A satellite property is a second website — built on a domain you own, optimized for local search, and designed to capture pre-need leads — that operates alongside your existing vendor platform. The vendor platform continues handling obituary publishing and case management. The satellite property handles everything that drives revenue: Google rankings, pre-need consultations, cremation inquiries, and local search dominance. Here is the exact implementation process.
Phase 1: Domain Selection (Week 1)
Your satellite property domain should include your primary keyword and your location. Formats that work well: [cityname]funeralhome.com, [funeralhomename]cremation.com, [cityname]cremationservices.com. Avoid hyphens if possible. Register the domain through a reputable registrar (Namecheap, Google Domains, Cloudflare). Do not register it through your vendor platform — that would recreate the ownership problem you are solving.
Time from domain registration to first Map Pack appearance in most markets
With proper GBP setup, schema markup, and on-page optimization
Phase 2: Site Architecture (Weeks 1–2)
A satellite property does not need to be large. Five to seven pages, built correctly, will outperform a 50-page vendor template. The essential pages: Home (targeting "funeral home [city]"), Cremation Services (targeting "cremation services [city]"), Pre-Planning (targeting "funeral pre-planning [city]"), About (local trust signals, years in business, family ownership), and Contact (click-to-call, map embed, hours). Each page gets unique, locally-written content — no templates, no boilerplate.
Phase 3: Google Business Profile Migration (Week 2)
Update your Google Business Profile website URL to point to your new satellite property. This is the single highest-impact change in the entire process. Your GBP is likely your primary source of local search traffic. Directing that traffic to a properly optimized satellite property instead of a vendor template will improve conversion rates immediately — often within the first week.
Phase 4: Content and Authority Building (Months 2–3)
After launch, begin building topical authority through consistent content publication. Two to three articles per week, each targeting a specific keyword cluster. Build local citations (consistent NAP across directories). Implement a review generation process. Within 90 days, most funeral homes in mid-sized markets will see measurable ranking improvements for their primary commercial keywords.
Key Takeaway