How optimizing Shopify product search and filtering can boost your sales?

How important is a site search for your Shopify store

It is vital that your online business provides accurate and quick results to users searching in the digital age. If your website fails to satisfy their search criteria, they will abandon you and go to other sites.

To provide better shopping experience, retailers' websites such as Amazon have invested heavily in search. A 2016 BloomReach study found that 55% of online product search results start on Amazon. This compares to 28% who start on Google or Bing.

A 2016 WebLinc survey found that over 30% of online shoppers use eCommerce websites' search function. A site search system that is intelligent and efficient will deliver more relevant and faster product recommendations which, in turn, speeds up the purchasing cycle. Customers search for "pots" when they are actually looking for "saucepans". Sometimes, customers misspell their query. Your eCommerce store will fail to recognize your user intent or get them a page with "zero search results".

The on-site search resulted in a 216% rise in conversion rate, and a 21% jump in average order value for shoppers who used it. This is a remarkable figure. It's often overlooked. Although internal site search has obvious benefits, many online shops fail to offer a robust search function that delivers the correct products to their customers at the right time. 70% of eCommerce sites' search engines fail to deliver relevant results for product-type synonyms. 34% of websites don't provide useful results when users try to search for model numbers or misspell one character in the product titles, according the Baymard study author.

This guide provides Shopify merchants with insight into how to create an intuitive search on-site so you can optimize it for more customers.

Search queries that you are getting

Understanding your customers' intent will allow you to provide better customer service at every stage of their buying process. This will result in more sales, repeat business and loyal customers for your brand. There are three phases to the buyer's journey.

Browse: customers might go through several stages. They may peruse products and not know what they are looking for. This is similar to window-shopping in a brick-and-mortar store.

Research: Shoppers know what they want, and can type more specific queries in the site search bar. They are looking for a specific type of product, or at least a collection. They might be looking for a jacket but don't have a specific color, brand or style in mind.

Purchase: A user is aware of what they want and wants to purchase it. They are at the business end in the conversion funnel. Transactional search queries may include exact brand names and product names such as "Nespresso coffee maker".

These different functional phases of query types will help you to understand how customers search for eCommerce sites. You can also create search logic that is in line with their expectations. You should consider that the buyer is browsing your site. To make it easy for them to find what they are looking for, you need to provide clear navigation. You would expect that a shopper will be evaluating all options and that you would start to provide the products they are looking for.

Keep in mind that shoppers may search for inspiration in different ways depending on what they are looking for. They often search for inspiration in the discovery stage by searching for one word such as a brand name, category, or other specific words. These searches make up a lot of search activity overall, which is why shoppers are more open to browsing your catalog.

Shoppers' search intent increases and they are more specific in their searches. This is why you should use two to three words such as a subcategory, a brand name, plus the product type. You can then offer more targeted promotions and employ ranking strategies based on the search phrase. The highest level of shoppers - those who are most likely to make a purchase – will use more words to describe the product. The shopper is the most likely to purchase, so you need to focus on providing the best results.

Best Practices for Optimizing Your Shopify Internal Search Function

1. Make the search bar prominent and visible

The internet is moving so quickly today. The internet users are not able to spend enough time browsing every product on your site and then choosing the one they want. The first step in the buyer's buying process is the search field. It is important to consider the design and usability of the search box. Users shouldn't have to search for the search box if it isn't obvious or difficult to find. Asos, for example, makes its search box visible by placing it in the center and adding the CTA "Search For Items, Brands, and Inspiration" to encourage useability.

Instead of hiding your search bar behind a tiny magnifying glass icon, display a full-text field. It keeps going around and around. Users won't be able to find it if you don't make the search bar prominent enough. They won't be able to find it. It is possible to lose a sale or a customer to your competition.

2. Autocomplete allows for faster and more accurate results

Autocomplete is now a standard web feature for eCommerce search. 82% of large websites offer it. Autocomplete suggestions are useful for speeding up search queries and guiding users to better construct them.

The auto-suggestion algorithm predicts the user's search query based on initial inputs and provides a dropdown menu of suggestions that match words and context. It eliminates the need to search and allows customers to quickly go from entering their search terms to purchasing a product.

This task is more important for eCommerce websites because it includes not only showing search query suggestions, but also the best-fit products. The search box not only suggests relevant text but also provides instant results in form of a list of matches. This allows users to bypass the search results page completely and take them directly to a product webpage. Customers will be able to narrow down the search results quickly, reduce the time it takes to find the product they are looking for, and easily navigate to the product they want.

3. Misspellings are not to be taken lightly

Typos can occur when people only hear about a brand, or make a mistake while typing. According to the Baymard Institute, 18% of top 50 US eCommerce websites have phonetic mispellings that are so bad that users will need to take a spelling test before they can be shown the results.

Your website visitors will have a better chance of finding the correct product or finding one that meets their needs if they are able to correctly handle misspellings. It's that easy - if products are not easily found, it's impossible to expect them to sell them. Managing misspellings will result in lower bounce rates and higher sales. You should allow for some error tolerance so that users don't get frustrated when they see pages of null results due to a typo.

4. Natural Language Processing is a way to understand the intent of your customers

Natural Language Processing (NLP), a powerful machine learning tool, is used to create a pleasant customer experience. It can understand the user's purchase intent, extract the true meaning of a search query using semantics, and find the most relevant results from large product databases.

Machine learning technology makes the engine smarter. To search for "mini dress", the engine must understand the context and tell it to narrow down the product selections.

NLP technology is able to recognize the human brain and interpret search results as if it were a person. It can identify entries that may be relevant even if they don't contain the initial keyword. John Lewis, for example, has jackets in multiple colors. If you search for "men's blue jacket", the website will match your query with the appropriate product image, where the color field in blue.

5. For zero results, create Synonyms and redirects

There are many things that can be referred to as language. Internet customers expect correct results from the system because they input their queries in the same way that they think. It is impossible to expect customers to enter text that matches the product names, so it is important to create synonyms to help them identify related terms.

People may search for different things using different terminology. For example, if they are looking for running shoes, they might type "sneakers". They don't think about trying another synonym, but rather assume that if there are no results for "sneakers", it means the site doesn't sell such products.

6. Use Dynamic Filtered Navigation for more specific search results

Filtered navigation is useful for customers who are either browsers, researchers, or buyers. Filtered navigation can be helpful for customers who are unsure about their preferences or don't know much about the product.

The ease of finding what you are looking for has an impact on your sales funnel. The faster the shopify product search, the more likely the shopper will be to find it. A customer looking to purchase a sofa may have many choices, including type, material and price. It can sometimes be difficult to decide what to get.

Let's take a look at the Macys.com navigation example for Sofas. Customers can filter through thousands of products to find the items they are interested in. Customers can also easily remove any previously selected items.

It is critical for website findability. However, the Baymard Institute discovered that only 16% of the top 50 eCommerce companies offer a great filtering experience. The majority of these websites were rated as 'passable', with only 34% deemed'very poor'.

Many e-commerce websites fail to use relevant category-specific filters. Many sites used the same filters to filter different product collections.

The filters for the dress collection, for example, should be different from those for the shoes category. Zappos shows the Toe Style and Upper Material for shoes. For dresses, they display the Sleeve Length, Style, and the Sleeve Material.

7. To increase your eCommerce sales, you can use Merchandising

eCommerce businesses must incorporate digital merchandising. A digital merchandising strategy that engages your customers, guides them to enticing products and increases sales is a must-have for online retailers. Effective digital merchandising can help retailers succeed by emphasizing their shoppers' personalization and encouraging them to discover their products.

Most shoppers are short-attention spans, especially when they're engaged in an online experience that is visually appealing. You must show shoppers the most relevant products to keep them interested and on their site longer. Instead of presenting text-only lists, present images of the best-selling products that correspond to their preferences.

This is how Nike did it. They immediately show the most relevant products as soon as a customer types the initial letters "r", 'u", or "n" into the on-site search box.

Customers often browse collections pages in addition to doing an on-site search. You can improve conversions by optimizing your display to show the most popular products to your customers. You can promote higher-margin items to make more money, or give extra exposure to low-inventory products that aren't getting enough visibility.

8. Optimize your mobile search & filter

According to the We Are Social 2019 Digital report, more than 5Billion people have a mobile phone. Statista data shows that smartphones and tablets are more popular than desktops for accessing websites.

By 2021 , mobile eCommerce will make up more than 72 per cent of all eCommerce sales. It is not surprising that eCommerce businesses are investing in mobile optimization in order to reach more customers online.

Mobile user trends did not affect Black Friday, where nearly 40% of sales were made via mobile devices. 54% visited the site from their mobile phones on Cyber Monday. 30% of those visitors completed their purchase via their smartphones. Both brick-and-mortar and eCommerce giants such as Target, Walmart, and Amazon saw a dramatic rise in sales via mobile electronics.

Statistics from Dynamic Yield Research (2018) showed that only about 12% of consumers find it convenient to shop online via mobile devices.

Search is an essential function on mobile, just like desktop. People spend a lot of time searching for solutions via their mobile devices. Mobile's smaller screen makes it more difficult to find the right information and is easier than desktop.

Your site search engines should have important functions such as auto-complete, typo tolerance, recognition of root terms, suggestions, and auto-complete. These features will speed up the search process, provide a better customer experience and help your Shopify store get ahead of its competitors.

Mobile phones have limited screen real estate so it is better to use instant mobile search results than leaving the search bar blank. It should be large enough that users can read and click on the right suggestion.

Filtered navigation was originally designed for laptop and desktop users. Because the mobile screen isn't large enough to display all of the filter options and results, it becomes harder to translate this experience.

A new way to provide filtered navigation for mobile users was recently introduced: overlay filters are added on top of search results or collections. This dynamic interaction design is great as users can see the filter they are using and easily access further refinement options without leaving the context of the search result or collection screen.

9. Analytics and data are used to identify trends and take action

Search analytics can provide insight into search usage, user information needs, and information challenges. You can understand the search terms that users use to find information, as well as which queries get no results and which ones convert best. This will give you a clear path to increase sales for your online company.

Search suggestions It is important to understand how users interact and use autosuggestion. Based on how many clicks you make in the analytics, the data from user activity can be used to better predict shoppers intent and provide more relevant ideas.

No results search: allows you to identify zero-result search keywords, determine what products to stock, and which synonyms to use to match key terms.

You can harness the power of site search analytics to discover what your users want and make better data-driven decisions.

Find your market and product demand. On-Site Search also offers information about business opportunities. You can find "hot" products or other product lines by mining the most popular keywords that shoppers use to search on your site.

SEO Improvement: Use your internal site search data for a quick evaluation of your Search engine optimization (SEO). On-site search analytics can be used to validate whether customers are searching for the exact same thing on your site if you have a lot of traffic from SEO and paid search.

Support marketing strategies. Sitesearch analytics can give you strategic insights to help guide your marketing strategy. You can identify popular keywords and align your website, social media, pay per click, PR, and email content to a term group you know is receiving the most attention.

Google Ads has less competition for long-tail keywords bidding. You can also look at your internal site search terms. These should be part of your PPC campaigns.