Compared to other metrics, eCommerce website search is often overlooked as something that will be improved “soon.” It’s not as important as landing pages and customized emails.
But if you take steps to improve your site search, you can increase the number of people who buy from you and make them happier. Happy shoppers will come back and buy from you again and tell others about their experiences.
So, how can you search your site more than bring up results? Check out how these stores make search more user-friendly, customizable, and interactive:
Here are 8 best tips to drag up your eCommerce website to search engines
1. Paying attention to the search bar
FootSmart makes it easier to find its search bar by giving it a different color than the rest of the eCommerce websites.
Your eCommerce website journey starts with the search bar, an often-overlooked part of the conversion puzzle. One way to draw attention to it is to put it in a different color than the rest of your site. By placing text in the box, like “Enter keyword,” visitors can see what they need to do at a glance. Add a button that says “Search” or “Find” and some stylized arrows to show movement, and you’re off to a good start.
When you search FootSmart and look at the results page, you’ll see that each product has its cell with its name, price, and ratings. On the left, you can choose different ways to sort the results. This is a great way to show off eCommerce products, but it could be even better if the user could see a closer look at the product or see it from different angles without having to click.
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Using analytics, FootSmart could find search terms that weren’t doing well and change them. By improving their eCommerce website search and making other necessary changes, their conversion rates went up by 82%.
Key Takeaway: Look for ways to make your ecommerce website search stand out from your color scheme. Follow best practices making sure the search box and button make it as easy as possible to search and get results.
2. Sorting the page of search results
Whether a user clicks or leaves depends on the search results page. And if you have a good eCommerce website search engine, you can (and should) change it a lot to fit the needs of your target audience. For example, the site search for Caché, a store that sells clothes and accessories for women, shows that you can type in broad terms like “blue” to get a list of products that you can then sort by type of clothing, size, popularity/price, and other factors. Shoppers can also sort items whether they are on sale or new to the store.
Caché’s search stands out because users can sort by sale items, new items, and more.
People now expect the results of their product searches to be able to be filtered, so letting them sort by size, color, or style is no longer enough. Look for ways to raise the bar by allowing shoppers to include (or not include) sale/clearance items, new items, and other popular categories.
3. Dealing with “Long Tail” searches
Long-tail semantic searches help a search engine go further by helping it figure out what the user is looking for. For example, someone who searches for “women’s long sleeve black tee size M” is much more likely to buy than someone who looks at “women’s tees.” A study in Retail Integration Online found that only 2% of shopping carts are abandoned on eCommerce websites with a semantic-based search engine, while as many as 40% of shopping carts are abandoned on sites with a simple text search.
Shoppers want better search results, and when it comes to relevance, an eCommerce website search that is friendly to semantics will always beat plain text competitors.
4. Using the Smart Autocomplete feature
As mentioned by ghostwriting websites autocomplete is another great way for shoppers to save time when searching an eCommerce website, and it’s getting smarter. Printerland is a U.K. store that sells printers and accessories. They recently worked with SLI Systems, an eCommerce websites search provider, to make their site’s search smarter and add autocomplete features. So, their overall conversion rate went up, and now they get four times more money from each visitor than they did before. Also, customers who end up on a page suggestion from autocomplete are six times more likely to buy than those who don’t.
Rich autocomplete search on Printerland shows smart results and product pages
Autocomplete for site searches is a good idea if you have many products because it helps customers find what they want visually (or multiple products under the same brand). Adding product pictures and prices is the cherry on the site search cake.
5. Adding Smarter Breadcrumbs
There aren’t many things more annoying than a site search that shows useless breadcrumbs like Home > Search > Your Search Result. By letting people filter their search results with breadcrumbs, they can choose the features they want without clearing their search and starting over.
Kohl’s automatically updates the search results when users click a checkbox in the sidebar. And it goes one step further by letting them remove options by clicking on the breadcrumbs. This helps them get more accurate results without starting over with their search.
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Don’t force people to look through a narrow tunnel of search results. Let them check, uncheck, clear, and fine-tune their search results to make a more accurate search that will lead to more sales.
6. Set up a partner program
With an affiliate program, other websites can tell their visitors about your products and services. In exchange for a link back to your website, you will have to pay that site a commission that you choose. For example, if you have an eCommerce site that sells hiking gear, many hiking-related websites and forums will be happy to share your location with their members.
7. Audit Your Website Content
The content on your home and other pages is a key part of improving your SEO and making more sales. During a content audit, your audience, their pain points, and how your content helps or hurts your chances of ranking in the organic search results are all taken into account.
8. Spend money on advertising
You can buy ads on Google Ads, Facebook, and Instagram, just three of the many social media sites. The benefit of buying traffic is that people will visit your website immediately. But some keywords are more popular than others, which can make a big difference in how much a paid advertising campaign costs.
Conclusion
There are only a few semantic search companies that let website owners use their technology (to incorporate it into their site). Users want more from their search engine results, so it’s easy to see that smarter search will soon become a top conversion booster and should get more attention.
