Search has changed. Google now shows an AI overview above the traditional results, and millions of people search using ChatGPT and similar tools instead of a search box. To show up well in this new landscape, your website needs structured data — machine-readable information that tells search engines and AI systems exactly what your church is, where it is, and how to describe it. The Structured data page lets you provide those details once, and Church Admin embeds them across your site’s pages for you.
Why this matters
When you fill in this form, the plugin outputs your details in a standard format (Schema.org, the vocabulary Google and other engines understand) embedded in your pages. This helps in a few concrete ways:
- Clearer search listings — search engines can confidently show your church name, address, phone and logo, which can appear in rich results and Google’s knowledge panel.
- Better AI answers — when someone asks an AI assistant about churches in your area, structured data gives it accurate facts to draw on, rather than leaving it to guess from scattered page text.
- Confirmed identity across the web — linking your social and podcast profiles helps engines verify that all those accounts belong to the same church.
- A place in the wider picture — noting your denomination or network connects your church to that larger organisation in the “knowledge graph” search engines build.
Before you start: check you’re not doubling up
If you already use an SEO plugin such as Yoast that outputs organisation structured data, don’t fill this in as well — two sets of structured data can conflict and confuse search engines. Use either this feature or your SEO plugin for church/organisation data, not both.
Filling in the form
Go to the Structured data settings page and complete the fields. A few are required (marked below); the rest are optional but the more you provide, the richer the picture.
Core details
- Church Name (required) — your church’s name as you want it to appear.
- Email address (required) — a public contact email.
- Telephone — a contact number.
- Street Address (required), Address Locality (town/city, required) and Postal Code (required) — where you meet.
- Country — choose from the dropdown. It defaults to the United Kingdom.
Online profiles and channels
Add links to your church’s presence on other platforms — Facebook, YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify each have a field, plus two “Other URL” boxes for things like your Charity Commission listing, A Church Near You, or your network’s site. These confirm your identity across the web, so an engine seeing your church on several platforms knows they’re all you.
About your church
- Description — a plain-English summary of your church. AI systems use this directly when describing you, so write it the way you’d want to be introduced.
- Founding Date — the year your church was founded, e.g. 1998.
Church logo / image
Click Select / Change Image to pick a logo or image from your WordPress media library. A preview appears, and there’s a Remove Image button if you change your mind. Google and AI systems use this to associate your logo with your church.
Denominational affiliation
If your church belongs to a network or denomination, add its Organisation Name and Website URL. This links your church to the wider organisation, helping engines place you in context.
Saving
Click Save Changes. You’ll see a confirmation that your structured data has been saved, and from then on it’s embedded in your website’s pages automatically — there’s nothing to add to individual pages yourself. You can come back and update these details any time; the form remembers what you entered.