Church Findability Score

Your SEO is everything.

SEO (search engine optimization) is how easy your church is to find when someone searches online. When someone in your city searches “church near me,” Google picks a handful of churches to show. Type your church’s name and city to see how ready yours is to be one of them, and what to fix first.

Google listing data, scored against Whitespark and BrightLocal research.

How I got this score

I look your church up on Google Maps by name and city, run Google’s own check on your homepage, read your website the way a guest does (Website Feedback), and add the listings you tell me you’ve claimed (a Facebook, Instagram or YouTube account your homepage links to counts too). Each check earns full points, half points or none by fixed rules. Anything I couldn’t check is left out instead of counted against you. A 90+, B 80+, C 70+, D 60+.

45 of the 100 points sit on your Google profile and reviews, where the experts’ top map factors are. The weights are my judgment from the sources below.

Google profile30
Website20
Reviews15
Other listings15
Same details10
Website health10

This shows how ready your church is to be found, not where you rank. Where you rank also depends on how close a searcher is, which no church controls. Google returns at most five reviews and ten photos to a tool like this, so those checks look only at what Google shares. Three lines are my judgment, not a published standard: 25 reviews, a review in the last 90 days and 10 photos. A tool can’t see whether your profile is verified or where your map pin sits, so check those yourself.

Sources

Google Business Profile Help, “How to improve your local ranking on Google” · Local results rest on relevance, distance and prominence. Review count and rating factor into local ranking, and no one can pay for a better local rank.
Whitespark, 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors · 47 local search experts scored 187 factors. The top map factors include the primary category, being open at the time of search, a 4–5 star rating, review count and recency, and the website’s name, address and phone matching Google.
BrightLocal, Local SEO Statistics for 2026 · 52% start a local search on Google, 73% start on a phone, 75% use more than one channel, 97% read reviews, and 62% would avoid a business with wrong information online.
Lifeway Research, Church Switcher Study (2023) · 37% of church switchers relied on church websites, 29% on social media and 27% on online search tools. Those who found their church through its website found beliefs (67%), location (66%) and worship times (64%) most helpful.
Chrome for Developers, Lighthouse · Google’s own audit of a page’s search basics and speed, run here through PageSpeed Insights on a phone setting.
Apple Newsroom, “Introducing Apple Business Connect” (2023) · A free tool to claim and update a place card across Apple Maps, Messages, Wallet, Siri and other apps.

The research behind this, and its limits

Research supports the principles here. It doesn’t prove any point value, cutoff or grade; those are marked as Parker’s framework.

Professional guidance:: Advice from people who do this work. Experience, not a controlled study.

Professional guidance
Google Business Profile Help, Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
What it found:
Google advises a complete, accurate profile with the right category, address and hours, plus reviews and photos. Local results weigh relevance, distance and prominence.
What it supports here:
The Google profile and review checks.
Limits:
Google doesn’t publish thresholds. The 25 reviews, 90 days and 10 photos lines are Parker’s judgment, and no score guarantees a ranking.
Checked Oct 15, 2026.
https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en
Professional guidance
Chrome for Developers, Lighthouse performance scoring
What it found:
A Lighthouse performance score depends on the conditions of each run and can move between runs.
What it supports here:
Why website health is one snapshot, taken when you check.
Limits:
Check again later and the speed number may differ a little.
Checked Oct 15, 2026.
https://developer.chrome.com/docs/lighthouse/performance/performance-scoring

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