Josh Kashorek is the Marketing Director at Five Q, a digital marketing agency focused on helping ministries reach more people online. With over 15 years of experience in digital strategy, analytics, and marketing, Josh brings valuable expertise to this topic.

In this episode, Josh shares insights from Five Q's annual Ministry Benchmark Study, analyzing digital metrics across over 1,000 ministries. Here are some of the key topics covered:

The Continued Importance of SEO

Nearly 70% of ministries gained rankings for keywords in Google's top 100 search results this year, up from 50% last year. Josh emphasizes that SEO remains crucial for driving organic traffic, which comprises over half the traffic for many ministries.

Website Speed Impacts User Engagement

While ministry websites showed modest improvements in PageSpeed scores, Josh notes there is still plenty of room for optimization – especially on mobile devices. Faster websites lead to better user engagement and reduced bounce rates.

Social Media Integration Trends

83% of ministries did not list any social media channels on their websites, choosing instead to drive traffic back to their owned properties. Among those promoting social, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube were the top channels utilized.

Follower Growth Insights

The median number of Facebook and Instagram followers grew year-over-year across ministries studied, while Twitter and YouTube follower counts shrank slightly.

Realistic Posting Frequencies

Despite advice to post daily, the median number of monthly posts was 16 on Facebook, 13 on Instagram, and lower on Twitter and YouTube – highlighting the content creation challenges many ministries face.

The full benchmark study is available for free download, and ministries can request a personalized scorecard and strategy consultation from Five Q.

Listen to the entire Ministry of Skill podcast episode for more valuable digital marketing insights and to learn how you can better evaluate and improve your online impact.