There are a Few Indicators when there’s a Problem with a Merchant’s Site Search Function. For one, if less than 25% of site searchers click on one of the links on the results pages, you have a problem — or an “opportunity,” as Larry Kavanagh, CEO/cofounder of Website services firm DMinSite likes to refer to it.
And if the people who use your site search are less likely to purchase than your average site visitor, “then you have a huge problem,” he says. “They are the most committed people out there. You should see site search conversions that are five-times-plus more likely to convert than your average visitor.”
This is all the more reason to improve site search, according to Fiona Dias, executive vice president of strategy and marketing for e-commerce services vendor GSI Commerce Solutions.
“You’ve got to get your site search right because your customers are going there, and the ones who do go there tend to convert at a much higher rate than the average customer,” she says.