How to Get the Most Out of Ecommerce Site Search

Your ecommerce site has a superpower that can boost sales, increase revenue per customer, and dramatically improve your customers' shopping experience. That superpower is site search.

Not convinced? Let's talk about what site search is, and then we'll show you what it can do for your site.

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What is site search, and how does it work?

Ecommerce site search works like a Google search engine for your ecommerce site. It lets your customers enter an item or search term in the search box and view relevant results from your website.

The benefit of a search tool is that it helps your customers find exactly what they want, when they want it. Most customers use search interfaces when they're ready to buy, so an effective search tool gives them a quick way to find and purchase what they're looking for.

Site search engine features

Ecommerce site search solutions typically share several features:

• Basic site search: Produces search results closely related to the query. The most basic form of site search matches products and pages more or less exactly to the customer's query.






• Semantic search: Adds the ability to handle queries with synonyms and linguistic structures to provide more accurate search results.






• Faceted search: Adds a set of filters, or facets, to the initial search results. A simple implementation of faceted search is the ability to select products in a specific color.






• Product ranking: Lets you give more weight to certain products you want to sell more often or move out of inventory.

These features are becoming increasingly common in ecommerce search engines. Together, they help provide a more comprehensive site search solution.

The power of ecommerce site search

Here are several figures showing how important site search functionality is for your ecommerce site:

• Visitors who use ecommerce site search convert 180% more often than those who don't.






• Visitors who use site search on an ecommerce site account for nearly 14% of all revenue, even though they make up less than 6% of users.

Despite its value, many websites don't offer useful search functionality. As many as 70% of websites don't provide relevant results for product-type synonyms. The website has a search box, but the search tools simply don't work as well as shoppers expect.

How poor site search affects your online store

According to research by Forrester, 68% of visitors leave an ecommerce site after receiving poor search results. This is a major problem because research by BigCommerce indicates that up to 72% of sites fail to satisfy customers through the search box.

If your site is driving visitors away, you can take steps to fix it right away.

Start by reviewing what site search is and how it works, then discover our 12 tips for creating a positive search experience for your users.

Types of search queries

Customers can make a wide variety of search queries for a site search engine to handle. However, it's helpful to break them down into the four most common categories:

• Exact search: This occurs when a customer enters exactly what they want to find in the search box. Exact searches are common, but they can also lead to "no results" pages if the individual keywords don't match specific products.

• Product-type search: Product searches are broader because they don't use a specific brand, but rather a more general term such as "TVs" or "men's shoes." This can provide more matches, but customers may also feel overwhelmed by too many search results.

• Problem-based search: When a customer searches for a solution rather than a product, this is a problem-based search. A site search engine should be able to match products, descriptions, and details with relevant blog posts and help articles to answer these queries.

• Non-product search: Some customers want to find information about your company, such as warranty or return policies, shipping times, or company history. Ecommerce sites can add this information to their search functionality to address these user searches.

Query qualifiers

Qualifiers are additions to searches that intentionally narrow the search results. Customers use them to find specific items, such as "4K TVs."

Here are some of the most common site search qualifiers:

• Feature search: Searches for a specific attribute, such as size.






• Thematic search: Searches for items with a common theme, such as a holiday or event.






• Compatibility search: Useful for technology and electronics, such as USB-C cables.






• Relational search: Searches based on connections between products.






• Subjective search: Searches based on opinions, such as "beautiful picture."

These qualifiers can make searches much more complex. However, a tool that uses the extensive data available from site searches can return very good results even for these complex queries.

How to get started with site search tools

The best place to start improving results for your customers is with the ecommerce site search data you already have. You should try to answer this question: How are people using site search in my ecommerce store?

Based on your existing data, you should try to do a few things:

• Address searches customers have already made: If many searches lead nowhere, try to fix them or find a solution that lets you do so.






• Personalize search results: Use natural language processing and search suggestions to handle more complex queries.






• Set up mobile search features: Since nearly everyone is now mobile-first, this is especially important for B2C brands.

These are just the basic steps. Now, discover 12 additional search optimization strategies so you can adopt ecommerce site search best practices.

Start with these 12 ecommerce search optimization strategies

Now that we've covered some site search basics, let's focus on twelve ways you can improve your site's search experience for your customers.

1. Predictive autocomplete for faster results:
   Add an autocomplete feature to your site's search engine to help customers finish their search queries faster.






2. Search box text to encourage searches:
   Add text to your search box to encourage customers to use the search bar.






3. Search box size:
   Make sure the search box is large enough for typical queries.






4. Implement tooltips, suggestions, and search prompts:
   Help your customers interact with the search tool by offering tooltips and suggestions.






5. Natural language processing for better search results:
   Use a search engine that processes complex queries and understands context to improve the customer experience.






6. Error tolerance to display relevant products:
   Offer autocorrect suggestions during the search process to prevent errors.






7. Sell more products through the search tool:
   Use site search to display relevant products and increase sales.






8. Optimize no-results pages:
   Turn no-results pages into opportunities to redirect customers to other products or search again.






9. Personalize results with machine learning:
   Use user data to personalize search results without being intrusive.






10. Use redirects to promote high-converting pages:
    Redirect customers to specific pages with a high conversion rate.






11. Help mobile users find products faster:
    Optimize site search for mobile devices, including autocomplete and voice search.






12. Use data to make better decisions:
    Use search analytics data to identify high-volume searches with low conversion rates and optimize the results.

Conclusion

Implementing these strategies can transform site search into a powerful tool for improving the customer experience and increasing sales. In addition, when optimizing search on your ecommerce site, it's crucial to consider how your payment platform also plays an important role in the user experience.

Tilopay, with its focus on fast and secure payments, integrates seamlessly with your search system, ensuring that once your customers find what they're looking for, they can complete their purchases smoothly and without hassle. This integration not only improves customer satisfaction but can also help reduce cart abandonment and increase conversions in your online store.