SEO has a half-brother and it is on-site search. We call on-site search its half brother simply because it doesn’t get the attention and importance it deserves. Almost 84% of all the current companies do not pay attention to optimizing their on-site searches. This is quite true for almost all second-tier websites who are struggling to step onto the first page of Google search results.
Let us crunch some numbers before forming any opinions about these sites.
- About 30% of the visitors perform on-site searches while shopping
- People who perform on-site searches generate more revenue (13.8% of total revenue) as compared to the ones who do not perform any on-site searches.
- Conversion rate through site search is usually 50% higher than the average conversion rate.
- 25% of all visitors rely upon the site search suggestions for buying products.
Why is on-site search mandatory for all leading ecommerce sites?
On-site search boosts conversion rates and customer revenue within a very short time. Anycustomer who has found your company website through direct Google searches or through suggestions on social media is likely to use an on-site search to look for specific products in your inventory.
The optimization of on-site search depends on quite a few factors and it includes search behavior. This is an umbrella term that encompasses keyword preferences, click patterns and CTR of your potential customers on your website. A close study of customer behavior allows a site-search professional to judge if any alteration in site-search features contributes to better findability of content leading to higher net revenues and conversion rates.
What is findability?
This is an obvious portmanteau of two very common words – find and ability. This is the measurement of how a user finds relevant content on your website. Findability is directly linked to keywords used. Findability can be said to be dependent on CTR and on-site SERP.
Having an on-site search option definitely increases the chances of your user “chancing” upon good content that matches their interest. On-site search definitely helps in ranking websites higher in the SRL and helps with the conversion rate too.
What adds some extra boost to the on-site search dynamics?
Auto-suggest is something that massively boosts the conversion rates and on site sales. Almost all users rely on auto-suggest and auto-completion options for finding new products when they are searching for a new brand or they are not sure of the spellings involved.
This subliminal suggesting feature saves a lot of time and effort, and speeds up the search process. Most users prefer shopping from sites that have auto-suggest and auto-complete features. Their CTR are high and they find higher ranks in the Google SRLs.
Conclusion
Most online shoppers love to look around, compare and contrast the products in their cart with the other similar ones on the site. On-site search enables them to window shop till they make their decision. On-site searches have been shown to increase customer satisfaction and return rates.
Author bio: Derek Iwasiuk heads a national digital SEO firm from Minneapolis. He is a pioneer of SEO training and digital optimization techniques that are currently ranking websites on the first pages of local Google search results. Now follow him on Twitter @Diwasiuk.
