Last week, we talked about how to get convincing testimonials from your current parishioners.​

But there's another kind of testimonial that can be even more effective — and might even be the first impression people get of your parish.

I often talk about your church's website being the digital "front door" of your parish.

But there's something else people often check out online before they even visit your website for the first time.

And it plays a big role in whether they'll even consider coming in person.

That tool?

Google Reviews.

Here's how it happens:

1. They search "Catholic church near me."
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2. Google brings up Maps with your location tagged.
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3. And when they click on your church, it automatically brings up your Google Reviews rating as well.

And I guarantee you, they're then clicking to read the reviews to see what real people have to say about your church.

If there's lots of reviews about how positive the experience is at your church — especially how friendly it is, how welcomed they felt visiting, the priests and community feel — there's a good likelihood they'll then click to your website to learn more.

But if there are a lot of negative experiences being shared...that can deter people from even clicking on your website, let alone showing up in person.

Now, there are always going to be a few negative reviews. Someone is going to be upset about something, always.

In fact, research suggests people don't always trust a perfect 5.0 rating because they will suspect some of them are fake reviews.

But still, positive reviews matter a lot.

(And if you can respond to negative reviews to clarify, that can help! For example, if someone reviewed the wrong parish or if you can admit there was a problem that was then solved offline. Responding to both positive and negative reviews helps to make the parish seem more responsive and personable.)

Now, we have to be careful in how we approach this: You cannot ask people to leave specifically positive reviews.

However, you can encourage folks to review your parish on Google (and other rating sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc.) without specifically asking them to be positive.

And you can remind them of certain aspects they might want to include in their review, like the community, groups they're a part of, thinking back to the first time they visited, etc.

It takes only a minute or two to write a review, so this is an easy way for even the busiest of parishioners to help out!

So go take a look at your current reviews, and then consider doing a communications push asking for more reviews ahead of the summer.

Visitors will be looking for parishes on vacation AND you can get ahead of the big moving season, when new potential parishioners will be moving to the area looking for a church to join — and almost definitely looking at your reviews.

For His greater glory,

Emily