PlantedHQ Reach Audit
Teays Valley Baptist Church
Run on May 1, 2026 · teaysvalleybaptist.com
Reach Score
/ 100
Average.
Right in the typical small-church range (30-50). Real upside available.
Subscores
Where the score came from.
Each category is scored 0–100. The total weights them by their impact on online reach.
YouTube channel performance
25% of score
53
Discoverability (SEO, speed, mobile)
25% of score
45
Sermon surface on your own site
20% of score
58
Audience capture
20% of score
36
First impression
10% of score
80
Findings
What we found, ranked by impact.
Sorted highest-severity first. Each finding is a single actionable change — what we found, why it matters, and what to do about it.
- F01highShowing up on Google~60 min fix
Your sermon pages aren't labeled as sermons for Google
What we found
Google has a special way of recognizing sermon pages. When it sees the right tags, it can show your sermons as a richer kind of search result, with the sermon title, date, and speaker. Your pages aren't using those tags. (For whoever helps with your site: this is the SermonEpisode schema in Google Search.)
Why it matters
Pages tagged this way are eligible for Google's sermon-specific search results. Most small-church sites don't have this, so turning it on is one of the few ways to stand out in search without changing your content.
https://www.teaysvalleybaptist.com/sermon-audio.htmlWhat to do
Ask whoever helps with your website to turn on "SermonEpisode" markup for each sermon page. Most modern church-website tools (Subsplash, Tithe.ly Sites, Faithlife) have this as a checkbox. On WordPress, a free plugin handles it. The cited Google guide below has the exact instructions.
- F02highShowing up on Google~30 min fix
Phone visitors have to scroll sideways to read your homepage
What we found
When we opened your homepage on a simulated iPhone-sized screen, the page was wider than the phone. Visitors have to swipe sideways to read it. Usually one block on the page (a wide photo, a fixed-width section, or an embedded video) is the cause.
Why it matters
If a phone visitor has to swipe sideways to read your homepage, most won't bother. This kills first-time visits before they begin.
https://teaysvalleybaptist.comWhat to do
Open your site in your builder's "mobile preview." The offending block will be obvious; it'll stick out past the right edge. Resize that block or make it stack vertically on phones. If you can't tell which block is the problem, share the audit with whoever helps with your site.
- F03highCapturing visitors~20 min fix
No email signup on your homepage
What we found
We didn't find an email signup form on your homepage.
Why it matters
Without an email list, every visit you earn (every Google click, every YouTube viewer who lands on your site) is a one-time event. Email is the only channel you actually own. Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram can change the rules whenever they want; your email list is yours.
https://teaysvalleybaptist.comWhat to do
Add a simple form on the homepage with one field (email) and one button: "Get the weekly sermon recap." If you don't have an email tool, Mailchimp's free plan handles up to 500 subscribers.
- F04mediumShowing up on Google~10 min fix
Your homepage isn't telling Google what to show in search
What we found
When Google shows your church in search results, the line of text under your name (called the meta description) is missing. Google has to guess what to show, and the guess is usually a piece of menu or footer text, not the message you'd choose.
Why it matters
When someone Googles your church or a sermon topic, the line under your title is your one shot at getting the click. Most small-church sites we see have this gap. Fixing it is one of the easiest wins.
https://teaysvalleybaptist.comWhat to do
In your site builder (Wix, Squarespace, Subsplash, WordPress, etc.), open the homepage settings and look for "SEO description" or "meta description." Write one sentence: who you are, the city you serve, and the kind of teaching people will hear.
- F05mediumShowing up on Google~30 min fix
Your homepage takes too long to show up on phones (about 11 seconds)
What we found
On a simulated phone, your homepage's biggest visible piece took about 11 seconds to appear. Google considers anything over 2.5 seconds "needs improvement," and over 4 seconds "poor." (Technically: this is the Largest Contentful Paint metric.)
Why it matters
Visitors describe a slow page as broken. They don't sit through it. The longer they wait, the more leave.
https://pagespeed.web.dev/analysis?url=https://teaysvalleybaptist.comWhat to do
Compress the big image at the top of the homepage (most builders have an "image optimization" setting). If there are a lot of slideshow images or videos auto-playing, trim it down to one.
- F06mediumYour sermon pages~10 min fix
Sermon pages have no one-line summary for search results
What we found
Each sermon page is missing the one-sentence summary Google uses underneath your title in search results. Without it, Google grabs whatever scrap of menu text it finds first, which is usually unhelpful.
Why it matters
Sermon pages are the highest-intent search asset you have. Someone is literally searching for that topic when they find you. A clear summary line is what wins the click.
https://www.teaysvalleybaptist.com/sermon-audio.htmlWhat to do
On each sermon page, look for a "SEO description" or "meta description" field and add one sentence: the passage and the main idea.
- F07mediumYour sermon pages~20 min fix
Your sermon page has almost no text for Google to read
What we found
The latest sermon page has only about 58 words of body text. Google can't watch the video. It reads the words on the page to figure out what the sermon is about.
Why it matters
Without text on the page (title, summary, scripture reference, key takeaways), Google has nothing to match against when someone searches for the topic you preached on. The video alone isn't searchable.
https://www.teaysvalleybaptist.com/sermon-audio.htmlWhat to do
Below the video, add a 3-paragraph summary, the main scripture reference, and 3 key takeaways. If you have a transcript service, drop the full transcript in. Even a short summary is far better than nothing.
- F08mediumYouTube channel~30 min fix
You're not posting any short clips on YouTube
What we found
All of your recent YouTube uploads are full-length videos. We didn't find any Shorts (videos under 60 seconds).
Why it matters
Shorts are how new viewers find a channel they didn't know existed. YouTube pushes them in the Shorts feed. Pastors who clip 60-second moments out of their sermons reach people who'd never search for them.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCehQKZDKSZkFxTKb_XzDeRQWhat to do
Pull the strongest 30 to 60 seconds out of each Sunday sermon, add a punchy on-screen title, and post it as a Short. One per week is enough to start. Most volunteers can do this with a phone editing app.
- F09mediumYouTube channel~20 min fix
Most YouTube descriptions don't send viewers back to your site
What we found
Of your 10 most recent videos, only 1 include a link back to your church website.
Why it matters
The viewer is already paying attention. The video description is the one place to send them somewhere (your sermon page, an email signup, your giving page). Most channels leave it empty.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCehQKZDKSZkFxTKb_XzDeRQWhat to do
In YouTube Studio, set a default video description with four lines: a 1-line summary, a link to the sermon page on your site, a link to subscribe to email updates, and a link to give. Every new upload picks up that template.
- F10mediumCapturing visitors~15 min fix
Sermon pages have no email signup
What we found
We didn't find an email signup on your latest sermon page either.
Why it matters
Sermon pages have the highest-intent traffic on your site. Someone just searched for that topic and is reading. That's the moment to ask for an email, not the homepage.
https://www.teaysvalleybaptist.com/sermon-audio.htmlWhat to do
Drop the same one-line email form below every sermon embed: "Get next week's sermon by email."
- F11lowCapturing visitors~15 min fix
No share buttons on sermon pages
What we found
We didn't find share buttons (text, Facebook, copy link) on your latest sermon page.
Why it matters
Sermon pages without share buttons miss the easiest growth lever there is: letting someone who liked the sermon spread it to their group chat or Facebook.
https://www.teaysvalleybaptist.com/sermon-audio.htmlWhat to do
Add 3 share buttons (text/SMS, Facebook, copy link) below each sermon's video. Most builders have these as a one-click block.
Supporting data
The raw numbers underneath.
Page speed
Mobile
53/100
Desktop
85/100
Source: Google PageSpeed Insights. Mobile is weighted higher because most pastors search on their phones.
YouTube channel
Teays Valley Baptist Institute
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCehQKZDKSZkFxTKb_XzDeRQ996
Subscribers
83
Videos
48,589
Total views
What now
Read it. Reply with a question.
This audit was sent to your inbox alongside this hosted page. If anything in it lands oddly — or if you want help picking which fix to do first — reply and you’ll be writing to me directly.