Using Site Search as a Marketing Tool

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Hugo Montgomery
8 years ago
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1 Using Site Search as a Marketing Tool Most websites have a small elongated rectangle with the word search inside of it usually placed at the top of the page. Yes. The search bar. Does anybody use it? Why is it there? Could websites live without it? Could websites use site search more effectively? Search bars can come in handy (theoretically) on large content-rich sites, and some people do use them. But most people don t. Why? Because today, site search is broken. Search bars are generally ignored, and no one makes too much of a fuss until they can t find what they re looking for or it takes too long. Website owners tend disregard site search, and invest more in navigation than in their site search. Thanks to Google, expectations of what a search experience should be like are high. In other words, we know what search can be. But the current reality on websites is something very different. Even Google-powered site search tools don t live up to the Google gold standard.

2 Where Search Has Excelled When online shoppers can t find what they re looking for, they can t buy it. This simple truth has fueled serious innovation in the ecommerce industry. Out of basic business necessity, much effort, research and resources have made ecommerce site search an online shop s principle conversion tool. (1) Advanced technologies such as natural language processing (NLP) and semantics allow users to describe in their way what they want instead of having to know the right product keywords or phrases. This has made online shopping easier and more satisfying for the user and more profitable for the vendor. As a result, 71% of serious shoppers use the search function to find products. 90% of actual buyers use the search function to locate products. And online stores implementing quality search functionality can expect a 20% increase in sales. (2) How Site Search Can Help in Service-Oriented Industries Service-oriented organizations such as hospitals, universities, large law firms, and city governments have at least two things in common: a lot of content and data published on their websites and a need to let visitors easily access information and easily connect to relevant departments and people. Using Site Search to Boost Business The more content a site has, the more relevant it is to implement site search that works well. Users should be given an effective way of avoiding complexity. This will prevent frustrated visitors, which is always beneficial for the organization. Usability guru Jakob Nielsen once said, search is the user s lifeline for mastering complex websites. (3) Large service-oriented organizations in particular should embrace and implement this concept. Whether it s boosting business or streamlining public-facing bureaucratic systems, when designed properly, site search can do for service organizations what it has done for ecommerce. The Win-Win of Effective Ranking One effective technique is using ranking rules. Effective ranking can give users the results they want and organizations control over where users go on the site. Site search that s mapped and ranked well in relation to a site s content increases conversions. Basically, site search that works the way it should is good for business. The site becomes more accessible and useful and gives visitors a positive image of the organization, which can bring long-term dividends. Search & Connect - What are you looking for? General Info Customers Solutions POWERED BY 29 Results Register for Beta Sign up Product Information Contact Optimizing Your Site Product info 25% off registration fee Learn More

3 Improving the User s Experience A good site search experience should keep users from having to rely too heavily on navigation. While organizations may prefer that visitors stay longer browsing their sites, what s ultimately important is driving action. The general benefit for service organizations of making site search useful is that it can dramatically improve a site s overall user experience. This alone can keep people coming back, which is good for everybody. Paying close attention to the visual presentation of the results page is crucial for encouraging users to continue using the tool. Results should be succinct with easy-to-read text, a beautiful design, and results that are as minimal as they are accurate. Exploiting the Value in Site Search Google has shown us through their proven business model how target marketing and monetization can happen using search results. (4) While we are far away from site search engines accessing personal data, a great deal of business value can be gained by exploiting user search queries. Organizations can use search queries not only to give site visitors the information they want. This is a basic function that any well built site search engine should provide. But organizations can also use queries to display promoted results, rank strategically, site engagement and conversion opportunities organizations could not have achieved otherwise.

4 10 Tips to Improve Your Generic Site Search Tool Make it stand out or it will be ignored Make the results page a great experience and visually interesting with photos pick a tool that allows you to show rich content and optimized results. Take search into consideration when you build your website or a new website directory the way you place structured content, such as courses and employees would have a great impact on the quality of search results. When picking a site search tool, pick one that can do the following: Show suggestions, correct misspellings, recommend results based on a part of a word Improve user experience by picking a site search that can search as you type Pick a site search that allows you to add ranking rules so your website visitors will first find what s important to you and your organization Never show 0 search results to web visitors if you don t have a result, recommend and show something else that is relevant Use search analytics to improve website content: For example, 0 search results can tell you that web visitors are looking for content that you don t have. Add more keywords! For example, if someone searches for donations, make sure you also add a word like gifts. Add invisible keywords to your site for better results Any time is a good time for a site search upgrade no need to wait for a site upgrade. (5) In fact, upgrading your site search can help you overcome your website shortcomings, if you don t have the budget right now for a major website overhaul. Sources: (1) Upgrade Your Web Site s Search Engine and Upgrade Your Sales, Business Insider: (2) Google (3) The Nielsen Norman Group: (4) Why Google's Business Model Works, US News: (5) SphereUp:

5 About SphereUp SphereUp is an innovative site search company providing active site search to service-driven organization. SphereUp Smart Search boosts conversion, increases website engagement, helps organizations promote content and control web traffic flow, and improves customer satisfaction. For more information, visit:

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