In this digital world, searching for specific information about a product has become much easier than ever before. All you need is to type a keyword to the search box, and you will get tons of results. Imagine if you are looking for a specific product but you didn’t get the right answer you are looking for. Obviously, it is frustrating and annoying, making you leave the page and find another website for better results.
According to recent statistics, more than 87% of shoppers start their product searches online and 43% of consumers go directly to the retail websites’ search bars to find the desired product. It clearly shows that website owners put their best efforts into enhancing the on-site search functionality, as it can make or break your business.
Unfortunately, many ecommerce business owners underestimate the power of search functionality on their ecommerce websites. Upgrading this important site’s features can set your ecommerce business apart from the competition. It is interesting to know that more than 68% of ecommerce business owners are planning to implement advanced technology into their site search functionality this year.
If you want to improve ecommerce site search functionality to provide customers with quick and accurate results, here are some tried and tested ecommerce site search tactics to offer a killer shopping experience.
Let’s get started.
Predictive AutoComplete
Several studies show that site search functionality is commonly used by a majority of online shoppers. To give them an awesome user experience, you can try your best to make your ecommerce site search super-efficient. Predictive autocomplete is one of the best strategies to improve ecommerce search and make an overall positive user experience. Integrating predictive autocomplete and auto suggest functionality to the ecommerce search can help users save time and get them the most accurate result.
By anticipating users’ query and showing the product they are actually looking for, will definitely convince users to convert. So, enhance your site search functionality by listing the suggestions to shoppers when they are typing a query. Giving your users an autocomplete search experience and offering relevant suggestions can help you attract more visitors by providing them with what they are looking for. So, implement a good autocomplete solution for your ecommerce site to increase the conversion rate.
Error Correction
Typos can happen; don’t expect online shoppers to spell product names correctly. The ecommerce site search function must be intelligent enough to predict what the consumer is trying to search. No matter the type of products you are selling, you need to make sure the site search understands typos, so that misspellings don’t affect the quality of search results. Today, many ecommerce websites have started implementing autocorrect functionality to their on-site search engines to provide shoppers with the desired results.
Offer a Personalized Search Experience
If you want to boost the conversion rate of your ecommerce site, start offering a personalized search experience. Today’s users expect brands to offer a personalized search experience based on their location, preferences, needs and interests. It will become possible when ecommerce marketers use machine learning technology to gather user’s data, such as browsing patterns, and level of interest in a particular product.
A search engine with machine learning capability can better analyze shoppers’ behavior, identify complex browsing patterns and give more personalized search results. By harnessing the power of machine learning, you can provide more accurate and better results to shoppers expecting a personalized experience from your ecommerce website.
Optimize Mobile Search
It’s no wonder that people are using mobile devices for online shopping and the ecommerce traffic coming from mobile devices is expected to significantly increase in the coming years. According to the 2019 Ecommerce Year in Review, 63% of retail traffic came from mobile devices. So, you can’t ignore optimizing your search for mobile devices. When it comes to optimizing your searches for mobile devices, you need to consider small screens in mind. Make sure the search button for the mobile site is large enough and prominent along with an auto complete option. It will make an incredible difference in the user’s shopping and search experience.
Add Buttons and Graphics
Keep in mind that your search results pages are a huge opportunity for your ecommerce website. A highly qualified lead landed on your website just because he wants a particular product from your website. By optimizing your ecommerce site search, you can attract more audience and close more leads. Adding buttons and graphics to your site search can enhance its functionality and make it easier for online shoppers to get the desired product. A web design Dubai company helps you improve the site search functionality while enhancing the overall look of your ecommerce site.
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
The trend of using natural language processing is rapidly increasing among brands to provide users with accurate results. Apple, Facebook and Amazon are using natural language processing to improve their search results. The NLP algorithms work best when the user doesn’t know how to describe the product he is trying to search. Basically, NLP algorithms rely on context and relevance.
NLP understands the meaning of the query and provides similar results related to the actual query. It can extract valuable data on consumer searches and has the ability to differentiate and understand a number of queries. It provides users with the exact same result they want, while saving their time and speed up the buying process.
Over to You
There is no denying the fact that ecommerce site search is no easy feat. Integrating a keyword-based generic search engine is not enough to create an enjoyable online shopping experience. You need to incorporate advanced analytics, autocomplete suggestions, proactive assistance, personalization, NLP and custom stemming algorithms to convert ecommerce search into a money-making machine.
