Abstract:

With today’s search technology, finding a church is easy. But is yours on the map? Find out how to put your church–contact info, pictures, and all–on Google’s map.

X marks the spot

So how exactly do businesses and churches end up with one of those pretty red markers hovering over their map location? It can happen one of two ways: either you can do it yourself, or the GoogleBot does it for you. For the silent majority of webmasters who have not yet properly added themselves to the map, Google automatically parses the homepage of your website and fills out a listing based on whatever information they find, provided the homepage contains a valid street address. Chances are that if your homepage contains this information, you’re on the map.

But what hope is there for the diligent and aspiring webmaster who wishes to better inform the seeking community with a detailed listing complete with photos and a description? Or for the sake of stark contrasts, what hope is there for the diligent and aspiring webmaster who has yet to build website? Regardless of your web presence, have no fear! Google makes it easy to put yourself on the map–even if you’re already there.

Listings made easy

It only takes 5 minutes to create a listing. All that is required is an active Google account. If you have not yet found your identity within the aforementioned dreadnought of innovative technology, you may sign up for a Google account here. Make sure you are logged into your Google account, and then visit http://www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter. This web page will allow you to manage your map listings, as well as add new ones.

To add a new listing, click on the “Add new listing” link. You will be brought to a page with bunch of form fields asking you to provide some basic information about your listing. A good rule of thumb for churches (or businesses in general) is to add as much information as to your listing as is possible. A well-written description for your listing speaks volumes. Once you submit the page, Google will ask you if your listing matches any of the listings currently in the Google database. If your address is listed within this page, select it. Selecting an address from this list tells Google that you would like to modify an existing listing rather than create a new one.

The next step is to add categories for your listing. For churches, the main category is “Organizations” and the sub-category is “Churches”. After defining your listing’s categories, you have the option of entering the hours of operation, and the option to upload up to 10 photos for your listing. I highly recommend posting as many photos as possible with your listing. The more photos you post, the more personable your church listing becomes.

Once you finish your customizations, the listing must be validated before it can appear on the map. Google allows you to validate your listing by either phone or by mail. Upon validation, your listing will become live for the entire world to see and search for. Try visiting Google and searching for “Churches near <your zip code here>“. Are you on the map?