Forrester Research recently reported that a majority (56%) of Web sites don't offer search that meets visitors' needs. The report goes on to say that search is one of the most important aspects of a company's Web site, particularly for those sites that want to attract and retain customers. If people can't quickly find what they're looking for, they'll leave and go to a competitor's site.

In our experience, there are a couple of key factors. First off, users' expectations for good search quality are increasing - something we refer to as the Google effect. Because people are so used to getting good results when 'Googling' a term, those same expectations carry over to other Web sites. Secondly, most companies don't measure the effectiveness of their site search functionality, nor do they know where to start. So determining whether a company's site search is serving customers well and where its shortcomings might be is very difficult.

How does your site search serve your customers? Do you know if people find what they're looking for easily, or if they give up in frustration after a few unfulfilling clicks? SLI Systems just released a new, Free Site Search Feedback Tool which can help you measure this important function. You can find out more information about the tool and download it for free at http://www.sli-systems.com/feedback.php

You can also read more on the topic of the importance of Site Search on our blog at Forrester Blog Article. And while you're there, feel free to send us your comments - we'd love to hear about your site search experiences.

Tips 'n' Tricks: Measure Search Terms Generating Poor Click-thru's

Most site search solutions on the market allow you to see which terms visitors use on your site which generate no click-thru's, but none that we know of - other than our own Learning Search - allows you to also see which terms result in poor click-thru's. Wouldn't you like to know what keywords people use that might cause them to go to one of your competitor's sites, when the term itself could easily be used to match some of your products? By seeing the terms with poor click-thru's you have a greater opportunity to use those terms in your product descriptions and potentially capture more sales.

To find out more, visit Learning Search

SLI Systems in the News

Below are links to recent announcements and news articles highlighting our Learning Search service:

Eastwood Calms Site Search Complaints
DM News, April 26

Important Links:

Learning Search Product Page: http://www.sli-systems.com/site-search.php

Free Feedback Tool: http://www.sli-systems.com/feedback.php

If you have any comments or suggestions for future issues please email us at newsletter@sli-systems.com.