Imagine this scenario: at your disposal is an array of brilliant minds - a scientist, doctor, philosopher, anthropologist, researcher, engineer, professor, politician, marketer and executive - sitting by your side, day and night, ready to answer any question you can throw at them…but you can use no more than three words.

Imagine the frustration when your request to the research about drivers sends her into a ten-minute spiel on how car operators today are more stressed out, aggressive and faster than ten years ago? And from there the IT pro discusses the virtues of downloadable printer drivers from the Internet. But you just wanted to talk golf.

What if you had a vast resource of data at your fingertips 24/7 yet you had to communicate your hopes, needs and desires in just two to three words. Utter insanity? It's what we do every single day with search engines

2.3 Keywords

The average length of a search phrase on major Web-wide engines is 2.3 keywords (Jupiter Research). Web-wide engines are powerhouses of information and the public has embraced that method of searching. Hint: they're using an average of 2.3 keywords at your site too.

Web users find the wide variety of search methods and visual displays frustrating. They are most comfortable with Web-wide search because they know how it works. When a prospect arrives at your site, they don't want to educate themselves on how your search tool works - they just want answers.

From 2001 to 2002, studies showed a significant increase in web search satisfaction and a significant decrease in site search satisfaction. Consider this, what are the risks of poor site search?

Abandonment Central

Approximately one in three visitors uses site search, yet poor site search is the #1 reason for site abandonment, ranking even higher than cost and selection. Visitors abandon search result pages more than home pages. Not optimizing site search means losing the most important opportunity to influence visitors.

"Operators need to take an active role in determining relevance," says Matthew Berk of Jupiter Research.

When a visitor's search query turns up "no results found" or irrelevant results, they experience a degree of humiliation that they didn't know how to type in the query. Then, they usually leave and if the scenario is repeated, their loyalty to your site will leave too.

How can you get it right and visitors beyond the home page? Though not an optimal situation, truncated search phrases can work for your site and your customers - if you apply a little effort.

Search Speak

A site visitor tells you exactly what she wants when her hands leave the mouse, travels to the keyboard and types in a few keywords into a search box.

You needn't look far to turn search into your site's best marketing tool. Advanced site search products, such as Vortaloptics, track user behavior and supply that data to clients in an actionable format. These reports are intended to reveal visitor linguistic trends so sites can deliver the just-in-time information visitors seek.

It's Not That Difficult

Don't start thinking that you'll never master the essence of successful site search. The key is to find the right search product that can be customized for your site and its audience, then keep an eye on it. Include marketers in the refinement, take the pulse of your visitors by asking questions like, "Do these results answer your question?" and use your statistics reports - priceless information waiting to be acted upon.

It's really not that difficult - technology is making the data-side easy and your customers will tell you the rest.

Go ahead - tell us you'd like to see more in three words or less -
"Schedule a Demo."

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