4 Ways a Search Bar Can Transform Your Website

If you’re building a website or simply looking to upgrade your current site, you might be interested in figuring out some of the best ways to give your users the best possible experience. Of course, that’s the best way to ensure that potential customers will make an order for one of your products or services.

One of the best ways you can improve their experience is by making it much easier for them to find the things they want the most so that their eCommerce search can be as short and convenient for them (and for you) as possible. And a great way to do that is to set yourself with an excellent eCommerce search bar. 

But what is that search bar going to do for you? Or, to be a little more accurate, what does a good search bar have the potential to do for you and your company or business website?

Show Users the Synonyms

Some of the better and more complex eCommerce search bars allow you to sort your product lineup based on the synonyms your potential customers have searched for.

For example, if your website sells clothing, users might look for corset tops on your site. In addition, if you have some items labeled as corsets and others as lace-up tops, the latter of these kinds of results might also apply to the potential customer’s search.

This could be especially helpful because corsets have been pretty trendy in the fashion world lately. People might now know all of the relevant labels your company is using to define your products or services. So not only does this help customers find what they want more quickly, but it also gets more eyes on more of your products.

Naturally, this situation doesn’t only apply to corsets or fashion, as it can apply to many eCommerce searches and transactions for your website and overall sales of your inventory.

Automatic Spell Correct

Some people are in the habit of typing so quickly that they accidentally misspell their searches. However, a great search bar on your eCommerce site could help users and potential customers find the items and services that they’re looking for more quickly.

eCommerce search bars with this kind of functionality can keep website users from being hit with a page that is completely void of results. 

In the best-case scenario, potential customers will realize they’ve made a spelling error and retype their inquiry into your website’s search bar. But in the worst-case scenario, without a solid search bar for your site, users might think you don’t have what they’re looking for. That could not only send them off your site but also boost your bounce rate.

Receive Search Analytics from Users

Something incredibly useful about an excellent quality search bar is its ability to send you information about what users have looked for. That can help you understand several things, from what items you should be restocking, how you should focus on your next marketing campaign, and what items and services have been the most popular or trendy in general.

This is extraordinarily useful, especially if you find yourself strapped for what your potential customers might be looking for when they land on your website and its landing pages. If you don’t have information other than view counts for some particular category or item pages, this could be incredibly helpful for your eCommerce site.

If you learn that sales for a particular item have gone up, you will generally know the popularity. But with an added search bar, you’ll also be able to track what keywords people use while they’re on your site. 

That allows you to get a better idea of why people are going onto your landing pages, what people want to see more of when they get on the site, and what other kinds of products or services you might want to offer that could serve well adjacent to these other ones that are already doing pretty well.

Pagination Instead of the Endless Scroll

Rather than having all of the products potentially related to a user’s search, there can now be multiple pages that break up the volume of items they’re looking at on time. At least that’s the case with a search bar that functions well.

In addition to lowering the likelihood that your site users will feel overwhelmed by too many choices, thus reducing the chances that they will want to purchase anything from you, you can also sort items based on popularity. Hence, potential customers are more likely to find what they need more quickly.

Something similar can be done if you have separate pages for each category of items that you’re offering on your website. However, rather than having all of your items together on one page, customers can find all the things you provide for a specific niche or item type by searching for a category.