A site search within your company is essential. It's sometimes seen as an afterthought, rather than a real conversion optimization tool. This could lead to a decrease in conversion rates.
What should you know about optimizing your site search? These are some tips to make the most of site search.
What is Internal Site Search? Why does it matter?
An internal site search is a search tool that site owners add to their site. It allows users to search news, topics, and products. This is crucial for eCommerce websites, but it can also be extremely useful for content-based websites.
Home Depot is one of many sites that features their site search prominently at the top.
How site search drives conversions
Users will find the information they need by adding an internal search option to their website. It can also have a negative impact on your bottom line.
Site searchers are more likely to convert
Research by eConsultancy shows that on-site users are 1.8% more likely to convert to regular users.
Screen Pages also found that site search generated significantly more revenue than regular users.
Site search is a great tool, but most sites don't optimize it.
You could be missing revenue if your site search is not working or you don't make the most of it.
How to drive conversions with internal site search
Customers will simply move elsewhere if they don't get the results they want from your site search, or worse, if they aren't able to find links to your competitors' sites.
It's important to pay attention to your internal search engine and make changes to improve results and drive conversions. Here are some tips.
The “Spearfishers”, be sure to catch them
Forrester Research conducted an extensive study on site search's importance for retailers. It found that businesses should concentrate on “spearfishers”, those who visit a site looking for a particular product. The study found that 43 percent of visitors click on a search box immediately, with searchers being two to three times more likely than others to convert.
This means that users should be able to search for the information they need quickly and easily via push-button. Sites like Amazon and Google can be commended for making the search box prominently visible to users.
Add Autocomplete
Swarovski.com will give you suggestions if there is no product in mind. I entered “blue” to get 10 suggestions.
Kohl's website even goes further and recommends (and shows) specific products based upon a basic search, before the user hits enter.
You're helping the user to decide whether to suggest specific products or show top results. You are basically allowing your users to grow their product suggestions and then letting them branch out. This will bring you one step closer to a sale.
Users can filter internal site search results
Nothing is more frustrating than seeing a million results from a search and then having to sort through all the noise. U.K. website DIY.com allows users to filter search results by using a variety of filters such as price, availability, category, and more. This allows users to narrow down their search results and determine the best time and price.
Design Dedicated Landing Pages
Based on data from your site search engine you might want to raise certain products or delist others. To help products stand out amongst the sea of similar items, you might create a landing page.
L.L. Bean offers custom landing pages that include product details as well as weather/activity information, additional features and the technology behind it.
Offer Relevant Recommendations
Sometimes products are discontinued or go out of stock despite all your efforts. What happens if a user is directed to those pages? It is easy to send them to the “product not available page” page. Instead, offer users relevant suggestions and recommendations.
Bonus points for combining products in a “Frequently Bought together” option.
Improve Mobile Search
Mobile users are important. Statista reports that more than half of all internet traffic is generated by mobile devices. Mobile devices can be difficult to use and misspellings can lead users to “Not Found” pages, even if they have the product.
For ease-of-use and quick loading, test your site search on a variety of devices. Mobile users won't wait for 1000+ products to load on the results page. Limit the number of suggestions, and make sure that your search bar works well on mobile devices.
Search tools for internal sites
You now know what site visitors expect from a highly-performing search engine and how you can use it to increase conversion. How do you make it happen? You have many site search engines that are free, but this is the one you should not skimp on.
These are some of the most promising sites search platforms.
Doofinder
Doofinder has created a cutting-edge site searching tool that is proven to increase sales and conversions on e-commerce websites. Doofinder combines artificial intelligence with machine learning to offer a seamless and efficient search experience that users can use while helping sites sell more.
Doofinder offers both a free trial version and a premium version. This makes it even more appealing for users.
Swiftype
Swiftype can be integrated into many popular platforms such as Shopify, Zendesk and Magento. It's an intelligent search engine that offers great relevance and fast indexing. If you are interested in trying the product, pricing starts at $79/month. A trial is also available.
SearchNode
SearchNode is designed for e-commerce sites. It integrates with popular shopping cart platforms like OSCommerce, Woo Commerce and OpenCart. With a JS code snippet, it can be up-and-running in just five minutes. SearchNode's main advantage is their ability to search for sites in multiple languages.
SearchSpring
SearchSpring, an enterprise-grade website search platform, combines search engine and merchandising tools in one package. It includes common features such as auto-complete and product recommendations. Users can also use product quizzes/product searchers to help them find the best product for their needs.
You can also access a variety of eCommerce tools such as navigation, personalization and advanced reporting. Prices start at $499
Commonly Asked Questions – Internal Site Search
What is internal site searching?
Site search (sometimes called internal site search) is a function of a search engine that allows users to search for products or content on a particular page.
What are the advantages of adding site search functionality to my website?
Site search allows users to quickly find relevant content and products on any given site. Site search can be used to drive conversions as well as provide data for site owners about what products customers are most interested in.
Does adding a search bar on my site help with SEO?
Search bars have no specific SEO benefits. They can improve user experience and keep people on your site which is beneficial for SEO.
Google Site Search is a useful tool?
Google's Site Search feature has been retired in 2018. There are other options available, such as SearchSpring or SearchWP.
Internal Site Search Conclusion
When it comes to finding new ways to increase your conversion rate, site search is something you shouldn't overlook. You can make conversions and revenue skyrocket by giving customers more control over the results.
Although search site does not have any direct SEO benefits it can improve the user experience which can in turn impact all of your marketing efforts.
Are you a site search expert? What are your thoughts on what makes a site search engine a great one? Please share your views with us below in the comments!
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By: Neil Patel
Title: Internal Site Search is Killing Your Conversion Rate (Here’s How to Fix It)
Sourced From: neilpatel.com/blog/site-search-killing-your-conversion/
Published Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2021 19:57:00 +0000