Search tools can hurt Business - Web Marketing Resources LLC Massachusetts and Connecticut

home> articles > Search can hurt

Search tools can hurt your business. Be careful when adding it to your web site!
By Todd Follansbee 2007

Abstract: People are quick to adopt search tools on a site however they often hurt business. Used wisely they can offer new solutions which can quickly improve business as well. Here is how to use Search to your advantage. We also offer some recommended search solutions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recently a restaurant site implemented a search tool thinking it would help their clients to quickly find foods of interest; instead it hurt business immediately.

The restaurant specialized in sandwiches but found that many people searching their site were leaving without finding food that was actually on the menu.

Typically people search a site because: they are lazy and want quick results, are confused by the site and lost, or just expect it will be the best tool to find what they need. They assume that the search tool is effective and comprehensive.

The restaurant was in a metropolitan area where people used a variety of names for sandwiches. People were searching the site for: Subs, submarines, hoagies, wraps, grinders, torpedoes, Po' Boys, and finding nothing. The restaurant of course offered a wide variety of sandwiches and could have easily filled these needs but the search tool was unable to find matches for these search terms. If you had walked in the front door and asked for any of these options, the countermen would have known exactly what you wanted. The search tool was hurting business because it was poorly implemented.

There are several important lessons from this which apply to using search on a site.

1. Insure that the search tool records the search terms that people enter so you can review them at your convenience.

2. Insure that the search tool is able to be modified to “map” results to existing and new terms. I.E. the hungry Cajun from New Orleans can enter “Po Boy” and find it mapped to the sandwich results instead of the “nothing found” response he had been getting.

3. Review the results and you may find many people entering “peanut butter and bacon”, something you had never offered but could easily add to the menu. You add it and instantly add new business.

4. Place your search box in one of the two places people expect it to be found: top right corner or near the nav bar at the top of either the far left or far right columns. Make the field large enough to handle most inquiries without the term scrolling and 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 “enter search” disappears as soon as the first character is entered in the field and returns after “go” is clicked or enter is tapped.

5. Map misspelled variations to the proper results.

6. Monitor the search terms carefully and use the information to improve your site. People may be asking for a variety of information which should be apparent at first glance. They should never have to search for contact information, basic product categories or your location. Even though it will be obvious to you, if others are searching, consider modifying the site to improve its visibility.

You often get only one chance to make a sale and many folks won't come back if they don't find what they need. Use the right search tool and you will increase conversions, improve customer satisfaction (and loyalty) and take more to the bank. Remember second sales are normally nearly twice the first sale so insure they can find and buy what you have to sell.
---end.

We do not benefit from these referrals financially at all (really). Of course for that matter we don't get paid to write these articles either but if it helps improve web usability, we are content.

Note this article was written in 2007 so please expect search tools to have changed. I have left the information below to offer a starting point.

Alpha 5 software can be configured to offer an effective search tool which meets the above requirements. Inquira apparently has a tool as well which people speak well of but is supposedly pricey. Google offers an appliance which costs about 5K but does what we suggest. Alpha 5 is one most economical option, it also offers a wide variety of other great capabilities at no additional cost. I can refer you to some people at Alpha cause you will need some initial support.

This article is free for reprint however you choose as long as you request permission, provide a link to this site and acknowledge ownership. If you need more information or wish to discuss any aspect of this policy or the article please feel free to email me. - Thanks, Todd