According to SimilarWeb Legacy.com drew a total of over 43 million visits in July 2025.  That’s a whole lot of people accessing a website.

When families search for obituary notices, share memorials, of look for service details, they are often visiting Legacy.com.  And now, when people visit Legacy.com your funeral home can stand out “Locally” — reaching the right people at the right moment.

Through Legacy’s Local Advertising Program, your funeral home can be the only advertiser in your geographic area. That means that when someone from your community views an obituary on Legacy, they see only your funeral home’s message — not a competitor’s. This kind of exclusivity is rare in digital advertising but highly effective: it builds familiarity, reinforces your reputation, and ensures that your community sees you as the go-to provider.

Even better, this targeted exposure is relatively inexpensive compared to many other digital ad placements. Large platforms often require high budgets to achieve meaningful visibility, but Legacy’s program delivers exclusivity and precision targeting at a fraction of the cost — making it accessible even for smaller funeral homes.

To learn more about this program to bring more local exposure to your funeral home you can click here.

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There’s always been an argument about successful businesses. . . Did they get to be successful because of “Who they know” or “What they know”?  I’m guessing that both circumstances will help, but in today’s world there is no doubt that you need the “What you know” side of the equation to make intelligent and educated business decisions.

There’s no doubt that in today’s world making the wrong decisions can be very costly.  That’s why BI or “Business Intelligence” is so important when perusing the data presented to an organization to help them make the decisions to move their businesses forward.  If you don’t have the “Business Intelligence” when deciding on directions your company should take it’s like walking blind down the street.

That’s why many funeral home owners are excited for Legacy.com’s new product, “MarketIQ”.  According to this press release from Legacy.com, MarketIQ is “a groundbreaking competitive intelligence report designed exclusively for funeral professionals.”

Again, according to the press release, MarketIQ is “Built to eliminate the need for time-consuming manual tracking, MarketIQ uses Legacy’s unmatched access to both funeral home and newspaper obituary data. This unique visibility provides funeral homes with a comprehensive view of their local market—including obituary volume, competitor activity, and market share trends.”

According to Legacy.com Chief Growth Officer John Heald, “MarketIQ allows funeral homes to grow with data-driven confidence—without adding to their workload.”

For more information on Legacy.com’s MarketIQ program you can click here.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  I get to visit with lots of people because of my position researching for Funeral Director Daily.  This past winter when DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency) was all the talk in Washington, DC, I visited with a person whose private enterprise responsibilities including closing out the accounts of deceased people.

If you remember, at that time Elon Musk and his DOGE workers were claiming the inefficiency and outdated-ness of some of the government computer systems.   The person I was visiting with made the comment to me that he relied more on the archives of Legacy.com than any government computers when it came to recently deceased individuals.

His comment was, “Legacy.com probably has a better, meaning more up to date, data base for current death records than the United States government.  If that was true, then there is probably not a better or more current data base in the Death Care realm than what Legacy.com can provide your funeral home.

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Changing Perceptions: Overcoming Legacy.com Myths and Embracing the Modern Platform

For years, Legacy.com sat at the center of intense discussions among funeral directors. Some professionals praised its large audience and robust obituary tools, while others questioned whether the platform diverted traffic and flower sales away from local funeral homes. As technology and consumer expectations evolve, Legacy.com has revamped its offerings—particularly through Legacy Pro Business—to serve as a supportive partner rather than a competitor.

Below, we’ll debunk the most common misconceptions about Legacy.com and highlight how the new, modern approach benefits funeral homes, families, and communities alike.

1. Myth: Legacy.com Steals Funeral Home Web Traffic

The Concern: Families would land on Legacy.com to read an obituary, spend their time browsing guest books or memorial pages, and never visit the funeral home’s official site. This meant lost engagement, fewer opportunities to educate families on services, and less exposure to brand values.

The Reality: Legacy Pro Business’ updated model ensures that each obituary effectively funnels traffic back to the funeral home’s website.

• Premium Business Listings connect directly to your online home. Visitors see multiple backlinks pointing to your site—links to read the full obituary, send flowers, or learn more about your services.
• SEO Advantages arise from Legacy.com’s high domain authority, helping funeral home websites rank higher in local searches. Every click from Legacy.com to your site boosts organic visibility and brand recognition.

The end result is a win-win: You retain your rightful website traffic while benefiting from Legacy.com’s vast online audience.

2. Myth: Legacy.com Poaches Flower Orders and Profits

The Concern: Legacy.com’s advertising for sympathy flowers supposedly undercut local florist arrangements that funeral homes might otherwise sell directly to families.

The Reality: Today, Legacy Pro Business allows you to integrate your own florist of choice, ensuring families order from a trusted, community-based vendor. No more third-party redirection that excludes the funeral home’s preferred florist.

• Local Florist Promotion: Whether you have a partnership with one florist or multiple, you decide which shops display on the obituary’s flower-ordering platform.
• Revenue-Sharing Options: For homes that rely on direct floral commissions, Legacy Pro Business offers offers competitive revenue share. This means every transaction can help support your local business—and keeps you in control of the floral experience.

By removing the barrier that previously diverted flower sales, Legacy Pro Business hands control back to funeral homes and protects an important part of your revenue stream.

3. Myth: Automatic “Death Notices” Confuse Families

The Concern: Legacy.com used to auto-generate short death notices even if the funeral home or family hadn’t submitted an obituary. This sometimes created confusion or led to families contacting the funeral director about inaccurate or incomplete listings.

The Reality: Legacy Pro Business has eliminated the automatic posting of partial, unauthorized notices. Now, only funeral homes that opt into the Legacy network have their obituaries displayed, ensuring accurate and timely information.

• Direct Control: You decide which obituaries go live and when. If you update a service time or correct a detail, that change syncs across the Legacy network.
• Community Pages: These local or topic-based hubs (e.g., “Boston Remembers,” “Northwestern Alumni”) show the funeral home’s listing front and center, with no confusion about who is providing the service details.

This shift has helped build trust among funeral directors and families alike, reducing frustration and ensuring a consistent presentation of each person’s life story.

4. Transparency and Monthly Performance Reports

A huge part of Legacy Pro Business’s redesign involves transparency: funeral homes receive detailed reports each month that highlight how many visitors clicked from Legacy.com to their sites, how many entered the guest book, sent flowers, or interacted with other online features.

• Data-Driven Decisions: Armed with this performance data, you can make informed marketing moves—like adjusting your social media strategy or reevaluating how you highlight flowers and memorial gifts.
• Monitoring Competitors: Some plans include “obit data” to keep an eye on your market. Compare call volumes and obituary postings against others in your region, no more manually combing through newspapers or websites.

With Legacy Pro Business, there’s no secret ledger. You see, in black-and-white numbers, the exact value of your partnership every month.

5. A Risk-Free Way to Test the Waters

Still on the fence? Legacy Pro Business offers both a free version and a paid version, so you can see how their platform complements your existing online presence.

• Free Model: Display your obituaries on Legacy.com so families can easily find service information. You’ll gain basic referral traffic and brand visibility at zero cost.
• Paid Upgrades: Access additional benefits like advanced performance reports, local florist integration, competitor data, and extensive backlinking. This leads to a bigger online footprint and stronger connections with families.

Many funeral homes discover that once they try Legacy Pro Business, the traffic boost and streamlined obituary control make the paid features well worth the investment. If it doesn’t align with your strategy, you can always cancel without lingering contractual obligations.

6. Embracing the New Legacy

Change can be daunting, but in the rapidly evolving digital landscape, a streamlined, partnership-driven obituary platform is a valuable ally. Legacy Pro Business’s modern features empower funeral professionals to:

• Retain and even grow website traffic.
• Protect and enhance local flower sales.
• Control how and when obituaries appear online.
• Access transparent metrics on a monthly basis.
• Build deeper connections with community members who might otherwise miss important service details.

At the end of the day, this evolution from “Old Legacy” to “New Legacy” means one thing: funeral homes have more control and more opportunities to support grieving families in a transparent, community-focused way.

Conclusion

Longstanding myths often overshadow new innovations. With Legacy Pro Business, funeral directors can now see—tangibly and numerically—how a modern obituary platform drives traffic, fosters stronger community ties, and preserves valuable revenue opportunities. If you’ve been hesitant because of past experiences or rumors, consider taking advantage of the free version or scheduling a demo to see the changes for yourself. You may just find that Legacy Pro Business is the supportive digital partner your funeral home has been seeking all along.

Legacy.com Donates $100,000 to Funeral Service Foundation

Leading online obituary org’s cumulative giving reaches nearly $350,000

Brookfield, Wis. – Underscoring their commitment to supporting and advancing the funeral profession, Legacy.com announced its donation of $100,000 to support the Funeral Service Foundation’s mission and amplify their work across the funeral service profession. 

John Heald, GM Funeral Home Channel at Legacy.com, and newly installed Chair of the Funeral Service Foundation announced the $100,000 gift at the 2024 NFDA International Convention & Expo Opening Session, speaking about his initial introduction to the Foundation by Trustee Emeritus, Mark Busch, and his path to Chair of the Foundation. 

He also spoke of his role with Legacy and finding ways to give back to the profession, thanking Legacy.com’s CEO Alan Press for the opportunity to support the Foundation in its work “to find and maintain the wonderful people in this profession.”

“We are honored to support the Funeral Service Foundation’s important initiatives that strengthen and sustain our profession,” said Heald. “Legacy.com is dedicated to helping funeral homes and directors connect with families and communities, and we are proud to contribute to the advancement and support of this profession. We see this partnership as a way to give back to a community that works tirelessly to provide compassionate, essential services.”

In addition to their $100,000 donation, Legacy.com contributed $25,000 to the Foundation’s general fund and $10,000 for the Tom Johnson Memorial Scholarship Fund in 2024, bringing their cumulative giving to nearly $350,000 over the past 8 years. 

“This generous donation reflects Legacy.com’s consistent dedication to funeral service,” said Will Bischoff, Fund Development Chair of the Funeral Service Foundation. “As a longtime partner to funeral homes and directors, Legacy.com exemplifies the Foundation’s mission of “lifting up grieving communities by investing in people and programs that strengthen funeral service” through their commitment to education and resources and the general well-being of funeral professionals and the communities they serve.“

PHOTO LINKS:

ABOUT LEGACY.COM – Legacy.com

Legacy.com is the world’s leading online destination for obituaries, serving over 40 million visitors each month. Legacy.com partners with thousands of funeral homes and newspapers to honor and preserve the memories of those who have passed. With a range of services and products designed to support funeral homes and connect families, Legacy.com is dedicated to honoring every life with dignity and respect.

ABOUT THE FUNERAL SERVICE FOUNDATION – FuneralServiceFoundation.org
Since 1945, the Funeral Service Foundation has served as the philanthropic voice of the funeral profession and has been identified as the charitable arm of the National Funeral Directors Association since 1997. Donors and volunteer leaders’ profession-wide support the Foundation’s mission to lift grieving communities by investing in people and programs that strengthen funeral service. 

We learned of an upcoming webinar that will feature Death Care experts Ryan Thogmartin and John Heald.  Legacy.com’s Heald will be joined by Connecting Directors’ Thogmartin and they will discuss how to  unwrap the features of Legacy.com for your funeral home.

Among other things you can expect to learn you will learn:

1. How to control your brand on the Legacy network
2. How to get 100% of flower sales to your funeral home store
3. How to get at-need and pre-need leads

Legacy.com is mis-understood by many in the profession.  However, they get about 44 million page views per year and are a driving force for funeral homes to partner up with to drive leads to their own websites.  According to Similarweb they rank #1 in their category.  Learn some of the myths during this webinar.

The registration form for this webinar says this, “This is your chance to ask the tough questions and get candid answers. Be part of the conversation that could redefine the future of your funeral home.”

The webinar is free of charge and will be held on Wednesday, March 27 at 2:00 pm Eastern Time (1 pm Central Time).

To learn more and/or register click here.

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