10 tips for an effective Ecommerce Site Search function

“Visitors converted at 4.63% versus the websites’

average of 2.77%, which is 1.8 times more effective.

Consequently, visitors using search contributed 13.8% of the revenues”

1. The most obvious but also the most overlooked is to make

sure the site search bar is easy to locate, looks easy to use and is in keeping with the general theme of your site.

2. Implement a smart site search tool that provides you with the functionality to be able to deliver an engaging search experience. Don’t rely on the standard search function offered by your ecommerce platform.

3. Install a search tool that offers auto-complete,

handles common misspellings and makes it easy

for customers to find products with synonyms.

4. Use a site search tool that incorporates past

behavioural data of the individual and therefore, displays only relevance to that individual.

5. Use an agile search tool that offers a

detailed reporting tool, enabling you to be proactive for example if you see that one of your top selling items is running low on stock, you could push a similar item to show ahead or in place of that item.

6. Offer an easy path to non-product areas such as customer service. For example, if the customer types “returns”, “delivery” or “twitter” then you can attach those terms to a re-direct URL.

7. Display product categories and brand suggestions alongside items in the search results. Providing customers with multiple, relevant options is key.

8. Ensure all search functions are responsive and make sure the search function operates exactly the same way across the various technology platforms.

9. On the search result page, allow the customer to

filter their results, configure what they would like to see in the future and also offer a drop down bar so that results can be organised for example from priced high to low.

10. Try at all costs to reduce zero result shown. This can be a huge frustration to potential customers so firstly, offer a recommendation even if zero results are found and secondly, use a solution such as PureClarity that will report on zero result shown, allowing you to very quickly create a new search rule cancelling out the zero result.

If you are unsure of how well your ecommerce site search is

working for you simply request a site search audit by emailing annabel.paton@pureclarity.com.