Start here: How churches get found online

Hey,

This is the starting point for The Church Comms Week. Keep this email. Later issues will point back here when a word sounds like jargon.

One email a week after this. Short. Useful. Built for the person at a church who posts the clips, updates the website, or tries to help more people find the building on Sunday.

If a word sounds fancy, I explain it here once.

I'm Jesus Vazquez. I build VelaClip. I live near Augusta, Georgia, with my wife and our two daughters. I'm building tools so a church volunteer can keep up with communications without needing a full-time hire. I have also served over 15 years in the US Army as a Religious Affairs NCO (formerly known as a Chaplain Assistant).

I'm not here to tell you how to preach or what to say in the service. That is the pastor's job. My lane is different: help your church get found online, reach more people in your town, and grow a clear online presence.

Each week I send one practical note. Things like claiming your Google listing, fixing your website so phones can read it, or turning Sunday's recording into posts people can actually share.

No fluff. No fake urgency. One thing you can try this week.

You'll see these a lot. Here's what they mean.

Search. When someone types "church near me" or your church name into Google, that's search. If you don't show up, they often never walk in.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization). The work of making your church easier for Google to find and trust. Clear name. Real address. Real hours or service times where they belong. Good photos. A website phones can read. Not tricks. Not stuffing extra words into your name.

Local search. Search tied to a place. "Church near me," your city name, Maps. For most churches, this matters more than ranking nationwide.

Google Business Profile (sometimes called your Google listing). The free page Google shows on Maps and in local results: name, pin, phone, photos, reviews. If it's wrong or unverified, strangers keep scrolling.

GSC (Google Search Console). A free Google tool for your website. It shows what searches bring people to your site, which pages get clicks, and what Google can't read well. Think of it as a report card for your website in search. You don't need it on day one. When we talk about it later, I'll show the simple path.

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization). People ask ChatGPT, Google's AI answers, and similar tools questions like "what church near me is good for families?" AEO means making sure those tools can describe your church honestly from your real public pages. No lying. No fake claims. For us: tell the truth on your site, and don't invent what you don't have.

AI. Software that can draft, summarize, or suggest from examples you give it. In church work, the useful version helps a volunteer turn Sunday's sermon into a week of posts. It should never invent your message or replace pastoral judgment.

Content week. Taking one Sunday (a sermon recording, notes, or clips) and turning it into several useful posts across the week, instead of starting from zero every day.

Name, address, and phone (sometimes called NAP). Your church's legal-looking name, street address, and phone number written the same way on your website, Google listing, Facebook, and anywhere else people look you up. When they don't match, Maps and search get confused.

Verification. Proving to Google that you own the Google listing, usually with a postcard, phone call, or email. Unverified listings are easy for strangers to ignore or for wrong info to stick.

Primary category. The main label Google uses for your listing on Maps (for most of us, Church or a close match). Pick the one that fits how a stranger would search.

Reviews. Ratings and written feedback on Google (and sometimes Facebook). Real reviews from real people. Never fake them. Never pay for fake ones.

Directory listing. A free local site or community page that repeats your name, address, and phone. City calendars, chamber pages, and Facebook Events count. Same facts everywhere beats more listings with wrong facts.

Indexing. Google adding a page from your website to its library so it can show up in search. If a page isn't indexed, people usually can't find it on Google yet.

Title and meta description. The blue link title and the short blurb under it in Google results. They should match what the page actually is, in plain words a stranger would type.

Alt text. A short written description of an image. Helps search understand the photo, and helps people who can't see the image.

Mobile-friendly. Your website works on a phone: text is readable, buttons are tappable, and important facts aren't locked inside a graphic-only image.

Page speed. How fast your pages load. Slow pages lose people on their phones before they ever see service times.

Organic. Free reach from search or social. Not paid ads. Most of what we teach here is organic first.

Analytics. Simple numbers about visits and clicks on your website (and later, which posts or emails sent people there). You don't need a fancy dashboard on day one.

Call to action. The one next step you ask someone to take: Visit us, Call, Plan your visit, Watch this clip. One clear ask beats five vague ones.

Short-form clip. A short vertical video cut from longer Sunday footage, usually under a minute, with a plain title a stranger understands.

Caption. The text that sits with a social post. It should make sense even if someone never watches the video.

Thumbnail. The preview image before someone hits play. Clear face or moment beats a blurry wide shot.

Link in bio. The one main link on Instagram or TikTok profiles. Point it somewhere useful: your website, visit page, or Google listing.

Impressions and clicks. Impressions are how many times something was shown. Clicks are how many people actually opened it. Both matter; clicks usually matter more for finding the building.

UTM. Tiny tracking tags added to a link so you can tell which email or post sent someone to your site. Optional at first. When we use them, I'll show the simple version.

VelaClip is an AI Communications Director for churches.

The first wedge is simple: help a volunteer turn Sunday's sermon into a content week. Local-first. Built for real church life, not a media agency.

We're in Founding Church Free Beta. Free during our testing period. I'm not selling you a paid plan in this email.

The longer path is the same: help churches do this work with a small budget and a few volunteer hours. Media and clipping are the start, not the whole future.

If that sounds useful to your church:

If you ever want off the list, unsubscribe is at the bottom. No hard feelings.

Glad you're here.

Jesus
VelaClip

P.S. Next issues get practical fast. If a stranger in your town couldn't find you on Google today, start with your Google listing.