Gone are the days when only the most tech-savvy churches developed and maintained a church website.  In the past few years, church websites have become the norm -- nearly as common as the church bulletin.  Nearly all churches, including small churches with fewer than 50 people, now have a website.

While many churches maintain a website with the primary purpose of communicating with current membership, other churches also seek to reach out to potential visitors with their website.  Research has shown that a large percentage of Internet users use the Internet to search for spiritual or religious information, including locating information on churches to visit in their local area.  The problem is, while many churches have websites, few churches adequately promote their website to ensure that it can be found by people searching for it.

The purpose of this article is to provide a starting point for churches to effectively go about promoting their church website.

"Google It!"

For those of you who aren't aware, the verb "google it" means to "perform a web search, with the Google search engine."  The expression has gained popularity at a direct rate as the search engine itself.  Although Google was not the first search engine, it is no doubt the most popular, so it's imperative your church website get listed in its search results.

If you want Google to find your site quickly and to add your site to its index, it's suggested that you submit your site's address by visiting Add Your URL to Google.  Fortunately, this process only takes a few seconds.

Many Internet users visit multiple search engines when looking for a church, so it's important to submit your site to other search engines too.  In addition to Google, it is recommended that you submit your site to dmoz, Yahoo!, and MSN.  Also, submit your church website to popular Christian search engines, such as ChristSites.com, ChristianWebSite.com, and Fish The Net.

After submitting your church website to the search engines, you may find yourself trying to find ways to raise your site's ranking in the search results.  The best tip for improving your site's ranking is to increase the number of sites that link to you.  The more relevant sites that link to you, the more popular your website is considered to be by the search engines.  Therefore, make it a priority to exchange links with other Christian sites.

Get Listed with Online Church Directories

People use the Internet these days to help them choose a church, whether they are moving to a new area, traveling, or simply looking for a new church to attend.  In order to save time, people are beginning to use online church directories to find a church rather than general search engines or the Yellow Pages.  A listing in a church directory also creates a link from their site to yours, which again goes toward improving your ranking in the search engines.

Therefore, it's important to get your church website listed in online church directories and the website of your denomination, diocese, or network.  If you haven't listed your church in our online directory, take a few minutes to add a church listing now; after all, it's free!  Register for a free church listing in the USA Churches Christian church directory.

Finally, Don't Forget Community Websites

In addition to visiting online church directories such as USA Churches to locate a church or place of worship, many people visit local community websites to find information on churches.  You might be surprised how many different websites there are for a given community, especially for larger cities such as Chicago, New York, or Los Angeles.

By exchanging links with websites of organizations based in your local area, you will provide a way for many people to find your church website.  Take some time to identify and visit websites based in your local area.  Check for a links page on each site, and take a moment to exchange links.

By submitting your church website to search engines, getting listed in online church directories like USA Churches, and exchanging links with websites based in your community, you will greatly improve the chances that your church website is found by people searching for it.