Obituaries are the cornerstone of every funeral home’s online presence. It is estimated that obituary pages receive five times more website visits than all other pages and account for 80% of web traffic for some funeral homes. This steady stream of visitors not only helps families share service details but creates meaningful revenue opportunities through online memorial products such as flowers, trees, gifts, and charitable donations. It also brings new visitors to the funeral home’s website—many of whom may later explore preplanning options, creating valuable preneed opportunities.
While the days of painstakingly typing out obituaries to meet a newspaper word count limit and deadline have all but faded, online obituaries present their own set of challenges for funeral homes today. Finding obituary management tools that ensure these timely notifications are sent out quickly, free of errors and reach as many people as possible has become more critical for funeral home’s that want to say ahead of their competitors.
That’s where the right technology partners make all the difference. ASD offers tools that help funeral homes increase traffic to their obituary pages, reduce data entry errors and streamline processes to ensure information is communicated without delay. In addition to ASD’s obituary management solutions, other companies within the profession provide valuable resources for drafting well-written obituaries, moderating online guest books, distributing obits to local publications and helping funeral homes gain obituary subscribers. When used together, these solutions empower funeral directors to maintain control of their online presence, eliminate inaccuracies, and deliver timely, polished obituary pages that reflect the professionalism of their firm.
Here are 7 tools to help your funeral home with obituary management
1. Obit Texting
This functionality becomes even more powerful when paired with websites that fully support obituary linking. Platforms such as Tukios and FuneralOne already have this capability in place, ensuring obituary links route directly to the funeral home’s website rather than a third-party page. As more website providers work to implement this level of integration, funeral homes gain greater opportunities to connect with visitors, showcase their services, and guide families toward additional resources. The result is stronger engagement, more pre-need opportunities, and increased potential for related offerings such as flowers and condolence gifts.
2. FuneralSync™
While many people prefer to access obituaries online, there is still a large portion of society—particularly older generations—who are less comfortable with technology and prefer to pick up the phone and dial a number to get the information they need. This is why it is so critical for funeral homes to ensure their obituary information is easily accessible to their answering service. ASD’s FuneralSync™ automatically syncs obituary and service details from a funeral home’s website directly into our answering service platform, ensuring Call Specialists always have the most accurate, up-to-date information available to share with callers. This seamless integration helps funeral home staff to ensure every obituary they post online will automatically copy to ASD without any additional effort on their part.
3. AI Obit Writer
AI Obit Writer programs can also be offered directly to families who want to write the obituary themselves but would appreciate guidance and structure during the process. Leading examples include Passare’s AI Obituary Writer, Tribute Tech’s Tribute Obituary Writer, and Tukios’ AI Obituary Writer—all of which are ASD FuneralSync™ partners. By using AI-assisted writing tools alongside solutions like FuneralSync™, funeral homes can greatly streamline obituary management.
4. Obituary Publishing Services
With recently introduced services that include targeted social media, television and broadcast publishing, funeral homes can expand their reach even further while ensuring the obituary is delivered to the audience it’s needed. Being able to submit an obituary once and confidently know it will be published everywhere it needs to be is a major time-saver for funeral home staff. It’s also helps improve your funeral home’s brand recognition if you are able to deliver your obits to as many people in your local area as possible. If your funeral home isn’t already taking advantage of these tools, it may be time to explore how they can simplify your workflow and ensure timely publication across platforms.
5. Death Notice Quick Publisher
How long after a death is reported do you wait to post a pending obituary on your website? While it may seem minor, publishing a death notice early can be a powerful way to show families the value of a funeral. An online notice allows for a guest book where friends and relatives can leave condolences, giving families a tangible sense of support. When they meet with you, these messages can help reinforce the importance of holding a service, easing any doubts they may have. Getting early consent from the family to post the death notice is essential as it also reduces the calls they must field from people just trying to verify if the death occurred.
Obituary management tools that allow for quick publishing of death notices can make all the difference. Many funeral homes mark services as “pending” until they meet with the family. For ASD clients, our Auto Pending setting ensure that any time ASD handles a new death call, the decedent’s name will be listed as a pending service for any callers who inquire. You can also use the ASD Mobile app to manually create a Death Notice directly by tapping on the PDF icon at the bottom of the death message and then tapping ‘Create Service.’ Furthermore, ASD’s FuneralSync™ integrations can push death call details to your case manager, and if your website is linked, the pending service can go live online in just a few taps. The ability to quickly publish a death notice online and provide a space for loved ones to share condolences helps families recognize the importance of honoring their loved one with a meaningful memorial service.
6. AI Online Guestbook Moderator
While it is not the most common call we receive, every so often ASD Call Specialists will speak to a caller who is distraught over something posted on a funeral home’s online obituary guestbook. In the past, funeral professionals often had to choose between manually reviewing every guestbook entry before it appeared online—an approach that required significant time—or allowing messages to publish instantly and risking the possibility of inappropriate or hurtful remarks. Today, new AI-powered tools are changing how funeral homes handle obituary management. These innovations automatically screen guestbook submissions for profanity, offensive language, and spam, allowing only appropriate messages to appear on the page. Solutions offered through ASD FuneralSync partners Tukios and Tribute Technology provide this added layer of protection, helping funeral homes maintain a respectful online environment for families while reducing the burden of manual moderation.
7. Obituary Page Subscribe Button
One of the simplest yet vitally important tools for funeral home obituaries is the addition of a ‘Subscribe’ button to the obituary page. By allowing friends and family to receive instant alerts when a new obituary is posted, you ensure that your notices reach the right people in your community every time. This increases the visibility of your services, encourages more engagement on your website, and positions your funeral home as a trusted, reliable source for important life events. Families and friends can receive instant alerts, keeping them informed and connected, while your funeral home maintains a strong presence online. Most funeral home website providers can easily add this feature and assist with setting up your subscriber list and preferences, making it a simple way to strengthen the relationship between your funeral home and the community you serve.
What do you think is the most important tool for funeral home obituary management? Have you tried any of the solutions on this list? Share in the comments below.
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