Site search: how to create an internal search that really sells

Most shoppers are too lazy to scroll through menus and website sections. They look for the “Search” button, enter a keyword, and wait for the results. If the navigation works well, they take the desired action: add the product to their cart, place an order, or fill out a form. If not, they go to your competitors. Read on to find out how to turn internal search into an effective business tool.

Why internal search on a website is important for sales

Internal search is a built-in tool on a website that helps visitors quickly find the products, services, or information they need using keywords. Among the reasons why website search is necessary, the following points can be highlighted:

• the buyer goes straight to the goal: the benefit of internal search for an online store is that it increases the likelihood of a purchase;
• analysis of customer needs: queries show which products are searched for most often, so evaluating them helps to adjust the product range and marketing. This point should be taken into account when developing an online store;
• Increased trust: hints, filters, and error correction create the impression of a “smart” site that understands the customer, which has a positive effect on its reputation;
• conversion: users often enter queries into the search bar with a specific intention—to find and buy a product. Thus, when talking about how search helps increase conversion, the main advantage here is reducing the customer's path to action;
• reducing abandonment: even if there is no exact match, you can offer alternatives or popular products — and retain the user.

Well-functioning navigation helps businesses sell more without additional advertising costs. Therefore, it can be safely called an investment in convenience that directly affects revenue.

How internal search works and what affects its effectiveness

The site search algorithm looks like this:

1. Catalog indexing: the system collects data about products and services — names, descriptions, characteristics, prices, availability.
2. Query processing: when a user enters a word or phrase, the system corrects typos, finds synonyms, and clarifies what exactly was meant.
3. Matching and sorting: the algorithm selects the most relevant results and sorts them. At this stage, products are ranked in the search — the system determines which product/information best matches the query and therefore takes the top positions in the results.
4. Displaying results: the user sees a list of products, which can be supplemented with filters, sorting, and hints.

The first thing that determines the effectiveness of navigation is data quality. A clear, understandable, and structured catalog increases the relevance of search results. If the data in the cards is incomplete or incorrect, even the most advanced algorithm will not be able to show the right product.

Key features of sales-oriented search

Correct data alone is not enough. Special attention should be paid to autocomplete, filters, hints, as well as typos and synonyms.

Autocomplete and hints

For navigation to be truly useful, the interface must help the user by:

• displaying automatic hints in the search bar;
• offering convenient and understandable filters;
• providing the ability to sort results.

Auto-search on the website and other hints allow the buyer to quickly find a product, and if the desired product/service is not available, to see alternative offers.

Taking into account typos and synonyms

Effective navigation is error-free search that not only finds exact matches, but also understands what the user meant. It is especially important that the system performs the following actions:

• correct processing of errors and inaccurate wording. Correcting typos helps not to lose a buyer if they accidentally mistyped something: “puhavik” should be automatically corrected to “pukhovik”;
• displaying the desired product even when the same item has different names. Recognizing synonyms is very important for effective sales. For example, when searching for “кроссовки” (trainers), the search engine should also find ‘sneakers’ and “кеды” (plimsolls) if these products are relevant to your catalog;
• identification of natural phrases and compound queries such as “blue down jacket size 48.” This will allow the user to immediately get relevant results and add the product to the cart right away.

Such intelligent processing of queries shortens the customer's path to purchase, increases conversion, and makes the site more user-friendly.

How to implement and improve search on your website

For navigation to really sell, it needs to be set up as a full-fledged product: with well-thought-out logic, a user-friendly interface, and constant analytics. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Choose a search implementation technology — ready-made cloud solutions or custom development.
2. Prepare structured data.
3. Set up autocomplete, typo correction, and synonym processing.
4. Add filters, sorting, and alternative suggestions if the desired product is not available.
5. Implement analytics and reports.

Test any changes (new ranking rules, promotion visibility, prompts) through A/B testing. This will help you understand how they affect conversion and sales.

Ready-made solutions and custom development

Out-of-the-box solutions (SaaS) allow you to quickly implement a search module for CMS with minimal effort, as autocomplete, typo correction, and analytics are already built in. Custom development gives you complete flexibility and control over search, but requires more resources and support. The choice depends on your budget, catalog size, and business goals.

Search analytics and optimization

Search analytics and optimization help you understand and improve user interaction with the system:

• tracking queries shows what customers are looking for and where “empty” results occur;
• continuous improvement of search relevance increases conversion and speeds up the path to purchase.

Regular analysis of metrics allows you to adjust product cards and ranking rules in a timely manner.

To learn more about how to make your site search effective and sales-oriented, contact an IT manager at Megasite. We have been creating websites in Ukraine for over 10 years and help businesses implement smart search engines that increase conversion rates and simplify the customer's path to purchase.