Searching still faces many obstacles
StumbleUponThe recent Econsultancy Site Search Report found that half of site searches are unsuccessful. While the survey also finds that the majority (57%) of firms are planning to increase their investment in this area as they appreciate the value and benefits of effective site search, it is something that is only going to become more important as online retail continues to grow and cross-border trading increases. By Mathias Duda.
Mathias Duda
Our own research shows that internet retailers are losing at least 20% in their conversion rates due to failed searches; specifically through typos and spelling variations. For example, FACT-Finder’s Site Search SaaS (Software as a Service) processes more than 150 million search queries every month from over 800 internet retailers and the keyword statistics show that the word “Birkenstock” was found in over 80 variations. For a standard search engine, these kinds of search queries are simply invisible and need to be discovered by an intelligent, error-tolerant search technology.
Another area that can cause problems for site visitors is the relevance of search results, again this can be crucial for converting visitors into buyers. All products, or related products, must turn up within the first two pages of any search result; ideally the first page. Just 22% of people performing site searches look beyond page one of any search result. Unfortunately, standard search functions often find only a fraction of the relevant results, with up 30% of all searches returning zero results. This is due, more often than not, to typos and spelling variations.
On top of this, site owners need to remember that the importance of usability and user experience shouldn’t be restricted just to your web designers; they are key issues in terms of search and navigation and can be another valuable tool set to help boost conversion rates. If the focus is set on the search box immediately when the user enters the site, they will return a higher use of the search function. Combined with a suggest feature, which allows your site to display options while the user is typing (as Google now does), search can help create a much more enjoyable shopping experience.
However, the reality is that any search can only be as good as the structure of the data provided by the retailer or service provider. Structured product information is needed to provide dynamic filters (faceted navigation) within the search and navigation on relevant attributes like colour, size or brands, categories and price.
While the report suggests that over half (57%) the companies surveyed are looking to spend more on site search, it also finds that that more than a third of companies (37%) use free site search technology, with the number increasing to 56% for companies with a turnover of less than £10 million. A further third of companies (33%) say the cost of site search is included within other software fees.
This merely serves to underline the truth behind what we see at the moment; free search technology will simply not have the power and functionality to deliver good, comprehensive results. And up until it is something companies have just bolted on to their website. While we are certainly seeing a trend towards companies investing more in site search technology across Europe – for example, 45 of the Top 100 online retailers in Germany are using FACT-Finder as their central search and navigation solution – there is still a long way to go in terms of educating site owners about the power and importance of search and navigation.
One of the biggest problems we face is that many companies are not measuring the effect of site search. And this is because most web-analytic tools do not provide a deep search log file analysis and simply scratch the surface. Today most of the third-party site search tools can provide good insights. For example, FACT-Finder allows the user to see everything from search trends to conversion rates and search exits.
Today, the bulk of professional site search solutions provide a self-learning search technology combined with dynamic filter options and merchandising features out-of-the-box; even multiple languages should not be a problem anymore. I believe we will see retail leading the way in dynamic and error tolerant search functions over the next three years, and these will soon become standard functionality for all sites.
About the author
Mathias Duda is head of UK operations for Omikron Data Quality and FACT-Finder.com.
Relevant links
http://www.fact-finder.com/blog/
http://twitter.com/mathiasduda
http://twitter.com/carstenkraus Carsten is the CEO of FACT-Finder
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