Formatting a Devotion for SEO and Google Search

Formatting a Devotion for SEO and Google Search
Friday, January 23, 2026 by Martin Wiles

Image by u_qkit9gger1 from Pixabay By Martin Wiles

When I was young—and television was in its heyday, especially daytime soap operas—Dad commonly referred to it in his sermons as the “one-eyed monster.” By using this phrase, he referred to television’s negative influence. But rarely did he refer to its positive uses, such as the ability of figures like Billy Graham to broadcast the message of Jesus Christ’s love worldwide.

Now that we live in the age of the internet—and more recently, AI’s entrance into that world—some might use the identical phrase. But the same applies. As writers, we can use the internet for good or bad.

Much of what we write will end up on the internet in some form or fashion. When we write devotions, we want as many people as possible to read them. For this to happen, we must confront the SEO and Google search monsters.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. The smothered verb in the zombie noun optimization is optimize. When something is optimized, it performs at peak levels, and this is what we want our writing to do. But why mention only Google? Google is overwhelmingly the most popular search engine. It holds a dominant market share of around 90%, putting its competitors in the dust.

Yet, we shouldn’t fear optimization. Optimizing our writing doesn’t mean we have to change our writing style or voice. It has more to do with formatting. Yes, this takes a little time and thought, but the rewards outweigh the aggravation. This post will address the main factors that lead to healthy SEO so that Google search results will snag our writing.

The Title

Titles are critical and should give our readers a hint of our devotion’s theme. As a long-time devotion editor, this is one of my primary concerns. Many writers chafe against changing a title, but if the title doesn’t reflect our theme, we must swallow our pride and change it. Edie Melson’s website, The Write Conversation, does a magnificent job of making blog titles SEO friendly.

The Voice

No more than 10% of the devotion should be in passive voice. Active voice lets the subject do the acting: John ate the cake. Passive has the subject receiving the action: The cake was eaten by John.

The Sentences

SEO is affected when any three consecutive sentences begin in the same way. Varying sentence structure is critical.

The Key Phrase

The title of the devotion is also considered the key phrase. This should be placed in the first paragraph of the devotion, unless doing so disrupts the flow of the Hook. There are other ways to compensate for its absence there, such as adding headings.

The Transitions

SEO also measures transitional words. The devotion should include 20-30% transitional words. A Google search will reveal a list of common ones.

The Headings

In a typical devotion, two headings will suffice, but they should be formatted as headings and not the same style as used in writing the devotion—Times New Roman, 12 font. Headings also make the devotion scannable.

The Links

Devotions are more discoverable by search engines when they include both internal and external links. The external is simple: link the Bible verse to BibleGateway. The internal link should point to another post on the website with a similar theme.

The above may appear tedious, but once accomplished a few times, it becomes second nature. Optimize your devotion so it reaches as many people as possible. Remember, God has told us to take His love to the ends of the earth.

For Practice

Format a devotion you have written according to the guidelines in this post.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com and u_qkit9gger1 from Pixabay

Comments

Carla Holt From Saint Matthews SC At 1/27/2026 5:13:21 PM

Thank you for this email. I am just beginning my free lance writing and I have written about 15 devotions. Trying to get them out there is difficult. I will take each item you have written and study it carefully.