Share
If your search bar is lousy, visitors think your website probably is also. Your potential buyers will not spend time on a deficient website, especially time wasted on a site looking for something that yields “No Results”. If the visitor enters a fairly standard term for your industry into your website’s search engine and they get few or no results, they might try a second term or third, but one thing is certain; if visitor’s strike out too many times, they most likely will not return to your website. Why? If your search engine is lousy, one wonders what else about this site is lacking.
Customers are smarter; your design should be also. After nearly two decades of internet growth, expansion and shopping experience, customers have learned a lot. They also expect a lot. Your potential customers have visited great sites as well as poorly conceived ones.
Your potential customers have high expectations – don’t fall short. The average consumer now has a certain level of expectation. He recognizes good design and expects immediate and appropriate search results. He can also quickly spot substandard design. He is spoiled. There are too many options available for you to only be mediocre.
You have a limited time with new visitors so do not blow it. Your customers have been trained to go to the next search option and not to waste their time on failed attempts. They have no patience. They leave without hesitating and do not stay long enough to tell you anything about why they are leaving. You lose a sale as an internet merchant and it is up to you to figure out why.
Do trial runs and ask what makes them want to leave. Ask several of your employees or if possible, ask some of your trusted, honest, but brutally blunt customers to run some trial searches on your website. Request their best and honest feedback as to what is missing or what on the website is frustrating to them. What makes them want to leave?
Examples of search engine ideas to help you sell versus turning away your market:
- Example – Ice Cream: If you sell ice cream, a visitor should be able to find a ‘list of flavors’. Every flavor name that is sold by your company should appear. ‘Ingredients’ should yield results. ‘Store Locations’ should pop up. ‘Hours of service’ should be easy to find. “Low calorie’, ‘diet’, ‘light’, ‘lactose restricted’ and all other ‘special diet’ concerns should be listed at least to answer the visitor’s questions. Think about it. If you cannot get a list of flavors off an ice cream website, what use is the website? What if the inquiry involves someone wanting to buy 400 gallons of varied flavors for a corporate function? What happens if the guy enters ‘volume pricing’ and gets no results? Why would he bother to stay on your website when he can choose the next search engine result? Record all terms entered into your search engine and look for common failure terms or phrases to correct.
- Example – Welding Services: If your firm specializes in welding, all of the specialized terms for welding should be found by a visitor indicating the various aspects of attachment (i.e. Spatter, arc welding, flux core, stick welding, strength, amperage, plasma arc). If they enter ‘welding experience’ or ‘years of experience’, you might want to add the years of experience of all of those welders who work for you (i.e. Accumulative 237 years of broad experience). Enter as many alternative terms as possible that you or your employees can think of to capture the attention of the potential customer searching on your website for a specific expertise. Remember you need to give your visitor an answer that invites more exploration and inquiry; otherwise he will become someone else’s customer. Always teach your customer something he will not get elsewhere. Keep his interest.
- Example – Home Builder: If you are a home builder or remodeler, the first thing the potential buyer for new or remodeled home wants to see is what has been built. The visitor wants to see great shots of many of your finished projects. Maybe you want search inquiries for ‘examples of houses,’ or ‘examples of homes’ to show several photos of your new homes, remodeling projects, remodeling kitchens, remodeling bath rooms, remodeling backyard decks, etc. Link these terms to ensure the visitor gets results regardless of the alternative search term.
- Example – Jewelry: If you sell jewelry, you better have beautiful close-ups of diamonds and rubies featured on necklaces, engagement rings or pieces in silver, gold and platinum. You must offer the option to see those expensive items from the front, side, rear and in all in beautifully lit detail. For high priced items, you should feature an enlargement feature on your website so the buyer can see what he is about to buy. Tell him if he is unsure where he can go to see the piece in person (i.e. Locations where this piece is specifically sold – locations near his home or zip, location hours, a telephone number that pops up on the screen for him to use to speak with a salesperson about this potential purchase and any possible discounts offered today).
- Offer Alternative Items: If you not only sell items from your website but also research, find, and source items from outside vendors, enter as many of those items that you source as possible and have the search engine on all of those items direct the website visitor to an 800 number for immediate assistance and direction.
- Alternative Terms: If you know there are a number of terms used for the types of items you sell, enter all of the alternatives that you can think of to get to an answer for your potential customer. You want the potential buyer to learn and be rewarded with good search results. You want him to return so you better make him happy.
- Always Get Results: Your goal for those that search on your website is to avoid “No Results”.
