Google estimates that “search abandonment” (when a consumer searches for a product on a retailer’s website but does not find what they need) costs retailers more than USD $300 billion just in the U.S. alone.

These shocking figures come at a time when competition and cost to get traffic to your site are on the rise. Wordstream reports that Google Ads cost per lead (CPL) saw an increase of 19% in 2022, compared to 2021, which saw a 5% increase over the previous year. 

The report also shows that conversion rate has decreased significantly. 91% of industries saw a decrease in conversion rate, with an average overall reduction of 14%.

Why Site Search is Vital for Online Retailers

Online retailers have been through several years of high uncertainty. To bring a more certain path to purchase within the online shopping experience – and increase your chance of optimising revenue – site search is an essential ingredient to any high-performing ecommerce site.

The rewards for getting your site search formula right are enormous. For example, fashion and apparel brand Fabletics saw search revenue increase by 102% after implementing an ecommerce search solution. The Upside also saw 4x higher website conversion rates from shoppers using website search than those not using it. And Aussie fashion brand St Frock experienced a 20% increase in average order value from search. These are just a few examples of the benefits online retailers stand to gain.

So where should you start your site search improvements? Read on for our top site search tips to implement for a better ecommerce website search experience that leads to higher revenue, conversion, and average order value.

Start with the Obvious – Your Product Search Bar

All too often, online retailers miss the opportunity of putting search in the spotlight. Don’t leave your shoppers wondering how to perform a product search. Instead, use standard icons like a magnifying glass and large search areas in your website header.

Peltz Shoes puts its search bar clearly front and centre, even offering popular search suggestions when shoppers click on the product search bar. As a result, the company saw a 12.9% increase in online conversion attributed to search and merchandising capabilities.

Give Every Shopper a Personalised Search Experience

Shoppers tell you their interests and preferences whenever they visit your ecommerce website. So when they view products, add to their favourites, or add to their cart, that’s valuable data you can use to further enhance their online shopping experience.

A personalised search solution will learn from every customer action on-site to predict which products they’ll love. That data is then used to return more relevant, personalised search results to every shopper whenever they’re looking for something.