Site Search Is Truly a Double Edged Sword

Site search is an interesting area that is getting some attention these days because of the new “importance” that Google is giving it. Mike Moran does a real nice job in his Biznology blog of looking at site search, the pros and cons of Google featuring it in its results and then some of the basics that we all should be considering regarding our own site search functions.

This is an intriguing area to me because it is very overlooked and undervalued by nearly everyone. I’m not sure why that is the case but it is. I can’t tell you how many times I have been flabbergasted by the terrible quality of search results once I get to a site. As someone interested in optimizing client sites for search results via the main internet engines it only seems to make sense that an internal site search function should be at its best to further enhance the overall experience that the visitor has.

Here are two major points that I see that should be seriously considered when it comes to on site search functionality and performance.

First, if you have worked hard to make your site attractive and you place importance on navigation and usability there is no better way to sabotage all that great work than having a terrible site search experience for your visitor. Personally, I get so frustrated with many of the larger ecomm sites out there in particular when the site search function returns results that just completely miss the mark. At that point, I immediately downgrade the overall site and the company’s image because this is a detail that says a lot about how they care about their visitor.

Second, the more you get the user to depend on your internal site search you obviously create a trust that is hard to break (especially since the likelihood of your visitor being shocked by your great site search function is pretty great). Now, from an internet marketer’s point of view there is probably no greater way to gain insight into your visitors’ true needs. People get to websites after refining their search and they continue the process when they get somewhere that could possibly fulfill their need. This data is amazing to see what people are really thinking and what are they really looking for. You can take this data and build out your site to meet these needs and even apply the lessons to your SEO and PPC campaigns.

SMB Takeaway: Make sure your on site search function is giving the absolute best experience to your visitor so you can win their trust, learn their true needs and turn them into repeat customers.

Thanks and have a great day!