Site Search in Time for the Holidays
By Kathleen Wiersch in Onsite Search, eCommerce on July 28, 2010We’ve been saying this pretty much forever. Bizreport just wrote “If your e-commerce site doesn’t already feature site search then perhaps a recent survey, conducted by comScore, will convince you to implement it ready for the holiday season.” More on the overall results of the survey are in a Search Engine Land article.
And the number of people using site search is climbing! The survey found 40% of shoppers use search, whereas only 20% were browser. This underpins the importance of adapting your customers online experience, no matter how they get to you, or how they find things on your site. Search, Navigation, Recommendations – they are all important. User generated content, catalog content, supporting editorial content – all important, all potentially deal clinchers for your shoppers. And another nugget about how important relevant search results is, after using the site search box 94% click on between one and 10 product listings according to the study.
And fixing site search in time for the holiday shopping is still possible with no heavy lifting from your stressed out, “don’t ask me to change the site before January” IT guys. If you have search, let the crowd help you offer more relevant results. Again, no tuning, no heavy lifting. If you don’t have site search at all, we offer a hosted site search option as well. It is easier than you think.