Have you ‘google tested’ your youth ministry?

A few months back I was invited to speak on pioneering youth work projects in a small city. Before I got there, I did what I call ‘the switched on parent test’. I googled a bunch of words and phrases a parent might do when moving to a new area to find stuff on for their kids.

In this particular city, the best any church or faith based project did in response to my search terms was page six of google’s results.

Now that google uses far more accurate location-driven alorithms, we’re not fighting the global web of information quite as hard. With this in mind, search engine optimisation (or SEO) is no longer a mind-boggling pit of despair! Just having clear, consistent information on websites and social media is enough for your work to show up in local searches.

So does it?

I challenge you – right this minute – to ‘google test’ your project. Don’t google the name or building of your project; instead do some cold searches that a parent might do when moving to your area.

So, for instance – using say, Blackpool, as the example – try (with your own town) each version of:

• [Youth / children’s / young people’s / teenage / teenager / school aged / kid’s] clubs in Blackpool
• [Youth / children’s / young people’s / teenage / teenager / school aged / kid’s] work in Blackpool
• [Youth / children’s / young people’s / teenage / teenager / school aged / kid’s] projects in Blackpool
• [Youth / children’s / young people’s / teenage / teenager / school aged / kid’s] organisations in Blackpool
• [Youth / children’s / young people’s / teenage / teenager / school aged / kid’s] hang outs in Blackpool
• [Youth / children’s / young people’s / teenage / teenager / school aged / kid’s] sports clubs in Blackpool
• Things to do for [Youth / children’s / young people’s / teenage / teenager / school aged / kid’s] in Blackpool
• Where can I send my [Youth / children’s / young people’s / teenage / teenager / school aged / kid’s] in Blackpool

etc.

Does your church or youth project feature on the first two search results pages? If not, it’s time to make some changes! Here’s just few things you can do:

Make sure you have web presence. This might mean a website or blog, but almost certainly (for parents) it means a Facebook page or group. Make sure that all your sites and accounts point back to each other.

Utilise other web presence. Submit your information to the council, school online bulletins, local ‘what’s on’ social media groups, and of course church websites.

Update regularly, or at least consistently. Google knows how to pick up on sites that don’t have activity, and they shift them down the rankings. Make sure you are adding regular updates; ideally weekly. At very least, try and do updates at the same time each time (eg. lunchtime on a Friday every fortnight).

Share, share, share! Have your friends, followers, and team regularly share your updates, or tag you in on their own. Keep conversations moving, and always respond to comments (even if it’s just ‘thank you’).

Stay safe. Make sure you’re aware of best safeguarding practices around young people online, and have the correct permissions to share photos/videos of young people.

Keep your eye out. The google test can also find places where people are already talking about you, but you didn’t know. Maybe there are complaints, questions, or reviews on forums or sharing sites. I once discovered we had a tripadvisor site this way! Engage with these spaces, and point them back to yours.

Caveat – it’s not the only way!

Of course google isn’t the only way to tell parents about what you’ve got going on, and none of this really speaks to telling the young people themselves. However, why not make the best of every opportunity?

A switched on parent who is moving to a new area – or have kids about to start secondary school – are going to be searching for ways to connect their children with organisations and groups. Let’s at least be part of the menu they’re selecting from!

Photo by Agnieszka Boeske on Unsplash