How to Use Google Display Network to Grow Funeral Home Brand Awareness

Building brand awareness is essential for funeral homes that want to ensure families know about their services before the need arises. While traditional advertising methods such as print or radio can still play a role, the Google Display Network (GDN) provides a powerful way to expand your reach online.

The Google Display Network allows you to promote your funeral home across millions of websites, mobile apps and videos, helping you connect with families in your local area and establish your brand as a trusted resource.

What is Google Display Network (GDN)?

The Google Display Network is a vast collection of websites, mobile apps and YouTube videos where you can show targeted ads to potential clients. Unlike Google Search Ads which appear only in search engine results, Display Ads are visual and shown across news sites, blogs and social media.

For funeral homes, the Google Display Network provides an opportunity to reach people who may not be actively searching for funeral services but are still part of your target audience. Display ads help raise awareness about your brand long before the need for your services arises, ensuring your funeral home is top of mind when the time comes.

Below are efficient strategies on how funeral homes can use the Google Display Network to increase their brand awareness, attract new leads and foster long-term relationships with families.

1. Target the Right Audience with Google Display Network

One of the biggest advantages of the Google Display Network is its ability to target audiences based on demographics, interests and location. Focusing on the right audience ensures your funeral home ads reach people most likely to need your services.

Here are ways to target your audience using the Google Display Network:

• Location Targeting: Funeral homes serve local communities, so use location targeting to show your ads only to people within a specific geographic radius around your funeral home. This helps ensure your budget is spent efficiently by targeting families within your service area.
• Demographic Targeting: Target specific demographic groups based on age, gender and income. For example, you may want to reach older adults or individuals at certain life stages who may be considering preplanning services.
• Interest-Based Targeting: Google allows you to target people based on their online interests and behaviors. For instance, you can show your ads to individuals searching for end-of-life planning, estate management or memorial services.
• Remarketing: If someone has visited your funeral home website but didn’t take action, you can use remarketing ads to show them ads as they browse other websites. This keeps your funeral home top of mind and encourages them to return and learn more about your services.

Bonus Tip: Use custom affinity audiences to target users who have expressed interest in topics like funeral planning, cremation options or grief support. This helps you reach people more likely to engage with your content.

2. Create Compelling Visual Ads That Tell Your Story

Because Google Display Ads are visual, it’s essential to have compelling, emotion-driven ads to capture attention and strengthen brand awareness. For funeral homes, it’s important to strike the right balance between providing helpful information and offering a compassionate message that resonates with families. Here’s how:

• Focus on Compassion: Funeral homes are built on empathy and support, and your ads should reflect that. Use images and messaging that highlight your compassionate care, such as “We’re here for your family during life’s hardest moments,” or “Let us help you honor your loved one with dignity.”
• Highlight Your Services: Showcase the unique services your funeral home offers, whether it’s personalized memorials, cremation options, grief support or preplanning consultations. Emphasize what sets your funeral home apart from others in your area.
• Use Engaging Visuals: Select high-quality images or videos that represent your funeral home’s facilities, staff and the supportive atmosphere you provide. Avoid overly promotional images; instead, use comforting visuals that reflect the compassionate care you provide.
• Clear Call to Action (CTA): Include a clear, concise CTA in your display ads, such as “Learn more about our funeral services” or “Schedule a preplanning consultation today.” This encourages viewers to take the next step, whether that’s visiting your website or contacting your funeral home.

Bonus Tip: Test different ad formats, such as image banners or video ads, to see which ones generate the most engagement. Videos can be particularly effective for telling your funeral home’s story and building emotional connections with viewers.

3. Use Remarketing to Reengage Potential Clients

Remarketing is a powerful tool that allows you to reengage individuals who have already interacted with your website. For example, if someone visits your funeral home website but doesn’t contact you, remarketing ads can remind them of your services as they browse online.

You can maximize remarketing by focusing on the following:

• Website Visitors: Set up remarketing campaigns that target people who have visited your website but haven’t taken action, such as scheduling a consultation or downloading a preplanning guide. These ads serve as gentle reminders to encourage them to return.
• Abandoned Forms: If someone starts filling out a contact form on your website but doesn’t complete it, you can show them remarketing ads that prompt them to finish the process or offer additional information to ease any concerns.
• Specific Services: Create ads that are tailored to the specific services a visitor viewed on your website. For example, if a family member looked at your cremation services page, you could show them a remarketing ad with a CTA to learn more about cremation options.

Bonus Tip: Use frequency capping to limit the number of times someone sees your ad, ensuring your remarketing efforts remain effective without overwhelming potential clients.

4. Measure Success and Refine Your Campaigns

One of the key advantages of the Google Display Network is the ability to track and measure the performance of your ads. This allows you to see what’s working, make data-driven adjustments, and continually optimize your campaigns to achieve better results.

Measuring campaign success is possible through:

• Tracking Key Metrics: Use Google Analytics and Google Ads to track important metrics such as impressions, click-through rates (CTR) and conversions. Understanding how users engage with your ads helps identify which visuals and messages are most effective.
• Conversion Tracking: Set up conversion tracking to measure specific actions, such as form submissions, phone calls or appointment bookings. This allows you to calculate the return on investment (ROI) for your display ads and adjust your budget accordingly.
• A/B Testing: Regularly test different ad creatives, messaging and targeting options to see what performs best. A/B testing helps you identify which elements of your campaign resonate most with your audience, so you can refine your ads for maximum impact.

Bonus Tip: Run seasonal campaigns around key holidays or awareness events, such as Memorial Day or Veterans Day. These campaigns can focus on honoring loved ones or offering special preplanning services, helping to further build your brand’s presence in the community.

5. Integrate Display Ads with Other Marketing Channels

Integrating your Google Display Network campaigns with other digital marketing efforts is crucial to maximize its effectiveness. This approach keeps your brand message consistent and visible across multiple channels. Here’s how:

• Combine with Search Ads: Pair your display ads with Google Search Ads to target families actively searching for funeral services in your area. This allows you to capture both passive interest (through display) and active intent (through search).
• Email Marketing: Reinforce your display ad campaigns with email marketing. For example, if a potential client downloads a preplanning guide from your website, follow up with an email campaign that provides additional information and offers a free consultation.
• Social Media: Share similar messages and visuals from your display ads on your social media platforms to maintain consistency and build brand awareness across multiple channels. Connecting with families on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn complements your display advertising.

Bonus Tip: Run retargeting campaigns on Facebook and Instagram to further increase your brand’s visibility across social media platforms, keeping your funeral home top of mind for families.

Conclusion: Grow Your Funeral Home’s Brand with Google Display Network

The Google Display Network offers a valuable opportunity for funeral homes to grow their brand awareness and connect with families in their local communities. By targeting the right audience, your funeral home stays top of mind when families need your services. A strategic digital marketing approach helps your funeral home build trust, attract leads, and strengthen long-term relationships with the families you serve.