We already know that newspapers have an incredible reach in many communities across the world. As we shared in a previous blog post, our newspaper partners’ online presence reaches over 22% of all people over the age of 55 (more than twice the Internet average). But, do those people actually read the obituary section? To find out, we partnered with Millward Brown, an independent research firm, to conduct a study measuring total time on site for 43 newspapers and their obituary sections over the course of 24 months.

The Obituary Section Drives Total Time on Site

The results showed that the obituary section is the most engaging section of a newspaper website, this was true for Legacy.com-affiliated sites and non-Legacy.com partners. In fact, in newspapers not partnering with Legacy, readers spent an average of 21 minutes on-site, with 12 minutes of total time spent on site in the obituary section (Fig. 1); and for newspapers affiliated with Legacy, readers spent an average of 32 minutes on-site, with 22 minutes of the total time spent on site in the obituary section (Fig. 2).

Put the Power of the Newspaper Obit Section to Work

What does this data mean for your funeral home? That your local newspaper’s obituary section is critically important to your digital marketing strategy. No other place online has the level of targeted reach or user engagement that your newspaper’s online obituary section has.

Luckily, your content fits right into that section. And, it’s a win-win scenario for you and your families: your families can share their loved one’s life story and get the word out about their passing to the most extensive network of people, and you can put your funeral branding on that extensive network.

Want to Learn how to extend your reach even further? Learn more: