Design / Usability

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On-site Search Tools Can Hurt (or Help) Your Business Todd Follansbee WebMarketingResources.net, - Aug 21, 2007

by Todd Follansbee, Web Marketing Resources

Typically people search a site because they are:

• Impatient and want quick results,
• Confused by the site and lost, or
• Expect that site search will be the best tool to find what they need -- effective and comprehensive.

Recently a metropolitan area restaurant specializing in sandwiches implemented an on-site search tool, thinking it would help their clients find foods quickly. Instead it hurt business because people used a variety of names to describe sandwiches. They searched for subs, submarines, hoagies, wraps, grinders, torpedoes, Poor Boys, you name it. Too often they found nothing. The restaurant could have easily filled these needs. If you had walked in the front door and asked for any of these options, the counter personnel would have understood and handled your order perfectly. But the website was a disaster. The search tool was doing its job perfectly and returning the correct results -- but only when given the "right" search terms.

There are several important lessons for using search features on a site. First, make sure the tool you use is adequate for the job. It must be able to:

• Record the search terms that people enter so you can review them at your convenience.
• "Map" results to existing and new terms. The hungry Cajun from New Orleans should be able to enter "Poor Boy" and find it mapped to the sandwich results, instead getting a "nothing found" message.

Next, place your search box in one of the two places people expect to find it::

• Top right corner, or
• Near the navigation bar at the top -- either the far left or far right columns.

Make the field large enough to handle most inquiries without the term having to "scroll." Follow the convention of the "Go" button to the left or right, along with the term "enter search" in the search field. Of course, make sure that "enter search" disappears as soon as the first character is typed in the field and returns after "go" is clicked or enter is tapped.

Once you've installed a capable tool:

• Review your search logs. You may find many people entering "peanut butter and bacon." You may not offer it now, but you could easily add it to the menu and gain new business instantly.
• Map error entries. Map misspellings as well as variations on names of your sandwiches so they return the intended results.
• Improve your site. Monitor what people are searching for and use that information to improve your site. Visitors may be asking for information which should be have been obvious, such as contact information, basic product categories, or your location. Even though these may be obvious to you, if others are searching, consider modifying the site to improve the visibility of these items.

Many folks won�t come back if they don�t find what they need, so you may only get one chance to make a sale. The second sale to a customer is usually nearly twice the amount of the first sale, so keep customers happy. With an adequate site search tool, you'll increase conversions, improve customer satisfaction (and loyalty), and take more money to the bank.

Todd Follansbee is founder of WebMarketingResources.net. He is a usability and persuasion consultant who has been testing user behaviors on web sites for over 10 years. His methodology for improving conversions recently won a top ten award in Entrepreneur Magazine. For a limited time, Todd is offering a special small business one hour site review and consult for only $125. Improve your user experience and your bottom line. For more details visit here. http://www.webmarketingresources.net/reviewoffer.html