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Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 7:20 am
Natalie Thomas, director of conversion rate optimization and UX strategy at The Good, recommends testing an instructional search prompt. That’s because instructional search encourages intentional browsing, improves UX, and boosts conversions.
“During research for one client, user tests and session recordings revealed that customers primarily navigate through the search bar,” Natalie says. “We also found that customers only engage with select menu categories. Our team hypothesized that adding friendly microcopy and enhancing search bar visibility would encourage the use of search and in turn, increase transactions.”
Natalie says the team put this to the test enhancing the search bar visibility with a white background and updating the language to “Try [search term].”
“It delivered over $3 million in revenue gains” says Natalie.
12. Offer support for non-product searches
Not everyone using an ecommerce search feature is looking for products. According to Baymard’s usability malaysia phone number list testing study, more than a third of online shoppers used a retailer’s search box to discover non-product information such as:
About Us page
Returns policy
Order cancellation
Size guides
Unsubscribing from a subscription
The same study found 39% of ecommerce sites don’t fully support non-product searches. Incorporating this functionality into your site search is not only a competitive advantage, but a helping hand to customers who are using search to learn about your company.
Search feature on Easy Standard’s website shows returns, refunds, and gift card policies
Clothing store Easy Standard retrieves its returns, refund, and gift card policies for the search term “returns.”
Why is site search important for ecommerce?
Site search engines matter in ecommerce because it helps customers find products quickly and easily, leading to increased conversions and sales, and provides insights into customer behavior. It connects the dots between what customers are actively looking to buy and the products they find on your ecommerce site.
“During research for one client, user tests and session recordings revealed that customers primarily navigate through the search bar,” Natalie says. “We also found that customers only engage with select menu categories. Our team hypothesized that adding friendly microcopy and enhancing search bar visibility would encourage the use of search and in turn, increase transactions.”
Natalie says the team put this to the test enhancing the search bar visibility with a white background and updating the language to “Try [search term].”
“It delivered over $3 million in revenue gains” says Natalie.
12. Offer support for non-product searches
Not everyone using an ecommerce search feature is looking for products. According to Baymard’s usability malaysia phone number list testing study, more than a third of online shoppers used a retailer’s search box to discover non-product information such as:
About Us page
Returns policy
Order cancellation
Size guides
Unsubscribing from a subscription
The same study found 39% of ecommerce sites don’t fully support non-product searches. Incorporating this functionality into your site search is not only a competitive advantage, but a helping hand to customers who are using search to learn about your company.
Search feature on Easy Standard’s website shows returns, refunds, and gift card policies
Clothing store Easy Standard retrieves its returns, refund, and gift card policies for the search term “returns.”
Why is site search important for ecommerce?
Site search engines matter in ecommerce because it helps customers find products quickly and easily, leading to increased conversions and sales, and provides insights into customer behavior. It connects the dots between what customers are actively looking to buy and the products they find on your ecommerce site.