Is One Funeral Home Website Enough?
The idea that funeral homes can benefit from having more than one website is undoubtedly a tough sell. Many firms have just come around to understanding the importance of one funeral home site. Who in their right mind would want to create a second, or even a third site after spending time updating the original.
For certain, having multi-website strategy is not for every funeral home. Smaller firms or those that serve smaller communities can surely benefit from having one, informative funeral home website. However, for funeral homes that serve larger areas, with multiple locations or that have numerous competitors – there is a significant value in a diversified approach.
Imagine being able to outrank competitors on search engines, be found by more families and bring more business into your firm by simply spreading out your web presence. Standing out online does not have to be difficult – you just have to think outside of the box. In this post, I will share some of the ways that employing a multi-website approach can help your business grow.
But first, let’s get something straight. Having one funeral home website is indeed enough to attract families and inform them about your services. It is, however, not enough to dominate in a more competitive service area or in a large market. Especially when you consider how difficult it can be to rank on popular search engines.
Think of it like buying lottery tickets. The more tickets you buy – the greater chance you have to win. The same goes for websites. The more sites you have for families to visit, the better chance they will be interested in one of your services. While it may not yet be the norm for funeral homes to have multiple websites, the practice is becoming more and more common. If you want to improve your web presence and truly stand out from the other funeral homes or death care service providers in your area, start to diversify what you do online.
The Booming Cremation Market
We get it, cremation is a growing trend. Well though this may not be news to your ears, it should be a focus of your firm in 2018. What was once an alternative to burial is now steadfast becoming the #1 death care option for North American families. It is not just about being affordable either. Many families are choosing cremation because it is simple and allows them to plan a unique service that does not include a traditional visitation, chapel service or graveside component. This goes hand and hand with the increased popularity of personalization. If your firm is really going get ahead this year, make sure that your cremation services are front and centre.
This means, at the very least, having key real estate on your website dedicated to promoting these services and informing families of their options. You can also turn cremation services into a brand of their own – marketing those services with different messaging than your funeral home all together. However, having a separate site for your cremation brand is the effective way to connect directly with consumers who are only searching for cremation services. In doing so, you can have an entire site of content (and SEO) dedicated to being found by those families and outranking your competitors, whether that means an independent cremation provider or the funeral home across town.
Either way, it has never been more important than to get involved in the cremation market and having a brand and/or website dedicated to that market.
Pet Loss Websites
Like cremation, pet loss death care has become increasingly popular. Around North America, more and more families are turning to local firms looking for ways to say goodbye to their pets. It is an interesting thought, but not having these services available can make a difference as to whether or not a family will return to your firm. So an investment in Pet Loss solutions is really an investment in the future trust of families. Dedicating a microsite or even a whole new website to your pet loss solution would create plenty of added opportunity to attract new families to your funeral home.
Many firms that have been successful with this have branded their services to be separate from those of the funeral home. Much like cremation in this way, having a unique website and social channels for your pet loss solutions is a good course of action. 2018 is all about diversification – so one funeral home website, with one message may not be the way to success anymore. Not all families are interested in all of your services or all of what you offer. It is important to cater specifically to each of the services that you offer. If you do have an interest in offering or already do offer pet loss services, think about building a site separate from your existing funeral home website.
Want To Know More About The Multiple Funeral Home Website Approach?
I am by no means suggesting that you strip your funeral home site down to no longer include cremation, pet loss or any other specialized service. My recommendation here is to give families more opportunity to see your services – with a focus on what they are specifically searching for, as opposed to providing all the information they could ever need and hoping that they find it. In 2018 it is important to think two steps ahead of where your funeral home currently is. Don’t wait for consumers to tell you what they want. Don’t wait to find out why someone went to your competitor. Take every proactive measure to meet their needs. A great place to start is by diversifying your funeral home website and considering a multi-site approach. If you want to know more about how you can do this or are looking for a specific partner to help you build multiple websites for your funeral home, contact us at anytime so that we can help get you started. With the new website technology we released in 2017, paired with what we will be releasing soon, we will have the perfect solution for firms looking to take this approach.
Brandon is the Marketing Communications Manager at FrontRunner Professional. He holds a Social Sciences degree from McMaster University and a Graduate Certificate in Integrated Marketing Communications from St. Lawrence College. His creative writing and innovative ideas bring new life to the company, FrontRunner’s clients and funeral directors world-wide.