September 24, 2026
Published by 
Welton Hong on September 24, 2026
Welton Hong on September 24, 2026Written By Welton Hong, founder and CEO of Ring Ring Marketing When someone needs a cemetery, they rarely conduct casual research. They’re often planning ahead, looking for a permanent place for themselves or a family member. Or they may be dealing with an immediate need and trying to find a cemetery quickly. In either case, Google has become one of the most important places where that decision begins. For cemetery operators, that raises a critical business question: How does Google decide which cemeteries appear in its Maps results? This question was the subject of a recent webinar I held for cemetery professionals, and the answer has become considerably more complicated than it was a few years ago. Local search used to be relatively easy to separate from organic search. The map results were one thing, and the traditional organic results […]
August 26, 2026
Published by Welton Hong on August 26, 2026
Welton Hong on August 26, 2026By Welton Hong, founder and CEO, Ring Ring Marketing For years, cemetery marketing has revolved around one primary objective: earning visibility on Google. That strategy still matters. But it is no longer enough. The newly released Yext 2026 Consumer Search Behaviors Report confirms what many of us in digital marketing have been watching unfold over the past year: Consumers are fundamentally changing how they search for businesses. Instead of beginning with Google, many are beginning with artificial intelligence. That shift has enormous implications for cemeteries. Unlike many retail purchases, cemetery sales often involve substantial financial decisions. Premium family estates, private mausoleums, custom monuments, cremation gardens, memorial benches and advance-planning packages frequently represent five- and even six-figure investments. Those are purchases affluent consumers research carefully before making a decision. The Yext report found that the highest-income consumers are leading this behavioral […]
July 23, 2026
Published by Welton Hong on July 23, 2026
Welton Hong on July 23, 2026Written by Welton Hong Trust has always been the foundation of funeral service. Families make one of the most emotional purchasing decisions of their lives based largely on reputation, recommendations and increasingly, online reviews. That makes fake reviews more than just an annoyance. They have become a business risk. A new survey from reputation management company LocalImpact found that fake online reviews have become nearly universal for local businesses, with 72% of business owners reporting they received at least one fake review during the past year. Even more concerning, nearly four out of five believe they have been the target of a coordinated attack at some point. For funeral homes, cremation providers and cemeteries, where a family’s confidence can be won or lost before a phone call is ever made, those findings deserve close attention. Reputation Is Revenue Unlike many […]
June 25, 2026
Published by Welton Hong on June 25, 2026
Welton Hong on June 25, 2026Written By Welton Hong, Founder and CEO, Ring Ring Marketing I was standing in the hallway at a funeral service conference recently when a funeral home owner approached me with a question I’ve heard countless times over the years. “What’s a good conversion rate for Google Ads?” Before I could answer, he followed up with a frustration many funeral professionals have voiced to me. “The leads we’re getting from Google aren’t very good. Most of the people who call just want to know the price,” he said. I nodded. I’ve had variations of this conversation dozens of times with funeral home owners and cemetery operators across the country. The concern is understandable. Marketing isn’t cheap, and if you’re investing money in Google Ads, you want to know whether it’s producing results. But as we talked, it became clear that the […]
May 28, 2026
Published by Welton Hong on May 28, 2026
Welton Hong on May 28, 2026By Welton Hong, founder and CEO of Ring Ring Marketing For most families, the question of what happens to a loved one’s LinkedIn profile after death rarely appears on any checklist. It sits well outside the immediate urgency of death certificates, funeral arrangements, probate filings and obituary writing. Yet increasingly, it is becoming part of the broader digital footprint that survivors must confront — especially when the deceased maintained a professional identity online. LinkedIn occupies a special space among social platforms, as it isn’t primarily about sharing memories or personal stories like Facebook. Instead, it includes an individual’s employment history, skills endorsements, published articles and their industry identity. That distinction shapes how the platform handles death, and it has practical implications for funeral directors, celebrants, grief professionals and estate planners who are increasingly asked to help families manage digital legacies. […]