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11 eCommerce Search Optimization Tips You Can Implement

DynamicWeb

Let’s take a closer look at the advantages of eCommerce search optimization and discuss 11 simple steps to optimize your eCommerce search.

Have you ever searched a website for a product you know the company offers, but had 0 results turn up? If only you could remember the exact product name, or perhaps the item number. But in most cases, you don’t, and you simply need the website to understand what you’re asking for.

The eCommerce search box is more than just a default feature on your website. It is a way to connect with consumers, drive revenue, and distinguish your business as fast and easy to work with. After all, not having to walk through a store (or website, for that matter) to get exactly what you need is one of the key benefits of eCommerce in the first place!

The quality of youran eCommerce site search  can be a serious business differentiator. A study conducted by Baymard Institute revealed as many as 42% of sites do not support a variety of key search query types that users perform. With deep product details combined with an effective site search, you can support a range of queries or search terms that can meet more specific customer needs. 

Through eCommerce search optimization, you can harness the power of this valuable tool. Let’s take a closer look at the advantages of eCommerce search optimization and discuss 11 simple steps to optimize your eCommerce search. 

eCommerce Search Optimization Advantages

eCommerce search optimization offers a number of distinct advantages to both shoppers and businesses. 

Improve the Customer Experience

An optimized eCommerce search can improve the ease of shopping for customers who know what they want and customers who may need figuring out what they want. 

Accelerate the Customer Journey

When products or services are easy and quick to locate, customers can move much faster through the sales process. 

Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment

More than half of shoppers will abandon a whole cart and shop elsewhere if they cannot find a single item they need. An optimized eCommerce search solution can account for typos, misspellings, or synonyms entered into the search bar and locate relevant and popular items for the customer. 

Increase Conversion Rates

If your eCommerce search solution makes it simple, fast, and easy for customers to find what they want, customers are more likely to complete purchases. To read more about the ways in which eCommerce search optimization increases conversion rates, read this blog.

Gather Analytics to Enhance Business Decisions

Site search analytics can provide businesses with valuable insights into the desires of customers, the ways in which customers talk about the products or services they want, and what searches are returning zero or irrelevant results. 

How To Optimize Your eCommerce Search in 12 Simple Steps

If you are looking to increase revenue, begin by making these 12 improvements to your eCommerce site search.

1. Move Your Search Box to the Most Noticeable Location 

Your search box needs to be immediately available to eCommerce site visitors. Test the placement of your search box to determine which location receives the most utilization.

2. Make the Search Box Large and Distinctive

The search box needs to be clear and easy to find when visitors enter your eCommerce site. Bold graphics and clear organization can ensure users do not confuse the search box with other input boxes. 

3. Label the Search Box 

Eliminate any possible reason why a user may overlook the search tool on your eCommerce site. If there is more than one input box on your website, be sure to clearly identify the search box. 

4. Provide Prompts in the Search Box

Search box prompts can guide users to enter the most relevant search terms, express the personality of your company, and make the shopping experience more personal. 

5. Activate Autocomplete 

Autocomplete suggests keywords, products, and services that users may be interested in, as soon as they begin typing in the search box. Autocomplete is a helpful tool for preventing errors from typos and suggesting relevant and popular items. 

6. Offer More Keyword Suggestions than Product Suggestions

In many cases, keyword suggestions can be more helpful to shoppers than product suggestions. When users click on keyword suggestions, they land on a SERP with many relevant results. 

7. Allow for the Use of the Enter Key 

This one may seem obvious, but is actually often overlooked. Users generally expect to be able to press “enter” to execute a command. Make sure this feature is activated in your search box so that users are not inconvenienced. 

8. Keep the Search Term or Phrase in the Search Box

Keeping the search term or phrase in the search box after the search allows users to easily edit their search based on the initial results. 

9. Place a Search Box on Every Page

In order to increase search usage, your eCommerce site needs to have a search box on every page. Ideally, the search box will be in the same location on each page so it is easy to find. 

10. Place an Additional Search Box at the Bottom of the SERP

Additionally, it is helpful to have a search box at the bottom of the SERP to allow users to easily update their search without having to scroll all the way back to the top of the page. 

11. Show Search History 

Previously searched query prompts allow users to quickly pick up where they left off the last time they visited your eCommerce site. 

Learn more

Dynamicweb is a robust eCommerce suitefor B2B and B2C sellers that have outgrown the limits of entry-level eCommerce solutions. Dynamicweb includes built-in Product Information Management (PIM), so you can easily enrich your products with unlimited details and maximize their visibility in search results.. Our eCommerce search functionality includes data-driven suggestions, predictive typing, and intelligent filtering so customers can always find the products they need, quickly.

To learn more or see a tailored demo of Dynamicweb, contact us today. 

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