5 Questions to ask when choosing an ecommerce search engine

3. Does this ecommerce search engine’s autocomplete deliver relevant suggestions? 

Does the search engine offer an autocomplete feature, and if so, does it suggest relevant results, popular searches, product images, and navigation facets and filters? 

Source: AuthenTEAK

Here’s what to look out for:

• Typeahead suggestions: As soon as the shopper begins to type a search query, product suggestions should populate directly below your search box, allowing customers to preview or click through to the full set of results. 
• Facets and filters in autocomplete: Enable further filtering within the search box. This feature should bring up relevant facets and filters to help shoppers to quickly refine their results. 
• Popular searches: Share popular searches so your customers can see what’s trending on your site, before they even finish inputting their search query. 

4. Does this shopping search engine allow you to set up synonyms and redirects? 

Based on search reports (see Question 5 below), you might need to set up search synonyms and redirects to different results for certain search queries. 

For example, if you notice that a common search term is yielding no results, even when you carry a relevant product, you can update the search engine with synonyms so shoppers can find the right results. Think “tshirt” failing to generate any results because you happen to spell it “t-shirt” on your site. 

Redirects, on the other hand, are useful to show customers alternatives to their searches that may (hopefully) also be of interest. For example, if shoppers search for items or brands you don’t carry, redirecting them to a landing page with similar brands or items you have in stock could satisfy their needs and lead to a conversion. 

Bonus: allow customers to search for content results, not just products. What this looks like will vary depending on your business, it could be as simple as ensuring your ecommerce search engine can support non-product queries like “shipping” or “returns,” and direct customers to the relevant pages. Or, at a more advanced level, you could make blog and other website content searchable so shoppers can easily find resources like buyer’s guides that make their purchasing decision even easier.

5. Does this ecommerce search engine come with reporting features?

Amongst other things, analyzing search results can help you improve your ecommerce strategy and give your customers a better shopping experience. 

But reporting features can do much more than that, they can also inspire new product lines. For instance, a “Zero Results Report” can tell you what products your customers are searching for that lead to “no results found”. In this scenario, it may be a case that you need to update product data or set up search synonyms – or, it could be a prime opportunity to add a new product to your store. 

Further, search reports should provide you with insights into the search queries that are generating the most revenue and bringing in the highest conversions. 

Finding the best ecommerce search engine for you

If you’re an online retailer, the name of the game is to help your customers find the products they’re looking for quickly and easily. The best ecommerce search engines will help you do just that, while giving you the insights and control you need to continually optimize results. These five questions are just the beginning if you’re trying to pin down the perfect ecommerce search engine for your business. Ready to dive deeper into your search strategy? Check out our ultimate ecommerce site search guide.