Our customer U.S. Toy has found that cross-linking site search results across its three different websites has increased revenue and reduced confusion among shoppers. The online retailer of toys and classroom supplies has separate sites for consumers and teachers/educators, so visitors sometimes didn’t realize they were on the wrong site – and their searches didn’t turn up results for products that could be found on another U.S. Toy site.

U.S. Toy now cross-links results for all three sites, so that visitors on one site can conduct a search and find products available on the alternate sites. If they click on such a product, they are taken to the site with the product they need.

As U.S. Toy found out, cross-linking can help keep customers on sites longer and make larger purchases, since they’re more likely to conduct successful searches and find what they’re looking for. Since the company began cross-linking in March, site search referrals from each of its sites are responsible for 13% of total revenue for the educator-focused website, and shoppers have completed several hundred purchases that would have otherwise been lost. Click here to read more about U.S. Toy and cross-linking.

From the look of things, UK eRetailers have bought into the idea of Site Search as a Full-Service to provide the best user experience on their sites, while removing the headaches commonly associated with set-up and maintenance over time.

In the past week we announced 2 new UK online retailers SockShop, a specialty socks and hosiery e-retailer, and Outdoor Megastore, which sells outdoor clothing and camping gear, reaping the benefits of Full-Service search. These are just a couple of the e-retail clients in the UK we’re now working with, and we’ll be announcing many more in the coming weeks (including some fairly recognizable names).

What’s apparent from our work with SockShop and Outdoor Megastore is that online shoppers in countries around the globe have the same requirements for an intuitive, streamlined experience when shopping online (or on mobile devices). And both of these companies struggled to offer that before they started working with SLI. For example, by relying on the default site search that was part of its e-commerce platform, Outdoor Megastore found its previous site search to be a major cause of site abandonment, and was a barrier to the superior online experience they aimed to deliver.

With SLI’s Full-Service Search in place, both companies now offer a range of refinement options in search results, as well as suggestions for alternate search terms and the ability to sort results by a variety of factors (price, brand, etc.). As a result, abandonment rates have dropped, and visitors who search stay on the site longer, view more pages and convert at a higher rate than those who don’t search. These results demonstrate exactly what we want our clients to see – that a more powerful site search can drive more business online and offer almost-immediate ROI benefits.

Perhaps online retailers in the UK – and their customers – are on to something.

I spotted a story in Twin Cities Business blog  about 3M suing Shoplet over their site search results and thought it was worthy of a comment or two. I found this interesting because its not often you see a lawsuit talking about the relevance of site search results. Shoplet are not a customer of ours.

The crux of the story is that 3M are suing Shoplet because when you search for “Post-it” on the Shoplet site 3M’s competitors products are shown first despite the fact that the results are based on relevance. This raises the question of what does relevance mean? You can see from the screenshot below that the Universal products are shown at the top of the search results.

Maybe for the Shoplet customers the Universal products are the best (by some measure). They certainly seem cheaper than the Post-it products. It comes down to how the shoplet site search engine determines relevance. If the ranking they are showing is the best experience for the users of their site, then are shoplet doing anything wrong? The lawsuit claims that manufacturers can pay a fee to receive prominent placement on its site. Maybe this is what is happening. But getting prominent placement on the site doesn’t necessarily mean getting prominent placement within the search results for particular terms.

In my opinion, what is more damming from Shoplet’s point of view is the fact that there is a “Post It” tag on the product page for the Universal Self-Stick Notes. Tags are normally manually added as additional  information that can have a number of purposes, including:

1. Giving the users more information about the contents of the page,
2. Helping the internal search engine rank the page for the tags,
3. Acting as a navigation aid to find related information.

By putting the Post It tag on the Universal Product shoplet are explicitly saying they want this product to rank for the search term Post It. But again, if it is best for the users, is it wrong in the eyes of the law. It will be interesting to see the result of this lawsuit. Chances are we’ll never see what happens, these things tend to be settled privately.

SLI Systems Blog, Guest Post

Contributed by: Steve Warren, Vice President of Business Development, Fifth Gear

Every retail transaction has a lifecycle. In ecommerce, that lifecycle includes four distinct stages, each representing an opportunity to impress or disappoint your customers. The quality of this four stage process determines a shopper’s opinion of your brand, and it means the difference between a one-time buyer and a repeat customer.

Stage 1: Identify Need and Search

We all understand what it means to identify a need. Whether the washing machine goes on the fritz, or you see an ad for those shoes you didn’t know you wanted, this is where the shopping process begins.

For up to 95% of ecommerce shoppers, the next step is an internet search. This is why search engine visibility is utterly crucial for online retailers. Unless shoppers have a prior positive experience with your brand, they’ll turn to Google to find the product they’re seeking. Your site must rank in that search or your site will be overlooked entirely. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts have real bottom line impact. We all know that SEO is a complex, nuanced and resource intensive process, so retailers should work with a reputable search firm to gain visibility. A solid SEO strategy is the best way to start a great experience with your shoppers.

Stage 2: Compare Solutions and Make the Purchase

Once customers arrive at your ecommerce site, they won’t want to wade through pages of tabs and links. For immediate engagement with your potential buyer, provide a prominent search box in the universal header of your site. The ease and convenience of on-site search gives you an advantage over competing sites, allowing for relevant product comparisons. When an advanced search tool is used, your shopper is three times more likely to make a purchase.

Next, be sure you’ve removed all roadblocks between the purchase decision and payment. Online retailers must make the purchase process simple, painless and intuitive. Ecommerce checkout design is the last interaction a customer has with your site. Make it a pleasurable experience.

Stage 3: Receive Your Order

Throughout the ordering process, you’ve communicated a brand promise: “We provide convenience and quality. We care about you.” The actual delivery of your product to a customer’s front door is the fulfillment of your brand promise.

The delivery must be timely, accurate and attractively packaged – meeting or exceeding every expectation of the product’s anticipated arrival. If the customer has questions before or after delivery, your contact center agents must be well informed, and in tune with the voice of your brand. Order fulfillment and customer support require costly infrastructure including facilities, staff, technology and vendor relationships. To ensure brand integrity while maintaining efficiencies, consider working with experienced order fulfillment providers who can deliver that brand promise on your behalf.

Stage 4: Form an Opinion

Satisfaction with the overall experience will determine whether or not there is a next-time purchase. Your company’s ability to form a positive opinion in the mind of the shopper is the final determining factor that will either bring them back again or send them looking somewhere else. Ensure satisfaction with a clear brand promise that matches your product delivery. Remove roadblocks from discovery to purchase, and fulfill that promise with a quality product.

In order to provide a great shopping experience to every ecommerce buyer and win them over for another purchase, retailers must craft each stage of the order lifecycle. Analyze these stages in your business, and you’ll find new ways to increase your percentage of repeat customers.