A family searching in a hurry, often at night or at the weekend, and picking up the phone, then pre-planning, decided calmly years before: funeral home advertising answers both moments, with care.
Google PartnerSuperMalter (top 10%)61 five-star reviews on Malt and LinkedIn100+ clients
Funeral Services In The EU, In Numbers
Arranging a funeral, comparing its cost, planning ahead: each family search has its own calendar. Funeral businesses as Eurostat measures them, then the month when each search is most frequent on Google.
Funeral Services
NACE code 96.03
Funeral and related activities
33,378companies in the EU
Eurostat publishes no final figure for this country.
€16.0 billion in turnover
Most searched month: August
Source: Eurostat, enterprises by NACE activity (dataset sbs_ovw_act), EU-27, NACE code 96.03, 2024 data updated on 30 September 2026.See the raw data.
Source: US Census Bureau, Economic Census 2022 (dataset ecnbasic), United States, establishments with paid employees, NAICS code 8122, 2022 data updated on 24 October 2023. An establishment is a single site: a company with 3 sites counts 3 times. See the table. Employees per establishment: calculated from the number of employees and of establishments published by the US Census Bureau. Each card uses the North American classification code or codes whose official title matches its NACE code; where there is no exact match, the card says so.
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Business Counts, with and without employees, June 2026, Canada, NAICS code 8122, released on 14 August 2026. Statistics Canada counts locations: a company with 10 stores and a head office counts 11 times. Without employees, only locations that are incorporated or earn more than C$30,000 in business revenue are counted. See the tables with employees and without employees. Each card uses the North American classification code or codes whose official title matches its NACE code; where there is no exact match, the card says so.
Source: INEGI, National Statistical Directory of Economic Units (DENUE) 05/2026, Mexico, active establishments except agriculture, SCIAN code 8123 (SCIAN Mexico 2023), released on 20 May 2026. DENUE counts establishments with premises, homes included: a trade carried out at the customer's site with no premises of its own (painter, plumber) or by street vendors is left out, as are rural localities under 2,500 inhabitants. People employed include the owner. See the methodology. Each card uses the North American classification code or codes whose official title matches its NACE code; where there is no exact match, the card says so.
Source: Nomis, UK Business Counts (extract from the Inter-Departmental Business Register), United Kingdom, enterprises and local units live in March 2026, SIC 2007 code 9603 (UK classification, identical to NACE down to 4 digits), data updated on 24 September 2026, retrieved on 16 October 2026. The register only counts businesses registered for VAT or PAYE. A local unit is a site: a company with 3 sites counts 3 local units. See the tables enterprises and local units. Data source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Source: OECD, Structural Business Statistics (SDBS), South Korea, establishments (local units), ISIC code 9603 (United Nations international classification, revision 4), 2022 data retrieved on 16 October 2026. An establishment is a single site: a company with 3 sites counts 3 times. A figure the OECD flags as estimated or imputed is left out: the card then says there is no final figure. See the table, see the raw data. People per establishment: calculated from the number of people employed and of establishments published by the OECD. Each card uses the international classification (ISIC) code or codes that match its NACE code exactly, NACE being derived from ISIC; where there is no exact match, the card says so. Official ISIC titles: United Nations Statistics Division.
The Google Search Calendar
Index 100 = the most searched month of each line. Searches in the United Kingdom, in English, from October 2025 to September 2026.
Funeral Directors
Funeral Costs
Funeral Plans
100500
Funeral CostsFuneral PlansFuneral Directors
OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSep
Most searched month: funeral directors in August, funeral costs in January, funeral plans in January. Funeral Plans: January brings 2 times the searches of December.
Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner, monthly search volumes in the United Kingdom, in English, from October 2025 to September 2026, retrieved on 15 October 2026 from Théo Maupilé's Google Ads account. Searches measured: “funeral directors”, “funeral directors near me”, “funeral home”, “funeral services”, “funeral costs”, “cremation costs”, “how much does a funeral cost”, “average cost of a funeral uk”, “funeral plans”, “prepaid funeral plans”, “funeral plans uk” and “funeral plan cost”. Method: each line adds up its searches, then takes the value 100 in its highest month. Google rounds the volumes it returns: the line shows the rhythm of demand, not an exact volume.
See the chart data
Month
Funeral Directors
Funeral Costs
Funeral Plans
October 2025
97
81
81
November 2025
87
72
66
December 2025
71
66
51
January 2026
87
100
100
February 2026
78
91
81
March 2026
79
86
86
April 2026
78
78
66
May 2026
70
69
63
June 2026
65
63
62
July 2026
78
60
56
August 2026
100
63
67
September 2026
69
63
68
The Price Of A Click At The Top Of Google
What advertisers paid to appear at the top of the results, for the most searched query of each line, in the United Kingdom.
Funeral Directors “funeral directors”€4.14 to €30.00
Funeral Costs “how much does a funeral cost”€0.94 to €3.31
Funeral Plans “funeral plans”€9.42 to €18.12
Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner, top of page bid, low range and high range, in euros, in the United Kingdom, retrieved on 15 October 2026 from Théo Maupilé's Google Ads account. According to Google, the range runs from the 20th to the 80th bid out of 100: about 6 bids in 10 fall between the two amounts. It is an observed range, not a price list: the price of each click is set in an auction.
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Funeral Homes · United Kingdom
Where Is Your Audience?
Your audience moves from one app to the next within the same day: they search on Google, watch YouTube, browse Discover and Gmail, scroll Instagram and Facebook, ask ChatGPT for advice. Tap an app to see where your ad meets them, and what the ad platforms measure in your industry.
Your audienceFuneral HomesUnited Kingdom · 9 apps · 5 moments
GGoogleIllustration
funeral directors
SponsoredYYour brandFuneral Directors · Your BrandAn adviser available day and night to arrange the funeral and answer your questions.
MaGoogle MapsIllustration
Y
SponsoredYYour brandFuneral Directors · Your BrandFuneral directors · 0.6 miles awayCallWebsite
YYouTubeIllustration
Support at every stepAd · Your brand
Up nextThe steps of arranging a funeral
SponsoredFuneral Directors · Your Brand
DDiscoverIllustration
Support at every step
YYour brand · SponsoredFuneral Directors · Your Brand
MGmailIllustration
YSponsoredYour brandFuneral Directors · Your BrandAn adviser available day and night to arrange the funeral and answer your questions.
WWebsites and appsIllustration
Support at every stepYYour brandLearn more
FFacebookIllustration
YYour brandSponsored
An adviser available day and night to arrange the funeral and answer your questions.
Support at every step
Funeral Directors · Your BrandLearn more
IInstagramIllustration
YYour brandSponsored
Support at every step
Learn more→
CChatGPTIllustration
what needs to be done in the days after a death?
Here are the points to compare before you choose, based on your situation.
SponsoredYYour brandFuneral Directors · Your BrandAn adviser available day and night to arrange the funeral and answer your questions.
Searchinggoogle.com · Google app
GGoogle
They type their need in their own words. This is when intent is at its clearest: your ad answers a question they have just asked.
12,100searches a month for “funeral directors”, in the UK
Searches a month in your industry, in the UK
“funeral directors”12,100
“funeral costs”1,900
“funeral plans”9,900
Source: Google Keyword Planner, searches in the United Kingdom, in English, monthly average from October 2025 to September 2026, estimated and rounded by Google, pulled on 15 October 2026.
They look for a place near them and compare options on the map. Your ad shows your address and phone number, beside, above or below the search results.
4 networkswhere location assets can show your address: the Search Network, the Display Network, YouTube and Google Maps
Where Your Ad Appears
Search results on Google Maps
Maps app
Search Network, with your address and phone number
They watch a video they chose. Your ad plays before or during that video, or shows up in their suggestions: your brand gets known before the need is put into words.
6 sthe bumper format: a short message your audience sees in full
They browse the feed of articles and videos the Google app suggests. Your ad slips in as one card among the others: they discover your offer before they even look for it.
3 feedsa single Demand Gen campaign places your ad in Discover, in Gmail and in YouTube’s feeds
They read an article or use an app. Your banner shows next to the content: your brand stays top of mind, and people who already visited your site see you again.
Millionsof websites and apps where a Display campaign can show your ad, on top of YouTube
They catch up with friends, groups and their local area. Your ad slots into that feed, or into Marketplace when they look for something nearby.
35.2 to 41.5 millionpeople aged 18 and over reachable in the UK on Facebook
The whole country’s audience, platform by platform
Instagram31.1 to 36.6 million
Facebook35.2 to 41.5 million
Source: Meta, audience size estimate from the Marketing API, one platform at a time (reach optimisation), aged 18 and over, United Kingdom, pulled on 16 October 2026. A Meta estimate, best read as an order of magnitude.
They scroll their feed, stories and reels to unwind. The image takes the first step: your offer gets discovered here, and people who already visited your site find you again.
31.1 to 36.6 millionpeople aged 18 and over reachable in the UK on Instagram
The whole country’s audience, platform by platform
Instagram31.1 to 36.6 million
Facebook35.2 to 41.5 million
Source: Meta, audience size estimate from the Marketing API, one platform at a time (reach optimisation), aged 18 and over, United Kingdom, pulled on 16 October 2026. A Meta estimate, best read as an order of magnitude.
They ask their question and read a full answer. The ad appears below that answer when the topic of the conversation matches what you offer: the need is already detailed, constraints included.
31European countries in the expansion announced by OpenAI, France and Spain included
I'm Théo, a freelance Paid Media specialist with 100+ clients on Google Ads & Meta Ads. For a funeral home, I build campaigns around the phone call, the step a family takes when they need to arrange a funeral: Google searches in your town, a phone number shown at the hours someone answers, and a page that shows your services, your prices and your address. Pre-planning is decided calmly, so it gets its own campaign and its own rhythm. Every call and every quote request comes back with its branch and its source, so the budget follows what really brings work to each branch. I work directly with you.
The 3 Paid Media Projects For Funeral Homes
Being There When A Family Searches
A death can happen at any hour, and families often search at night or at the weekend, phone in hand. The family takes the first step, and the campaign answers their search on Google. A call asset can be set to show your number only on the days and at the hours when someone picks up.
Prices Families Compare
In the UK, the Funerals Market Investigation Order 2021 requires every funeral director with a website to display its Standardised Price List there, as a PDF titled "Standardised Price List", on a page one click from the homepage at most, with a clearly labelled link on the homepage. Families compare before they call, and your page shows what each service includes, your opening hours and your address.
Proximity, Branch By Branch
Families think town by town and often look for a funeral director close to home. On Google, location targeting stays open for this sensitive category, so each of your branches can have its own area, and memorial masonry keeps its own rhythm. Every enquiry comes back with the branch that receives it.
The Method, Applied To Funeral Homes
1
Audit Of Your Branches And Their Areas
Real searches from families around each branch ("funeral directors" and the town name), your nearby competitors and the hours when calls come in.
2
Sober Ads, Reviewed Together
Your trading name, your services and your exact status, written in a sober tone and reviewed with you before anything runs.
3
A Reachable Number, A Clear Page
The phone number in the ad follows the days and hours when someone answers, and the page shows your services, your prices, your opening hours and your address.
4
Every Call Comes Back With Its Branch
Calls, quote requests and headstone enquiries come back separately, branch by branch, to steer the budget on what brings work to each one.
Which Google Ads Audiences Can A Funeral Home Use?
Google lists bereavement products or services as an example of a sensitive interest category, relationship hardships. In these categories, audiences the advertiser builds itself stay closed (Customer Match, your data segments, audience expansion, lookalike segments), while some of Google's predefined audiences stay open, such as in-market segments, affinity audiences and location targeting. My recommendation is to start with the Search Network, where the ad answers a family who is searching, and to use Meta to make your branches and your pre-planning known, calmly.
What About Funeral Plans?
They are decided calmly, often years ahead, and they follow their own rules. In the UK, a funeral plan provider must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and have permission for the right activities, and a funeral director can sell another firm's plan as that firm's appointed representative. The calendar above shows that in the UK, funeral plans are searched most in January. I recommend a steady campaign of its own, all year round, with a page that explains simply who provides the plan.
Can A Memorial Mason Follow The Same Method?
Yes. What changes is the rhythm, because a headstone is often chosen after the funeral, more calmly. The campaign follows searches for headstones and memorials around the cemeteries you work in, with its own budget, and headstone enquiries come back separately from funeral calls, so each activity has its own reading.
What Happens After You Click
1
7 Questions
A short form: your website, your budget, your goal. Two minutes is all it takes.
2
A 20-Min Call
You walk me through what has already been done, your goals and your challenges. Then we look at how we can work together.
3
Your Access And My Onboarding
You give me access to your accounts, and I send you my onboarding document to go into the detail of your business, your market and your positioning.
4
Building Your Strategy
We start building your strategy from everything you have shared with me.
5
Our Day-To-Day Communication
I adapt to your team's tools: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Gmail or Google Chat for the roadmap and project follow-up. WhatsApp is kept for urgent requests.
Slack
Microsoft Teams
Gmail
Google Chat
WhatsApp
Let's Talk About Your Funeral Home
You walk me through what has already been done, your goals and your challenges. Then we look at how we can work together.
