Welton Hong

When families search for funeral services, they almost always turn to Google. For funeral home owners, appearing near the top of local search results isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s essential. Yet many businesses chase quick fixes: obsessively tweaking Google Business Profiles, shuffling title tags, or chasing every new citation in hopes of a fleeting boost. The truth is, real visibility comes from consistency and patience, not frantic adjustments. Local search isn’t just about being number one for every keyword. It’s about being visible where it matters, maintaining a strong presence even when Google changes its algorithm, and creating signals that show your business is trustworthy, active, and relevant. Some days you might see your funeral home appear at the top of Maps but slightly lower organically, or vice versa. That’s normal. What separates long-lasting businesses from the rest is […]

Written by Welton Hong If you serve families through a funeral home, crematory, or cemetery, you already know how important your Google Business Profile is. For many families, it is the very first place they encounter your firm — often before they call, visit your website, or step through your doors. In moments of grief, families are not comparison-shopping the way they would for retail goods. They are looking for reassurance, dignity, professionalism, and a sense of trust. This is where the old saying rings especially true: a picture is worth a thousand words. Thoughtfully chosen photos help families feel more comfortable reaching out. They improve search visibility, establish credibility, and quietly communicate what it would feel like to entrust you with a loved one’s care. For funeral professionals, photos might include your chapel, visitation rooms, arrangement offices, reception spaces, […]

What Funeral Homes Must Do Now to Stay Visible in an AI-Driven World Over the past two decades, families searching for funeral services have overwhelmingly relied on Google’s links. But in the last 18 months, the foundation of online search has shifted more dramatically than at any other point in the internet era. Artificial-intelligence-driven summaries, conversational search results, and new platform economics are reshaping how consumers discover businesses—including funeral homes. For funeral service leaders, this moment may feel disorienting, but it is also a strategic inflection point. Those who adapt early will be far better positioned than those who assume today’s search landscape will remain intact. A Different Kind of Search Result—Powered by AI Google’s AI Overviews, which now appear on a rapidly growing share of consumer queries, function like ChatGPT built directly into search. Instead of presenting a list […]

Written By Welton Hong, founder and CEO of Ring Ring Marketing A profound change is taking place in how families discover and evaluate funeral homes, crematories and cemeteries online. For years, digital visibility revolved almost entirely around SEO — appearing prominently in Google’s traditional search results. But with the rapid rise of AI-driven search assistants and generative answer engines, a new discipline is becoming essential for deathcare professionals: GEO, or generative engine optimization. As consumers increasingly rely on conversational tools to ask questions like “What should I know before choosing a funeral home?” or “How does cremation work in my state?”, funeral businesses must ensure their expertise is recognized understood and mentioned d by these systems. GEO is not a replacement for SEO, but a necessary evolution of it — organizations that take steps now will be better positioned to […]

Written by Welton Hong, Ring Ring Marketing One spring morning, a funeral director in Ohio logged into her email and found a pleasant surprise. A family had attended her grief support group the night before, and when she asked how they discovered it, the answer was simple: “We saw a question about it on your Google listing.” That question had been posted weeks earlier by someone browsing the funeral home’s Google Business Profile. The funeral director had answered promptly, and her response wasn’t just seen by the original poster — it became a lasting, public message for anyone searching for comfort and guidance. In a profession built on trust, that digital interaction had a ripple effect, opening the door for more families to connect with her services. But starting this fall, that kind of online visibility may look very different. […]

Written By Welton Hong, Ring Ring Marketing On a chilly Monday morning, the phone at Harrison & Cole Funeral Home stayed eerily quiet. The funeral director, Melissa, couldn’t understand it. Just two weeks earlier, families were calling steadily about preplanning and immediate services. Now — nothing. Out of curiosity, she looked at her website. The pages loaded slowly, and the contact form seemed broken. If Melissa had been watching her analytics, she would have seen the red flags: a sharp drop in traffic, fewer phone-click events and visitors abandoning the site within seconds. Instead, she was flying blind. That’s where Google Analytics 4 (GA4) comes in. GA4 is Google’s free tool for tracking how people use your website. It replaced the old Universal Analytics system in July 2023 — and for funeral homes, it’s more than just a tech upgrade. […]

By Welton Hong, founder and CEO of Ring Ring Marketing When a family is grieving, patience is thin, and needs are urgent. If your website hesitates, they won’t: They’ll leave your website and choose the next funeral home in the search results. Multiple studies show the cost of a slow site. For instance: 53% of the time, someone will abandon pages that take longer than three seconds to load, according to Google. The chance a visitor bounces jumps 32% as load time grows from 1 to 3 seconds, and 123% from 1 to 10 seconds on mobile, according to Google. Conversion-focused research conducted by HubSpot finds the best conversion rates happen between 0 to two seconds, with sharp declines as seconds pile on. If your pages routinely exceed a few seconds to load, the implications are clear: People feel that […]

Written by Welton Hong, Ring Ring Marketing As Google phases out third-party cookies by the end of 2025, funeral home owners must prepare for a major shift in how they attract, track and retain potential client families. For years, third-party cookies allowed businesses to follow users across websites, serve personalized ads and gather valuable behavioral data. Now, with that capability vanishing, death-care professionals need to double down on first-party data and relationship-driven marketing. Before we explore how funeral homes can stay competitive, maintain market share and grow in a cookie-less future, why are third-party cookies disappearing in the first place? Google’s decision to remove third-party cookies from Chrome — the most widely used browser — follows growing concerns over online privacy and consumer data protection. Without these cookies, advertisers and businesses lose visibility into user behavior across the web, making […]

Written By Welton Hong If you haven’t looked at your Google Business Profile lately, now’s the time. Google has quietly rolled out several powerful new features that make business profiles more than just digital listings — they have become a real-time marketing tool. For funeral home owners who want to retain market share, attract more calls, and connect with families at the exact moment they’re searching, these updates are too important to ignore. Here’s what’s new — and how to make it work for your funeral business. Product Highlights: Showcase Your Services Like Never Before What’s new: Funeral homes can now list services and packages in the “Products” section of their profile — complete with descriptions, prices (optional), and images. Why it matters: Most families searching for a funeral home are in decision mode. Clear, easy-to-scan information about cremation, traditional […]

Written by Welton Hong, Ring Ring Marketing Running a successful pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaign isn’t just about showing up; it’s about showing up for the right audience. Many funeral homes focus heavily on selecting the “perfect” keywords, but that’s only one side of the coin. If you’re not also eliminating the wrong traffic, you’re leaving the back door wide open—and your ad budget is walking out. Think of your PPC campaign like planning a formal dinner party. Your positive keywords are the invitations you send out: they determine who shows up. But if you don’t set clear expectations or limit plus-ones, you might find your living room packed with folks who thought it was a backyard barbecue. Negative keywords are your way of saying, “This isn’t that kind of party.” Let’s say your funeral home provides high-end funeral services. You […]