I find that it's easy for website owners to overlook a valuable avenue for optimization. Internal search functions are sometimes thrown on as part of a design and otherwise ignored unless there's a problem. However, looking at your website visitor logs and discovering what they're searching for can help you generate more sales.
Audit Your Current Internal Search Experience
Review top searches on your site and try them yourself. What comes up in the results? If you don't see anything or the results aren't relevant to the keywords, fix the problem. Otherwise, you lose website visitors due to frustration.
If you see a lot of searches for a competitive brand consider a strategy to direct those searches to your alternative product.
You may need to switch to a new internal search solution if your current one is unable to generate worthwhile results for your visitors. You need to make a good first impression, and a properly working internal search is a big part of that.
Tailor Your Content to Visitor Searches
Your visitor search terms are an excellent resource for your website content strategy. Use these phrases to develop content related to the searches conducted on your site. You can also change the positioning of your products better matches visitor expectations.
Incorporate the language that your visitors use as well. When you have a relatable voice and tone in your content, you have the opportunity to speak to your audience directly and understandably. You can combine this information from sources such as forums and social network sites to improve the marketing messaging.
Track Your Internal Site Search
Most modern websites and content management systems have site search logs you can review. If your site infrastructure doesn't offer this feature, depending on your site architecture, Google Analytics may also be configured to track your internal site search metrics. Keep an eye on your short and long-term internal site search trends. You may discover seasonal shifts or be able to predict when customers are going to snap up products faster than you can keep them in stock.
According to multiple studies, ten percent or more of most site visitors use internal search. When you take the time to optimize this feature, you improve your user experience and increase your chances of getting more sales.