Last Updated on March 29, 2022 by AlexJames
When people land on your e-commerce website, they struggle to find the product they are actually looking for. Improving the site search functionality can help users find the exact product which will eventually increase the chances of getting more leads and sales.
If you are running an online store, you should put your best efforts into improving the search functionality to stay ahead of the curve. If truth be told, an internal search engine has a significant impact on e-commerce sales and search engine rankings. A recent survey suggests that more than 30% of online shoppers use internal search to find the desired product on the e-commerce site.
Unfortunately, many e-commerce site owners (approximately 60%) don’t focus on this important site’s feature, which will create a negative user experience, low conversions, and a decrease in SE rankings. A study suggests that an efficient search feature that helps people find the desired product has the potential to increase the conversion rate.
Let’s explore how e-commerce marketers can improve the site search feature and follow some of the best e-commerce sites search best practices.
Create an Identifiable Search Box
It is one of the best e-commerce site search practices that your website design company should pay attention to making it more effective. When shoppers land on the website, they look for the search button. Keeping the search box at an easily identifiable and prominent position will make it easier for users to search the information. Make it clearly visible and use a magnifying icon to highlight it. Use the conventional location, such as the centre of the page or on the right side.
Add Some Text to the Box
Make sure the search box has an open text field so that users can easily type the search query. Adding search here, entering the product name, or brand is a sensible approach to speed up the search process and improve the user experience.
Offer Visual Search
Adding a visual search option is a good idea to provide users with a convenient option to search the query. Users can upload the image to the search engine, and it will show all the similar products. Many shoppers use visual search options when they are looking for the actual product.
Voice Search
The trend of voice search is getting huge popularity as users find it the easiest way to find the desired information without typing a single word. According to a recent survey, 40% of consumers use voice search to order products. You can incorporate voice search functionality to your eCommerce website and provide the most accurate results to improve the user experience.
Add Filters to Refine Search
By adding filters, you can make the e-commerce site search more user-friendly and provide the most accurate search results. It is a great option for e-commerce stores that offer a variety of products. When you provide a filter option, you can provide more relevant search results to the shoppers. This feature helps shoppers a lot and makes a significant improvement in the conversion rate.
Focus on Mobile Search
With the advent of smartphones, the trend of online shopping has become an essential mainstay in this era. People are using their mobile devices to make online purchases. A well-optimized search function for mobile sites is a great idea to satisfy the specific needs of mobile shoppers. When it comes to mobile screens, there is a limited screen space and users can see a maximum of 2 products per screen, which makes online shopping a difficult task. It is advised to make the mobile search bar visible so you can deliver an outstanding user experience and drive higher conversions.
Embrace Natural Language Processing
Many tech giants, such as Amazon, Facebook, Apple – to name a few, are making the most of natural language processing (NLP). Your e-commerce brand can also integrate NLP technology into your site search and get better results in terms of conversions and sales. When shoppers type a search query and they get a relevant answer, they will definitely complete the purchase. With a natural language processing interface, you can save a lot of time and effort for the shoppers and speed up the purchasing process.
Provide the most Accurate Results
Visitors don’t want to scroll through multiple products just to find the one they are actually looking for. If the product they are interested in is not at the top of the search results, they will definitely go to your competitor’s website. It is important to make sure that your e-commerce site search functions well and displays the relevant results.
Add Review Filter to Site Search
It’s no secret that reviews can make your e-commerce brand authentic and give credibility to your product. A study suggests that more than 88% of consumers trust online reviews more than branded content. People decide to choose a product by checking the quality of the reviews, so make sure your website includes authentic reviews. User-generated reviews play a great role in persuading people to buy the product. In short, reviews are important for getting more conversions and creating a credible brand image.
If your products get reviews, implementing the review filtering option into the site search function is a great idea to allow potential customers to see what are your best-performing products. Adding reviews and user ratings as a filtering option is a sensible strategy to make people believe you are offering awesome products and people are satisfied with the products.
Optimize Site Search for Synonyms and Typos
According to a survey, more than 15% of e-commerce searches display the “no results found” message. The situation occurs when a shopper uses a synonym instead of the exact product name or makes a spelling mistake. Incorporating a smart site search functionality into your e-commerce site allows you to optimize the site search and provide suggestions based on the context of the search query.
Concluding Thoughts
All in all, the ultimate goal of internal site search is to provide users with the desired information and products they are interested in. Providing users with accurate and quicker search results will create a positive user experience and encourage shoppers to spend more time on your online store. Creating a responsive and user-friendly site search experience can drive more conversions, close more e-commerce sales and make your e-commerce store a big hit.
