In today’s competitive landscape, standing out has become a true challenge for businesses. No matter how good a product or service may be, there are almost always competitors offering something similar. Instead of focusing solely on their offerings, many companies are striving to differentiate themselves through an outstanding digital customer experience. A crucial, yet often underestimated, aspect of this is the search experience.
An advanced onsite search can provide companies with a genuine competitive edge and significantly boost their conversions. This is especially true for extensive websites or shops with a lot of content. In this blog post, we will explore:
- Why a great search experience is worth the investment.
- Which companies should consider investing in an onsite search.
- What defines an effective onsite search.
Tip: If you’d like to see a modern onsite search in action, join our LinkedIn Live Event on Elasticsearch. Find all the details here.
Onsite search definition
First things first: Let’s clarify what the term “onsite search” encompasses. Onsite search refers to the search function on a website that allows users to specifically search for content, products, or information within that site. The user experience surrounding the search process is called the Search Experience. This includes factors such as the precision of search results, loading times, and more (read more about it here).
Why is a great search experience worth it?
The importance of onsite search is particularly well-researched in the retail sector. According to a recent study, 9 out of 10 consumers consider a good search function on a retail website indispensable. Moreover, 77% of consumers actively avoid websites where they’ve previously encountered search-related issues (source).
While consumer expectations are high, the reality often tells a different story. Only 1 in 10 consumers consistently finds exactly what they’re looking for using the search function (ibid.). This means companies that prioritize their search functionality have a significant opportunity to gain a competitive edge. And this isn’t just limited to the retail sector, as we’ll explore in the next chapter.
Quelle: Google Cloud 2024
Which companies should invest in onsite search?
Whether investing in onsite search is worthwhile largely depends on the size and complexity of the website. For a small number of pages with straightforward navigation, it’s perfectly reasonable to skip a search function. However, for businesses or organizations offering a large volume of information, product data, or content, a great search experience becomes essential. Examples include:
- E-commerce businesses of all kinds with a broad product portfolio.
- Industrial companies providing online information and manuals for their diverse products.
- Educational providers with a wide range of online courses and webinars.
- Public institutions offering citizens up-to-date information through their websites.
- Media and news portals with a continuously growing news archive.
- Job boards and career platforms aiming to make job listings easily accessible.
- And many more!
What makes a good onsite search?
Creating a great search experience involves optimizing numerous factors. Which elements matter most will depend on your website and specific use case. Broadly speaking, the key features of a good onsite search can be divided into the following categories: Precise results, short loading times, convenient usability, clear presentation.
1. Precise results: Users find exactly what they’re searching for
What is most important to you in your search experience? Likely at the top of the list is finding exactly what you’re looking for. Easier said than done: delivering precise search results requires highly complex search algorithms.
An intelligent search function doesn’t limit itself to results that exactly match the search term. Instead, it understands the meaning, context, and intent behind a query and delivers the most relevant results – even when the exact search term doesn’t appear on the page.
Additionally, it prioritizes results based on relevance, considering factors such as keyword frequency or placement (or related terms) on a page.
Examples of features that define a precise onsite search include:
- Understanding intent: A user searches for "flooring for warehouse." The search understands that they are looking for durable and resilient flooring and suggests options like "industrial floor coating," "epoxy floors," or "concrete floor with surface treatment."
- Correcting typos: A user searches for "hydralic valve." The search recognizes the intended term "hydraulic valve" and provides results for the correct spelling.
- Recognizing synonyms: A user searches for "vehicle painting." The search identifies synonyms like "auto paint" and "bodywork coating" and displays results for all related terms.
- Prioritizing relevant pages: A user searches for "door hinge." A page where the keyword appears in the headline is ranked higher than one where it only appears in the body text, ensuring it appears at the top of the search results.
2. Short loading times: users receive search results in seconds – or even in real time
No one likes to wait – neither in a supermarket line nor on the internet. The longer the loading time, the higher the bounce rate. If a page takes five seconds to load, 38% of visitors have already left (source).
The same applies to search functionality: users expect quick results. Companies that prioritize their search experience not only work on reducing loading times but also deliver results in real time. This means that as a user types, search results appear instantly – without needing to press the Enter key.
Index-based search for large websites
For websites with vast amounts of data – such as extensive product catalogs, content libraries, or media archives – maintaining high search performance is a significant challenge. Here, index-based search solutions, like those offered by the Elasticsearch search and analytics engine, come into play.
In an index-based search, data isn’t searched row by row in a database but is pre-stored and processed in indices. Searching through these organized data structures is significantly faster than direct database searches – making it an ideal solution for large-scale information.
3. Convenient usability: making the search as easy as possible for users
Precise results and short loading times are the foundation of a strong search experience. Beyond these basics, there are several features that can make onsite search particularly user-friendly:
- Autocomplete: Users see suggestions as they type, based on common queries or available content. This saves time and reduces typos. For instance, typing “La...” could prompt suggestions like “Laptop,” “Charger,” or “Running shoes.”
- Faceted search: Especially useful for large datasets (e.g., in e-commerce), faceted search allows users to refine results by criteria such as price, category, brand, or rating. Searching for “camera,” for example, could enable users to select “compact cameras,” “mirrorless cameras,” or a specific price range.
- Search history: Users can view and quickly access previous search queries without re-entering them. For example, someone on a job board could reuse past searches like “Marketing Manager Berlin.”
- Artificial intelligence: AI is transforming onsite search! With AI-powered search, users can enter a full question into the search bar, and the AI responds in natural language while providing links to relevant pages. This makes the search experience on your website even more intuitive and efficient.
AI-powered search on our SUNZINET website with example query
4. Clear presentation: users can quickly grasp search results
A clear and well-structured presentation of search results is the finishing touch to a compelling user experience. If the results list isn’t easy to understand, users can become frustrated – no matter how advanced the search algorithms are. The key to a good presentation is enabling users to quickly identify the information they’re looking for. This can be achieved through the following elements:
- Visual support: Search results should include images, especially in industries like e-commerce. A picture is worth a thousand words and makes selection easier. For example, searching for "red shoes" should display photos of the available models alongside the results.
- Mobile optimization: With a large share of searches happening on mobile devices, results must be perfectly displayed on smaller screens. This includes easily clickable filters and scroll-friendly navigation.
- Grouping results: On complex websites, organizing results into categories like "Products," "Blog Posts," or "FAQs" improves clarity and usability.
- Highlights and snippets: Relevant text passages or product details should be highlighted directly in the results, so users don’t have to dig for the information they need.
Conclusion
For large websites, onsite search is not just a nice-to-have – it's a crucial factor for user experience and conversions. Companies that prioritize their search experience gain a competitive edge. This involves not only high performance and precise search results but also user-friendly features and a clear presentation of results.
Ready to take your onsite search to the next level? Contact us today! In a no-obligation initial consultation, our experts will discuss your challenges and outline possible next steps to elevate your search experience.
