Can You Use SEO & Copywriting to Grow Your Ministry? 2X the Website Traffic in 30 Days Says YES!

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Can You Use SEO & Copywriting to Grow Your Ministry? 2X the Website Traffic in 30 Days Says YES!"

Host: Faith Hanan, Marketing Strategist, Copywriter, Christian Business Coach, and Barrel Racer
Guests: Pastor Thad and Kayla Debir from "Your Jesus Journey"
Release Date: February 11, 2025

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Introduction

In this insightful episode of Simple SEO & Marketing, Faith Hanan delves into the intersection of SEO, copywriting, and ministry growth with special guests Pastor Thad and Kayla Debir from "Your Jesus Journey." The discussion centers on how strategic online marketing can significantly amplify a ministry’s reach and impact, as exemplified by the Debirs' experience of doubling their website traffic in just 30 days.

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Guests' Background and Ministry Journey

Faith begins by introducing Pastor Thad and Kayla Debir, highlighting their unique path to full-time ministry. The Debirs transitioned from traditional church settings to a mobile ministry, living and teaching in an RV. This bold move was driven by a desire to focus on gospel teaching, discipleship, and building genuine relationships over maintaining physical church structures.

Pastor Thad Debir shares, “[...] Then she jumped in the middle of all that with this crazy guy, which says a lot about her risk assessment. You know, I don't know, she's, she's a game for whatever. It was amazing.” (06:04)

Kayla Debir adds, “[...] It took a couple of years of really exploring. And then when I met that, I was still, I guess what you would call still a pretty baby Christian. [...]” (05:35)

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Challenges Faced in Ministry

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges for the Debirs, forcing them to adapt their ministry approach rapidly. Located in Washington state, their church had to navigate strict pandemic restrictions, which led them to explore creative and out-of-the-box solutions to stay connected with their congregation and reach new followers.

Pastor Thad Debir reflects, “[...] we started really thinking and praying about what would it look like to do ministry differently. [...] We just really felt called to. To get out of the box and do it different.” (08:46)

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Embracing SEO and Copywriting

Recognizing the need to enhance their online presence, the Debirs turned to SEO and copywriting as essential tools for ministry growth. Initially experimenting with various content forms—YouTube videos, blog posts, social media—their efforts yielded inconsistent results. This inconsistency led them to seek professional help from Faith Hanan.

Pastor Thad Debir explains, “[...] we started thinking about, there's got to be a better way. [...] What are we missing?” (16:23)

Faith Hanan’s expertise in SEO and copywriting proved transformative. She worked closely with the Debirs to refine their website copy, making it more search-friendly and aligned with their ministry goals. This collaboration involved simplifying their messaging, optimizing keywords, and strategically placing calls to action to enhance user engagement.

Faith Hanan notes, “[...] I get to kind of come in from an outside perspective and, like, draw it out. And it usually gets really messy before it gets better.” (21:49)

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Achieving Remarkable Results

The implementation of Faith’s SEO strategies yielded significant improvements in the Debirs' online metrics within a short timeframe. Over a 30-day period, their website traffic doubled, with notable increases in page views, unique visitors, and organic search traffic. These enhancements not only boosted their online visibility but also translated into higher engagement and participation in their ministry activities.

Pastor Thad Debir shares impressive statistics:

• 225% increase in page views over the last 30 days
• 100% increase in unique visitors
• 200% increase in site sessions
• 360% increase in Google organic traffic (25:18)

These results underscored the effectiveness of targeted SEO and copywriting in attracting the right audience and fostering meaningful interactions.

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Tips for Ministry Growth and Bible Engagement

Beyond marketing strategies, Pastor Thad and Kayla offer valuable insights into fostering daily Bible engagement and building strong Christian friendships—essential elements for personal and communal spiritual growth.

Building Accountability:
Pastor Thad emphasizes the importance of accountability in daily Bible study. He highlights how their live, interactive Bible podcast fosters a sense of community and peer encouragement, driving consistent engagement with the Word.

“People tend to be more accountable to people than they do to themselves. And so building in relationship to your Word is really important.” (27:14)

Simplifying Bible Study:
Kayla discusses making the Bible more accessible and understandable, especially for those who may find it complex or overwhelming. By providing context and breaking down different literary styles, they help individuals grasp and apply biblical teachings more effectively.

Fostering Christian Friendships:
The Debirs advocate for building friendships based on common purpose rather than merely shared interests. This approach cultivates deeper, more meaningful relationships grounded in a mutual love for God and the Gospel.

“Friendships that are built around common purpose grow deep and fast.” (35:00)

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Closing Remarks and Encouragement

In the concluding segment, Pastor Thad and Kayla express their gratitude for Faith’s support and encourage other ministry leaders to seek professional help in refining their online strategies. They highlight the transformative impact of clear, purpose-driven marketing in reaching and nurturing their audience.

Pastor Thad Debir urges listeners, “If there's anybody out there on the Fence. And your business would benefit from more people finding you and more people understanding what you do and what you'd like them to do in response, like, clarity. I think Faith would really help.” (39:06)

Faith wraps up the episode with a heartfelt invitation for listeners to connect, share the episode, and join her growing Facebook community for further learning and support.

Faith Hanan concludes, “[...] Hopefully this episode gave you some really tangible tips for better SEO and marketing to get more leads and more sales from your website.” (41:00)

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Key Takeaways

1. Strategic Online Marketing: Leveraging SEO and copywriting can substantially increase a ministry’s online visibility and engagement.
2. Clear Communication: Simplifying and clarifying your message is crucial for connecting with your audience effectively.
3. Community Building: Fostering a sense of accountability and purpose-driven friendships enhances both personal and communal spiritual growth.
4. Adaptability: Embracing new strategies and tools, especially in response to unforeseen challenges like the pandemic, can lead to significant breakthroughs.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Pastor Thad Debir: “We just really felt called to. To get out of the box and do it different.” (08:46)
• Faith Hanan: “I get to kind of come in from an outside perspective and, like, draw it out. And it usually gets really messy before it gets better.” (21:49)
• Pastor Thad Debir: “People tend to be more accountable to people than they do to themselves. And so building in relationship to your Word is really important.” (27:14)
• Pastor Thad Debir: “Friendships that are built around common purpose grow deep and fast.” (35:00)
• Pastor Thad Debir: “If there's anybody out there on the Fence. And your business would benefit from more people finding you and more people understanding what you do and what you'd like them to do in response, like, clarity. I think Faith would really help.” (39:06)

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Conclusion

This episode of Simple SEO & Marketing offers a compelling narrative on how SEO and copywriting can be harnessed to amplify ministry efforts. Through the Debirs' journey, listeners gain practical insights into overcoming challenges, refining their online presence, and fostering a vibrant, engaged community. Whether you’re a ministry leader or Christian entrepreneur, Faith Hanan’s expertise provides actionable strategies to elevate your mission and maximize your impact.

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For More Information:

• Contact Faith Hanan: [e-mail]
• Visit Faith’s Website: FaithHanan.com
• Join the Facebook Community: Linked in the show notes

Transcript

[Faith Hannon]

Well, hey there friends. So today I have a fun and rather unique episode for you where I am interviewing some past copywriting clients. So this past year I had the opportunity to work with some really cool people that run an online ministry. And if you're curious of what it looks like to market a ministry or when you really need to just kind of dive in and have somebody help you with your copywriting and SEO, especially if you're already good with words, then this is the episode for you. Spoiler alert. I also have them give y'all some great tips at the end of the episode on how to get in the word daily and find and make good Christian friends and deepen your Christian friendship. So lots of good stuff in this episode today and I promise you're not going to walk away. Sad that you took the time to listen. All right, let's jump in. Hey there fellow entrepreneur. Welcome to Simple SEO and Marketing. Do you want to grow your business with sustainable traffic sources? Have you heard about the power of search engine optimization? And you want to take advantage of it to get more traffic, more eyeballs on your business. But when it comes down to it, does SEO feel complicated and hard to implement? Are you tired of wondering what in the heck to do with your website to get more traffic and more leads knocking on your door? What if I could tell you that there was a simple, proven system for using SEO, blogging and copywriting to get leads from your website and not just any leads. High converting leads. Hey, I'm Faith Hannon, wife, mama, copywriter, SEO strategist and barrel racer. And for the last eight years I've been figuring out what work and what doesn't work in the world of online marketing to get organic traffic. And now I'm here to share all the things I'm learning in the trenches of SEO, copywriting and content marketing. How does 300%, 500% or even 12,000% more traffic in a year sound? What could your business do with that kind of traffic increase? How many more people could you help? So listen in and prepare to take note. I'm about to drop seven simple, actionable SEO, marketing and copywriting tips, all with a heavy dose of Jesus loving encouragement. Let's get you more traffic and more leads so you can help more people with your God given gifts. All right friends, well today I have with me some very special guests and new friends, Pastor Thad and Kayla Debir from your Jesus journey who I got to help with their website copy and SEO strategy this past year and I really, really wanted to have them on the podcast because one, they love Jesus and two, they've just got some really cool stuff going on and I wanted you to hear their journey, hear why marketing matters to them, and just kind of get some insight into, you know, what it looks like to really quote market your quote business if it's a ministry, even online. So welcome Thad and Kayla.

[Kayla Debir]

Thanks.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Thanks for having us. We're glad to be here.

[Faith Hannon]

Yeah. So why don't we start off with just telling, telling the peeps kind of a little bit about yourselves, like your story, like how did you get here to being living in an RV that I never know where you're at and teaching people about Jesus on the road.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Full time for sure. We, we both have a pretty different journey to Jesus, but ultimately landed in a spot where different seasons of life, totally different, unrelated to each other, came to know the Lord and then kind of embarked on following the Lord. I'll let Kayla share a little bit about hers. Mine led me to ministry at a Christian church, a non denominational Christian church, as a youth pastor and then eventually as a senior pastor and where I was working when I met Kayla. And so her journey was a little different, but it ended up with her becoming a senior pastor's wife. Day one.

[Kayla Debir]

Yeah, yeah, my, my journey's definitely a lot different than that. I didn't, I wasn't raised a Christian and I first came to know the Lord probably when I went to summer camp, but that was my really only experience. And then I wasn't plugged in after that and so strayed and went through all sorts of different life circumstances. And in the darkest parts of my life, I just came to the realization that God had always been there and I wouldn't kind of be where I was if it wasn't for him looking out for me or having his hand in my life. And so I came back, came back to him and just really didn't know what that was going to look like because I didn't have a lot of direction. But it took a couple of years of really exploring. And then when I met that, I was still, I guess what you would call still a pretty baby Christian. I'd only really been a Christian and baptized for a handful of years, so it was all new for me. But I was all in for the Lord and I had gotten in with a really great group of ladies who was helping me study the Word really intimately with them. And, and then God just started really, really working in my life and using me. And yeah, he said, you're Gonna go marry an American because I'm from Canada. I grew up there. You go marry an American. And oh, by the way, he's a pastor. And I'm like, alrighty, then that's, that's where the crazy journey began.

[Faith Hannon]

Yeah. Yeah. So how long have you guys been married?

[Kayla Debir]

We just celebrated our fourth year.

[Faith Hannon]

And you really got thrown like straight into it, didn't you, Kayla?

[Kayla Debir]

Yep. Yeah. He was a senior pet when I met Thad. He's a senior pastor at a church in Washington and he was actually on the verge of starting a new church. So they're building a brand new building and I got to get thrown into that, which was pretty fun. So, yeah, I mean, that's a whole other story for another day.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

It was a great entry point into full time ministry. I was remodeling a house and doing a huge like, you know, bought the worst house in the neighborhood, fixing it up. So I was neck deep in the middle of that, building out a church location and launching an independent church with new elders and training. And she jumped in the middle of all that with this crazy guy, which says a lot about her risk assessment. You know, I don't know, she's, she's, she was a game for whatever. It was amazing. And we just, yeah, dug in and, you know, trial by fire. Learned a lot on the, on the road and, and together. And then, and then it was not long after that where we were neck deep in the middle of COVID And that of course presented a lot of curveballs like it did for everybody in different types of businesses and walks of life. And for us in the ministry that we were in, it was challenging because we happen to be located in Washington state. For the church which was, took it quite seriously and made ministry very complicated. And so we started doing a lot of creative out of the box things to navigate, how to stay in touch with our congregation, how to continue to reach the lost with the the word. And it kind of opened our eyes to some things that were working that we probably would have not tried or thought about as seriously had we not gone through Covid. And so kind of as things loosened up on the other side of it, we started really thinking and praying about what would it look like to do ministry differently. A couple years before I had the opportunity to go to Turkey and study. And it really affected my kind of just my philosophy of ministry and view of how the gospel could go forth and how we could make disciples coupled with trying some different things. During COVID I kind of came out of that With Kayla and I having a lot of conversations about what would it look like to rearrange our lives to live the way we really want to live. That's in line with our values, but also in line with our values spiritually. Like to go make disciples and to make our lives. I don't know, reoriented around, you know, gospel teaching, discipleship, relationships and less about buildings and budgets and who's going to use what room on this day and remodeling houses and some of that stuff. And we just really felt called to. To get out of the box and do it different.

[Kayla Debir]

Yeah.

[Faith Hannon]

Yeah. And over the process of getting to like know you guys through this project, it's been really cool to just hear your heart for just the foundational aspects of the gospel. You know, introducing people to Jesus and making disciples of all men and how you're just kind of an, you know, open handed about how that happens. Like if it means within walls, great. If it means camping for weeks and making pancakes for everybody, great. If it means having meetups online, great. Like, I love how just open handed you, you are about that. Like, it's really, it's really cool and inspiring and I think you know how, how the gospel should be. You know, how we should be open to the Lord's direction and whatever he tells us to do.

[Kayla Debir]

Yeah, that was one thing. Like there was a couple of books that we had read that really inspired us and got. Got lit a fire under us. But also just that thought we'd keep bouncing back over and over again of like, what would Paul do if he had all the tools we have today, you know, like zoom or Instagram or Facebook or all of like an RV and just everything, you know, and how can we use all of them to kind of replicate the same thing, but just in. In modern day.

[Faith Hannon]

Yeah. Yeah, that's a good thought. So you decided to not do like the bricks and sticks church ministry like you talked about. The Lord led you into mobile ministry, I guess we could call it. So what, what did that translation, that transition look like?

[Kayla Debir]

Messy.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Yeah. Messy. Yeah, it looked a lot like, you know, sell everything you own and transition from living a way that we were familiar with to living a way that we had zero experience with. Neither of us have ever been RV people or even knew that that was a thing. Just felt like God was calling us to live different.

[Kayla Debir]

Yeah, I don't think I'd ever actually been in an RV before we bought one. I mean, I had camped in a tent a lot. I'd spent a lot of time outside. I camped in a tent and I think I went on like maybe twice with my dad in a truck camper. But I had actually never been in an RV or slept in an RV or traveled in one ever in my life until we got this one. That's funny.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

You know, lots of new stuff.

[Kayla Debir]

Lots of new stuff.

[Faith Hannon]

Like Kayla, sink or swim, man, she'll just like go in. I love it.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Seriously. Well, it. I mean, there's just so many correlations to scripture. It's. God is big on calling people to trust him to go and to go to places that he'll show and to tackle things that he puts on your heart and give you the stuff you need along the way. And so it's really a rubber meets the road faith adventure. Like, are we really in to do what God wants us to do or do we want to tweak it so it fits our comfort?

[Faith Hannon]

Yeah.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

You know, and so we just kind of said, let's, let's, let's go for it. Let's try the sell it all. And what if we really embraced a life that was devoted to teaching the Bible, making disciples, and trusting God to feed us? And I just literally.

[Kayla Debir]

Yeah. And on the practical side, I remember thinking, oh, you know, if we, once we come off the road one day I'm sure we will have to like, we can't keep doing this at like 90 or maybe, but you know, but you know, then we will need a bed or we'll need cutlery or we'll need dish set. So we should put some of that aside so that when we come off the road, we have it. And it's just like, that's the thought of paying for storage or like keeping a lot of stuff was just that it just felt like it was like not trusting God, that it's like when, when our time is up, then like he helped us do this and he'll help us settle into where we need and make sure that we have something to eat off of. I don't know. So we have a few things in free storage thanks to family, but not, not a lot.

[Faith Hannon]

That's cool. That's cool. So talk to me about how, like you're starting this ministry, this online ministry, and then you jump into a website, you're doing YouTube and Facebook. Like, why was online marketing important to you?

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Yeah, huge. I mean, to me. First of all, like, part of the original philosophy that kind of drove things was how do we create content and resources to help people begin a relationship with Jesus and invite people to come and know Jesus and come and know the Word and be able to actually separate that from church. Like, our goal was not to try and become an online church, you know, or to replace people's church. Like, the goal is to try and just strip away all the religious pretext and, and just have the freedom to genuinely invite people to come and know Jesus and to help them understand that we best get to know him by knowing his word. You know, knowing God's word is where we discover who Jesus is. And so to that end, we just started looking at the world that we're in and going, how are people learning right now? Like, what are people, what do they go to? And I mean, it's a, it's a common idiom in our culture now is that you just YouTube it, right? Or you Google it. And so if you want to learn how to change your oil or, you know, fix something with your horse or, you know, train your dog or do a house repair, It's Google and YouTube are your educators now. And so we just went, we need to be in those spaces because there are people looking for things that aren't being delivered to them in a way that relates to the culture as well. And so we just, we just started thinking, okay, well, what it looked like to, to teach the Bible in an out of the box way, that somebody that's looking for biblical knowledge or looking to learn about Jesus but isn't looking for church. Because a lot of people, if they search for it and they find some churches, you know, Sunday service video of a sermon, they're not interested in that, but they do want to know, what does the Bible say about this thing or that thing?

[Faith Hannon]

Tattoos and.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Right, so tattoos, for example. As we learned. But yeah, we wanted to just try and think out of the box. And so one of the things that I love, probably one of my favorite things about Jesus's invitation to follow him is when he calls the fishermen to drop their nets and come and learn how to fish for people instead. And so I love that imagery. Also, being a guy that likes to fish, I love the idea of, in my real tackle box, I have lots of different lures for lots of different types of circumstances. And so I just started thinking about what if we did ministry where we create content that's like different kinds of fishing lures? How do we go fish for different people in different places? So how we fish on YouTube is different than how we fish with a website, and it's different than the way we fish on Instagram or in a blog. And so Initially, we just started with this dream of, let's create a lot of different kinds of content that fishes differently for different people. And then in time, about a year in, after, lots and lots of content creation with varying degrees of results, lots not great. You know, wishing it was better. Started thinking about, there's got to be a better way. Right? Like, just because we're putting lines in the water, we're not. It doesn't feel like we're catching as many fish, so to speak, over overtaking the analogy a little too far. But, like, it doesn't feel like it's working as good as we would think. So what are we missing? And so that was where learning about SEO and optimizing things, and I didn't even know anything about it. And I started, like, everything, Googled it, discovered your podcast on Spotify and binge listened to probably, like, 30. 30 episodes of faith Hand the Barrel Racer mom, and.

[Kayla Debir]

And we had a lot of drive time. And when he talks as Bing, there's a lot of podcasts listening to when we're going between places.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

And it was great because it was. It's. It was plain English, you know, like, understandable for a person that's not a SEO expert to go, oh, it seemed like there should be something like this kind of thing out there. I just didn't really know what it was. And so through your podcast and a lot of other resources, started kind of getting educated and coming to terms with the fact that there are things I know how to do and there are things that I don't know how to do. And we're at the spot in this ministry where there's some parts I don't know how to do. And so in order for us to grow and be more effective, we should probably reach out and ask for help.

[Faith Hannon]

Yeah.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

So that's what led us to call you and. And explore this as an option, you know, to begin with.

[Faith Hannon]

Yeah. I remember when we. I first, like, got your. Your email or intake, whatever. I was like, oh, my gosh, this is, like, gonna be so fun because they love Jesus or teaching people about Jesus like this. The whole, like, heart of why I even want to be in business, you know, is to help Christian entrepreneurs grow their business or Christian ministries reach more people. Like, and. And I agree. I think that there's so many lures in our toolboxes in marketing that sometimes it's like, holy cow, I have 19 poles, 19 lines in the water. How do I keep them all working? You know? And then sometimes it feels like none of them work, you know, But I feel like that's part of the journey of most people, you know, doing any kind of online marketing is we throw a lot of lines in the water and then figure out what we like doing, what we're good at, what we hate doing, what works, what doesn't work, you know. And you had done some SEO work before we started working together. And so that was kind of cool to be able to take that and elevate it, you know, and refine that. And it was interesting. It was interesting and fun for me because it's, you know, you, you guys are obviously gifted communicators. You're not just staring at the wall like trying to come up with words. So to, to go through the process that, that, that has lots of words is lots of words. And he's a, he's a good writer and he's a good communicator. So it was like taking his, his words and just kind of refining them, you know, and simplifying the, the, the, the quote products that you guys thought you offered and then putting them into search friendly way. That was, that was fun for me.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Yep, it was super helpful for us because we've been at, you know, like, when it's like you can't see the forest through the trees after a while. We've looked at all of our own stuff so often we have our own internal conversations. We create content, website teaching. And at a certain point it's like just because it's, we know what we're trying to say. Do other people understand what we're trying to say? And it was really great to have a fresh set of eyes from the outside helping tweak and work on the copy to help us refine and actually make sure that we were communicating clearly what, who we are, what we're trying to do, what we want people to do, you know, what steps we want them to take. Because I think along the way we kind of assume people know what we think.

[Kayla Debir]

And I, I remember like just the frustration that had like even just creating some of the YouTube stuff which also filters into the website. But you know, people, all the YouTube channel gurus are saying like, make content that people are looking for. And he's like, nobody's looking to learn about the Sermon on the Mount, like, you know, or just different things like that. And, and it, but there are certain things that they're looking for. And you really helped us. Like, it was so great working with you because we could chat through it and you asked such great questions that we could verbalize things that we hadn't really been able to tangibly kind of get out before and. And then really work with all those different keywords and everything. Because people are looking for certain things that are in our content. We just needed to learn how to rework them and bring them out so that it all matched.

[Faith Hannon]

So that's probably one of the most fun parts for me as a copywriter is you have this stuff inside of you, like, you know, the things. You're the expert on that. But I get to kind of come in from an outside perspective and, like, draw it out. And it usually gets really messy before it gets better. They're like, oh, Jesus, please help us. This is really rough. But then to just kind of almost like, re. Categorize things and simplify things and realize, okay, this is really what your people are looking for, and then this is how you help them. And it's funny because I've just finished up another copy project where it's kind of like, you guys, she thought she offered, you know, five to 10 different things, but really it all falls under, like, two, you know, and so just to be able to, like, recategorize things and simplify things for your audience and for you.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Yeah.

[Faith Hannon]

So that it's like, okay, are we trying to get daily YouTube, daily Bible, podcast or journey group through this? Like, simple, like, what's the goal? You know? And I think from a marketing perspective, that's so powerful because you're making. You're making your. Your viewer, readers, brain work less hard.

[Kayla Debir]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Faith Hannon]

So how do you feel now that your copy is. Is done?

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Yeah, that's the real feeling.

[Kayla Debir]

Yeah.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Is relieved. It was a lot of work. Yeah. And.

[Kayla Debir]

But it's really been paying off. We've noticed a big difference.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Huge, huge difference. And we just finished a big event, so part of our push was to get everything done and updated before a huge outreach event where we were going to connect with maybe. Maybe 100,000 people would see our stuff, you know, potentially. And so we really wanted to make sure that it was clean and well done. And it was. It's been great to get feedback from people going to the website and going, hey, who did that for you guys? This is amazing. And it looks really good. And, and to see the calls to action that are built in, strategic, very strategically and purposefully now, see them working, you know, and it's like they're. We're catching fish, you know, I mean, people are. Are filling things out, they're signing up, are. Our email list is Growing the participation, you know, going from a website visitor to actually attending, you know, one of our zoom meetings or one of our in person meetings. That's already happened just in the last month.

[Faith Hannon]

Praise God.

[Kayla Debir]

I was just saying, like, we just. Yeah, I mean we did have a big outreach, but it's. I, we've definitely seen because before we would get all the notifications on our, on our app of, you know, people looking at the website, like looking, looking, looking, looking, looking. And then there'd be like one form that was filled out and then looking, looking, looking, looking, looking. And it'd be maybe weeks and then another form. And now it's like form looking, looking, form, form, form looking. Like there's just a lot more people like that said filling out the, the different things.

[Faith Hannon]

So yeah, awesome. And you sent me some stats and I went to look them up and I can't zoom in close enough to see the like increase. It's okay. But you said that you, you've already gotten more website traffic noticeably.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Yeah.

[Faith Hannon]

What are some of those?

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Like in terms of percentages? We've gone up 225 on page views in the last 28 days or the last 30 days versus the previous 100% increase in unique visitors. We've got almost a 200% increase in site sessions on the website and our direct traffic, you know that where people are going specifically to the website and our Google organic traffic have both increased significantly. The Google's up like 360%.

[Faith Hannon]

That's awesome.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Month over month. So it's, we're seeing it pay off and people are, people are finding us.

[Faith Hannon]

That's awesome. That's awesome. And I think one of the things that's so fun for like where you guys are is you don't need 10 million views or users a month, like because they're converting to email list followers and journey group members and you know, they're watching and you're not an ads based business, so you don't need 10 million views a month, you know, you need the right people finding you, you know, and that's, that's really exciting. Every time I get stats back, I'm like, oh yay. So exciting to see it's working. You know, I know it works, but to like see it, it's like, yes. Yeah, yeah. So for, for our pals, because I know a lot of, a lot of the listeners of this podcast, a lot of them are Christians, but just, you know, having been in, in ministry myself for a long time is like, I know some of the things that a lot of Christians struggle with is how to get in their Bible daily. And fortunately, I. My mom set a great example for me. So, like, that was like. I just. It just did, you know, just did. But, like, what. What are some tips that you would give for somebody that's struggling to get in their Bible regularly?

[Pastor Thad Debir]

For sure. People tend to be more accountable to people than they do to themselves. And so building in relationship to your Word is really important. And so one of the things that we're seeing through the. We do a daily Bible podcast every morning live, and it's interactive. And so what's happening is a lot of people are getting to know other people, even if it's casually, and they start to feel like some positive peer pressure that people would know if I wasn't there. And. And so it's driving them to be more consistent in the Word each day and. And take it more seriously, you know, because they're. They're being around other people that are valuing the Word and then digging in deeper beyond the podcast. And for a lot of people, they didn't have Faith's mom growing up. They didn't have somebody modeling to them how to even do it or what it looks like or those other good relationships. So that's been something. I think a lot of people are commenting, they really, really like the live atmosphere. It's pretty common. People will say, oh, if I missed the live, I almost don't want to go, you know, because I so much love the. The, like, real friendship that, you know, feeling that happens when they're watching. So building in relationships, whether that be the podcast, whether that be some accountability with a friend to say, hey, we're gonna, you know, text each other, touch base with each other, that we're going to be in the Word is a super helpful thing. You got any other ideas? Help people be in the Word?

[Kayla Debir]

Well, I think for a lot of people, something that we've heard a lot, and I know even for myself that sometimes being the Word, if you're. If you weren't raised in church or it's just over a lot of things, it's just confusing.

[Faith Hannon]

And.

[Kayla Debir]

And people get discouraged. They start reading it and they're like, I don't get this. And I love how that just really weaves in, like, the practicality of it, you know, like, hey, did you know the Bible isn't one book? It's like multiple books. And, you know, or even just the fact that it was written different books of it was written in different styles or different literary Styles and. And giving some context. And so then it actually starts bringing, like, it just. It brings it alive, but it also makes it a lot more easier to understand. And then when something's easier, we're way more likely to do it for sure. And then. And you just get. And when it. You can actually start understanding it, you get so much more value out of it, and you can actually start applying it in your life. And you see the transformation in the different areas, like in your relationships, in your. Just in yourself. Like, whether it's anxiety or fear or how God starts changing you and shaping you, and then you. You're hungry for it and just want to, like, soak it all up because of how big of an impact it's having in your life. So. Yeah.

[Faith Hannon]

Yeah. And I. I feel like. I mean, I. I know it's the enemy, right? Like, keeping Christians out of their Bibles and keeping Christians out of community are going to keep a Christian powerless, you know, and defeated. And it's like, those are the two hardest things for Christians, I feel like, to read their Bible and then get in community with other Christians. And I love how you guys have really seamlessly addressed both of those things in a unconventionally American, you know, it's not a conventional American way. You know, it's like, we're gonna. Because your philosophy to journey groups and small groups online versus, you know, and like the daily Bible podcast. Like, it's just cool how the Lord has led those to. To mesh well and help empower, you know, his people to serve him and know him. Yeah.

[Kayla Debir]

And it's. I just think it's. Well, not necessarily. I don't know if ironic is the right word, but that so many people that I've met are like, oh, I'm doing way social media or I'm not going to be on there, or so many people. But that, like, the fact that we have, I don't know, like, two, three, maybe even more now, 400 people watching daily on social media. Like, it's just like, hey, it could be used for good. And now people who haven't had accounts forever, I mean, not that we're promoting it, but it's like they actually get to be in the Word every day with other people and create community. It's just. It's kind of cool. Yeah. Just how we can do all that.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

And, you know, today was. Today was a really cool day. As the day we're recording this, we. We hit our 400th live daily Bible podcast today. 400th episode y. And. And it was Cool to be able to celebrate with the live audience this morning that was on online and saying, hey, who's in the 400 Club? And there's a pile of people.

[Kayla Debir]

Yeah.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

That have been in the Bible every day. Haven't missed 400 days of in the Word learning, growing. And many of. Well, probably I think every single person on there would, you know, would say, never been in the word this much in my life ever.

[Faith Hannon]

Yeah, that's awesome.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

And that is super encouraging. Like, that's, that's the ultimate paycheck. You know, as far as Christian ministry, it's different than a typical business, what we're doing, but we're using business tools and strategies to help draw people into relationship and get like those paychecks. And the paychecks are people really doing it, really following the Lord.

[Kayla Debir]

Yeah.

[Faith Hannon]

And I was thinking about this before, I don't know, for the last few days, just Jesus was the most brilliant marketer in all of time. I mean, one man took 12 disciples and changed history. We changed time. He just did the ability he had to translate his message to those and then multiply it. I mean, that's what marketing is, is. It's getting the right message to the right people to create transformation in their lives. And so I think when, you know, we as Christians want to pull away from marketing because of whatever sleazy tactics we've seen. Right. Like, there's a lot of sleaze out there. Like, but it's like, no, like, let's, let's be, you know, wise and shrewd and innocent and holy in our approach to marketing. But like, heck, let's, let's use these tools to reach people for the kingdom, whether it's in, you know, a business or a ministry or whatever, you know, so. Oh, go ahead.

[Kayla Debir]

I was gonna say we hear that a lot actually, because I'll connect with people once they get on the website or have sent us a message. I'll send something out and say, hey, you know, it'd be great to connect. And not everyone does because, you know, they want to kind of stay anonymous for a while. But a lot of people would be like, yeah, that's great. So I'll set up one on one meetings and get to know people. And the amount of times people have said, I have no idea why I opened that account, or I have no idea how that link got into my feed or, you know, or I opened something that I've that I haven't opened in like seven years. It's just, it is so cool that like, people don't. Sometimes they can't even remember how they found us because it was just. Yeah. God, using all the tools and going, here, click on this today. You know, and it's. It's just. It's really cool.

[Faith Hannon]

That's cool.

[Kayla Debir]

Cool. Yeah.

[Faith Hannon]

So one of the other things I wanted just kind of you guys to speak on a little bit is finding Christian friends. Like, how. Just some quick tips on how to find or make better Christian friends. Maybe you have some, but they're just like, you don't connect, you know.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Yeah, it's.

[Faith Hannon]

Read your latest blog, which I can. Which I can link. You know, he worked hard on that.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Kayla says read the latest blog. There you go. Yeah. Well, one of the things I think that a lot of people misunderstand is they think that. That it's really important to have common interests with your friends and that that's going to really carry out and it. That there's some value in it. But even more important is finding common purpose. And so I think friendships that are built around common purpose grow deep and fast. And we see it all the time in this ministry where people that didn't know each other at all and often have never even met in person yet are becoming really important, valuable friends in each other's lives. And they're being glued together by a love for the word of God, you know, a love for the Lord and a love for God's people. And then out of that common purpose, all of a sudden there's all the other stuff. You know, there's all the. The fun stuff of I also like horses or I'm a dog person or, you know, that it's the. It's the icing on the cake. But you're not. They're not trying to build friendships on. I'm trying to find a dog friend or a, you know, a horse friend or a person that does this or does that.

[Kayla Debir]

Yeah. And, like, just being here now, like, we're. We just came out of the outreach event, like Thad said, and we're camped in the desert with a whole bunch of other people. And I would say maybe 80% of them we didn't know, like, or we have never met in person, like two weeks ago up to two weeks ago. And some of them we had, but not very many. And all. We are all different ages, all different backgrounds, all different walks of life, all different interests, but yet we hang out almost all day for the most part. And, like, it's so much fun. And it's. It's just really Organic and natural. And I don't know, I can't really explain it, but it's just. It's just really cool that we don't all have to. And we're learning so much about each other and different things because, yeah, our common. Our common thing is the Lord. And it's pretty awesome.

[Pastor Thad Debir]

I think, in particularly for Christians in church land and is a lot of times you think trying to find other people that are, you know, season of life friends, you know, other moms with little kids, or I'm trying to find people that are, you know, work my same schedule or into my same hobbies and. And I think the sooner people can let go of that as a. Is the thing. The top of the funnel. Like, I'm looking for a friend, like, and instead really start shifting towards, like, I'm really praying for a friend that loves God. I'm really praying for a friend that shares my interest in, you know, apologetics and loves the Lord and wants to learn and nerd out on the science and where it all came from. I'm really praying for a friend that. That is. Is committed to the God, is committed to God and will help me grow. I think it just shifts the way you look at possible friendships. And so instead of somebody that God puts in your path that might be turned into an amazing friend, but you're like, wow, well, we don't really share a lot of interests in common. It's like, well, what if you dug into purpose? Like, what are they living for? And are they living for the same thing you're living for? And that might be far more awesome and interesting at pulling you together than. Than we both like football, you know.

[Faith Hannon]

No, I love that. I. I don't know that I've ever thought about it like that, honestly. The common purpose being greater than common interest. But I love that and it's so true because you. You can only go so deep on, you know, well, my kid is four and your kid is four or whatever, you know, like, pray for both of us. I don't know, like, what do you do, you know, so. Thank you guys so much. Do you have anything else you want to add or throw out there or, you know, tell the podcast audience before we peace out?

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Well, I would just say that anybody's out there, like, I was not that long ago even. I don't know, it was maybe a year ago some sometime roughly a year ago when we found your podcast and we're listening and learning. I would just say if there's anybody out there on the Fence. And your business would benefit from more people finding you and more people understanding what you do and what you'd like them to do in response, like, clarity. I think Faith would really help, and her. Her team would really be a help to you. Just speaking from personal experience, and, you know, sometimes it's nice to just hear it from another person that is in your shoes. She's super easy to work with and just does a great job at what she does. So I would.

[Kayla Debir]

And makes it palatable, if that's the thing. I don't know, because to me, when I first started learning about SEO and he started listening to podcasts, I'm like, this sounds like a totally different language. Like, it doesn't. It doesn't compute. Not something I've ever thought of before. It's not something I've ever heard of. It seems super complicated. But the more we listen and then just got to know you and got to work with you, I was just like, oh, okay, like, this. This doesn't have to be a foreign language. And it's. It still is work, but it's. Yeah, it's good work, and you were just really great to work with, so.

[Faith Hannon]

Well, thank you. Thank you. That's a blessing. My little words of affirmation cup is just full and overflowing. Well, Pastor Thad, do you want to pray us out?

[Pastor Thad Debir]

Yeah, I'd love to. God, we just want to come before you and say thank you so much for having amazing Christian friends and brothers and sisters that have different gifts and talents and how we can all help each other strive towards the same thing, being and making great disciples. And so, Lord, help us to live that out fully with everything we've got and continue to help us stretch our faith and follow you no matter what. Lord, we love you and we pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.

[Kayla Debir]

Amen.

[Faith Hannon]

Amen. All right, well, thank you guys so much, and I will link all of their stuff below the blog post on finding great Christian friends, everything, your Jesus journey and anything they want to throw out there for you guys because they're a great resource, and I'm excited to share them with y'all. All right, we'll chat with you next week.

[Kayla Debir]

Bye. Bye.

[Faith Hannon]

Thank you. Thank you so much for listening in today. Hopefully this episode gave you some really tangible tips for better SEO and marketing to get more leads and more sales from your website. If it did, can I ask you a quick favor? Would you please share this episode with a friend and then just take 10 seconds and go leave a written review on Apple Podcasts. That is the very best way to help more Jesus loving entrepreneurs scale their businesses so that they can help more people with their gifts and make an even bigger impact for the Kingdom of God. And guess what? We now have a Facebook community where we can learn, hang out and laugh. Go join the Facebook group now. It's linked in the show notes and all the other things, courses, coaching and copywriting can be found at my website, faith hannon.com until next time. God Bless and I'll talk to you soon.