The Benefits of Site Search

SITE SEARCHBy. Jordan Burleson

Digital Marketing Strategist

BENEFITS OF SITE SEARCH

HAVE YOU EVER

Searched for something online? Clicked a link to a promising

website Land on a webpage that doesn’t

quite answer your questions?

HAVE YOU EVER

Navigated to a site that you know had good information but cant find it through the sites navigation?

WHY YOU NEED SITE SEARCH

According to a recent Econsultancy blog on site search ●Visitor's convert at

4.63% vs. websites’ average of 2.77%

WHY YOU NEED SITE SEARCH The average website

has over 50 pages or more.

Finding what you need with similar content on multiple pages can be tricky.

Search engines don’t always get your searches on the right page.

SITE SEARCH BENEFITS YOUR CONSUMERS

SITE SEARCH HELPS VISITORS Stay longer on the site Find what they are looking for Make transactions Micro-Conversions Contact you Encourage repeat transactions

Many consumers today will go straight to the site search before navigating for an answer.

SITE SEARCH IS BENEFICIAL BECAUSE

It satisfies the “ I want it now” problem for today's searchers

Consumers expect site search on today’s websites

It also reduces bounce and exit rates Increase time on site It can suggest related content the searcher

may be interested in

SITE SEARCH IS GREAT FOR ECOMMERCE

DID YOU KNOW? On ecommerce sites, up to 30% of users will

use the search box to show intent to buy. All by typing searches for product names,

product codes and product categories. Ecommerce sites can take advantage of

filtering options to narrow down “Clothing” to “Men’s” and then even further to “Dress Pants.”

WHERE SHOULD SITE SEARCH BOXES GO?

WHERE SHOULD SITE SEARCH GO?

Site search boxes should be placed in a prominent position on the page and visible throughout the entire site.

Ideally the site search bar should be positioned near the top navigation.

By using text in the search box before the area is clicked, you can help give search parameters and advice to help users to click.

Make sure the text disappears when users click the search box. This can provide a poor user experience if they have to manually delete text.

BENEFITS OF AUTO-SUGGEST IN SITE SEARCH

Saves time in the search process

Avoids incorrect spellings

Ensures consumers receive better search results

SITE SEARCH BENEFITS FOR ECOMMERCE

Improved Sales- Effective searches allow shoppers to easily find products when they want to make a purchase

Increased Time on Site- Easier site search means deeper navigation into site

Customer Retention & Loyalty- Satisfied customers = Return customers and positive reviews

SITE SEARCH ALLOWS BETTER ANALYTICS

HOW DO YOU PROVE SITE SEARCH’S WORTH?

Our preferred Analytics partner, Google Analytics, offers a site search analysis feature.

The site search analysis feature will allow you to dig deeper into the mind of your consumers and improve your website.

HOW TO SET UP SITE SEARCH Click the Admin tab at

the top right of any screen in Analytics and click the account that contains the profile you want to set up Site Search for.

Use the Profile menu to select the profile you want then click the Profile Settings sub-tab.

HOW TO SET UP SITE SEARCH CONT.

Under Site Search Settings, select Do Track Site Search.

In the Query Parameter field, enter the word or words that designate an internal query parameter, such as “term,search,query”. Sometimes the word is just a letter, such as “s” or “q”. Enter up to five parameters, separated by commas. For information about identifying query parameters, see Identifying Search and Query Parameters for Your Site.

Select whether or not you want Google Analytics to strip the query parameter from your URL. Note that this strips only the parameters you provided, and not any other parameters in the same URL. This has the same functionality as excluding URL Query Parameters in your Main Profile: if you strip the query parameters from your Site Search Profile, you don’t have to exclude them again from your Main Profile.

HOW TO SET UP SITE SEARCH CONT.

Click Apply

HOW TO SET UP SITE SEARCH CONT.

Select whether or not you use categories, such as drop-down menus to refine a site search. ● If you select No, you are

finished. Click Save Changes.

If you select Yes: ● In the Category

Parameter field, enter the letters that designate an internal query category such as ‘cat, qc,’.

● Select whether or not you want Google Analytics to strip the category parameters from your URL. Note that this strips only the parameters you provided, and not any other parameters in the same URL. This has the same functionality as excluding URL Query Parameters in your Main Profile: if you strip the category parameters from your Site Search Profile, you don’t have to exclude them again from your Main Profile.

TRACKING SITE SEARCH

Usage Report Shows you how many people use the site search feature vs. those that do not. It also gives you insight into what percent of search users make a purchase so you can compare ROI.

SITE SEARCH: USAGE REPORT

SITE SEARCH: TERMS This report shows you

what keywords people are using, what items they may not be able to find within your site navigation

This gives insight into what products are missing and keywords that need more focus

SUMMARY A great site search software can help you:

●Retain customers ●Increase sales ●Track under-performing pages and

keywords

HOW TO GET STARTED

Beacon recommends two great options for integrating site search into your ecommerce platform. Google’s Custom Search which provides has a free and

inexpensive option for small and medium sized businesses Nextopia, a partner of Beacon which offers an affordable

option for larger businesses and support integration through a variety of platforms