linking to, like "All Church Picnic Registration."
    

Sources for This Blog and Further Reading on SEO

The Importance of Google PageRank - HubSpot.com
12 Things to Do to Improve Your Site's Google Page Ranking - Stason.org