Site search gives the user the power to control their own User Experience
Some people love using site search facilities. In fact, for some people – it’s all they use. Websites such as Amazon and Ebay have taught us that the fastest way to find what we’re looking for is to simply type it into the search box!
One of the reasons why such Users prefer using search over navigation menus, is because it gives them greater control over their online experience. This way, they don’t have to conform to the way you describe things in terms of navigation. This way, they’re in control of their own User Experience and can navigate using language that suits them.
Super-successful websites follow norms and conventions
Ok, so this is bound to be a really controversial statement! I’m not suggesting that your website shouldn’t be innovative in its design or the experience it provides for its users. All I’m suggesting is, that people will arrive at your website with expectations that stem from their wider online experience.
If you stray too much from these norms and conventions (such as “ecommerce websites have search facilities!”), then you will render the Users’ learned experience as being useless. This has the potential to slow a user down, create frustration or confusion, and ultimately limit your conversion rate.
In this landing page review, I’ll replay one of my own recent online shopping experiences so you can see exactly why site search will improve your conversion rate.
Learn why failing to include a Site Search facility could be hurting your Conversion Rate…
2 Minute Review Items |
Ticks are good, Crosses are bad! |
|---|---|
| Website identity and purpose is obvious | |
| Look and feel matches target audience expectations | |
| Navigation is obvious and intuitive | |
| Site controls look like controls with obvious functions | |
| Feedback is appropriate | |
| Hints, help, and error recovery match requirements | |
| Images enhance communication | |
| Language matches User roles and tasks | |
| Legibility, font styles, sizes, consistency, formatting | |
| Content prominence supports Key Micro Conversion |
Summary of the video
Site search has become a staple convention that the majority of Users expect to see on ecommerce websites. The first website in the video didn’t have a site search facility which is what caused me to leave the site and return to Google. By including a site search facility, the second example website will be enjoying a much better conversion rate because:
- It gives people power to control their User Experience. Your users have expectations and preferences which they have learned from previous experience with other websites. By not including a site search facility, you are limiting the Users’ behavioural options. Conversely, by including a site search option, you are enabling your Users to find what they need in their own way.
- It can backup your navigation options. It’s quite likely that your visitors will use different words to describe your products and services. This means that the way you have grouped and labelled these items in terms of navigation may differ from what your Users are expecting to see. A site search facility can turn the ‘they don’t have what I need so I’m leaving’ response into ‘I can’t see what I need so I’ll try the search box’ response.
- It can help you to understand your users. Understanding the needs of your Users is the first step towards exploding your Conversion Rate. In many ways, your site search facility is the best customer feedback ‘widget’ you could ever hope for as this will show you exactly what people are looking for and the language they use to find it.
What are you going to do now?
If you sell things online and don’t have a search facility on your site, then call your web developer immediately! If you do have a site search facility, then consider integrating Google Site Search and hooking this up with your Google Analytics. This will give you amazing insights such as:
- What keywords your visitors are using to find your products
- Words that you might not be targeting in your Pay Per Click campaigns
- Content that you didn’t even know people were interested in (and don’t currently have on your site)
Visit AlistApart to learn more about internal site search.
