How to Get Your Site Noticed

Happy New Year Everyone!

As we begin 2005, I look back on the past year to see how technology has made its mark on the world's stage. Amid the wars and scandals of 2004, computers and the Internet have continued to evolve in leaps and bounds. Who would have thought ten years ago that we could hold a computer in the palm of our hand, or connect to the Internet, sitting on the sand at the beach?

There has always been a major concern about online technology - specifically that there is no check on who or what is available to any person. The unfortunate aspect of great advances is the possibility of abuse and corruption. R.B. Fuller wrote, "Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons." But is this all true? Is there no good in the World Wide Web?

This is why ForMinistry is here, to build a worthwhile, God-centered, online community.

Wouldn't it be great to see quality, godly, effective websites all over the Internet? Along with thousands of others, your website can be a big part of what people see when they connect to the world online.

The question is, how is this going to happen? Here are a few things to work on to increase your website's visibility:

Use Keywords and Descriptions

Keywords are indicators that describe your website, and enable search engines to identify and point to them. These keywords should describe what your site is all about and indicate what people will find there.

Words like, God, church, ministry, Bible, could be good starter keywords to describe a local church or ministry's website. Other words could be the name of your city, your denomination or affiliation, and other distinctive characteristics of your ministry (e.g., contemporary, traditional, community, family).

To add and update your ForMinistry website's keywords, follow the instructions below:

1. Click on Advanced Site, and scroll down to Edit Site’s Keywords.
2. Enter Keywords, and description, then Save and Close.

You can also add keywords to a particular page by going to Advanced Page and scrolling down to Edit Page Keywords.

Have a Simple Homepage

Home pages should be simple and informative. Now, simple doesn't mean boring or bland. Simple means understandable, readable, and clear. For the most part, 'less is more' is a good way to think of it. Here's a great example of what one ministry has done with their ForMinistry website.

Make sure your ministry's name is clearly visible, and that any important information is easily accessible. Some things you may want to highlight on your home page are:

1. What your ministry is about
2. A link (or page) to get more detailed information
3. What you'll find on this website
4. How to contact you for questions (could be a link to another page)
5. Optional items:
   • Links to the main areas (pages) of your website
   • Images that show more of what you're about (like photos of recent events or staff members)

Try to avoid:

1. Large, overwhelming images and pictures
2. Too many links
3. Too many different formats, fonts, and colors

Remember, your home page is the first thing most people will see on your website. It's like the welcome area of your church - first impressions are not everything, but good first impressions help a great deal.

Publicize

There are a number of different ways offline (outside of the World Wide Web) to get your website out into the public. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful ways to let people know about the great things on your website. So make sure you are communicating to everyone the great things available on your website.

Any printed publications should have an address link to your website. Business cards, flyers, bulletins, etc. are great places to keep your website information.

Find ways to get people to go to your website. Talk about finding announcements, information, schedules, and articles there. The more that people find reasons to go to your website, the more that they will make it a habit.

If you don't have a team of people working on your website, get more people involved in it. Have an editor for each main area or ministry. Show them that the web is a valuable instrument for community and connection.

And lastly, there are some great resources on our website, for churches, about Scripture, and how to equip your church for online ministry. Don't miss out on any of these!

Until next time...
Henry Kay, web_builder host