Last Updated on September 17, 2026
The honest answer, on the published evidence, is: mostly through people, checked through screens. Every channel below is documented, and each asks something slightly different of the firm.
Recommendation and prior use, still first
The CMA’s investigation found most families follow a personal recommendation or return to the director they or their family used before, and SunLife’s 2025 report adds that 45% of the deceased had themselves specified which director to use. This channel is earned over decades and cannot be bought. What has changed is that it is now verified: the name passed across the kitchen table gets searched before it gets called, so the recommendation and the website are one system.
Search and, increasingly, AI answers
The night-time search is where visibility is decided. In Whito’s August 2026 study, the business’s own website was cited in 90% of Google AI Mode answers about local services and Google profiles in 81%, while Trustpilot barely appeared. For a funeral firm this means the essentials are the same two shelves as any local service, held to a higher standard of clarity: a site whose price list, people and choices are readable, and a profile whose hours and phone number are true at 2am.
Hospitals, hospices and care settings, within the rules
Families often ask the professionals around a death for a name. The CMA Order is precise here: no payments or gifts to care homes, hospices, hospitals or palliative care providers that could reasonably be understood to incentivise referrals. Presence in these settings is therefore earned only by relationship and conduct, being the firm that handles transfers respectfully at 3am, returns calls, and never leaves a ward waiting. That reputation circulates by itself, and it is the one channel no budget touches.
Directories and comparison, the smallest channel
Price comparison never took hold here the way the CMA hoped: 63% of families still do not compare. The paid directories publish their rates, Funeral Guide at £99 plus VAT a month per location at its published price, and MuchLoved, a charity, offers funeral director packages from £40 a month with a free option for small independents, both read 4 September 2026. Worth considering once the owned channels are right, never before, and note the Order requires disclosure of ties to comparison websites.
Common questions
How do families choose a funeral director?
Mostly by personal recommendation or previous family use, per the CMA’s investigation, with 45% of the deceased having specified a director themselves per SunLife. The recommendation is then usually verified online before the call.
Do people search online for funeral directors?
Yes, especially at night and by the family member tasked with checking. Whito’s August 2026 research found engines citing the business’s own website in 90% of local answers. A clear site and an accurate Google profile are the essential pair.
Can funeral directors pay hospices or care homes for referrals?
No. The CMA Order bans payments or gifts to care homes, hospices, hospitals or palliative care providers that could reasonably be understood as incentivising referrals. Presence in those settings is earned by conduct alone.
Before you spend any of this, check what the machines can read
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