Should a corporate website conduct on-site search? First, see if the user is looking for content or answers

It's easy to place a magnifying glass in the upper right corner of a website, but it's not cheap to create truly useful in-site searches. It requires content indexing, synonyms, sorting, filtering, no-result handling and continuous maintenance. If the corporate website has only about twenty pages, all users need is clear navigation, and the search box will instead hide the problems.

01 When these signals appear, site search begins to be valuable

Conversely, if the corporate website has less content, clear navigation, and users are mainly getting to know the company for the first time, priority should be given to doing a good job with the homepage, service page and contact path. Search should not become a patch that says "We don't know how to organize the content."

02 site search and navigation address two different types of tasks

Navigation is suitable for exploration: Users still don't know what's on the website and need to form an understanding through classification. Search suitable positioning: Users already know the keywords, models or issues and hope to directly reach the results. Mature corporate websites usually coexist, but each has its own boundaries.

If users don't know what to search for, no matter how large the search box is, it won't solve the problem of information architecture.

03 The search scope must be clearly stated

Corporate corporate websites often include products, cases, news, downloads, help documents and recruitment at the same time. By default, all the content is mixed in one result list, and the relevance is very likely to be distorted. Users can search first and then filter by type, industry, year or product line. Local search can also be provided in the product catalog and document center.

04 Query understanding is more important than the style of the search box

Users may input "ERP interface", "erp api", "System Integration" or an old product name, but the website only retains a standard title internally. Search needs to handle case, space, Chinese and English, model hyphens, common misspellings, synonyms and old names. For enterprise products, maintaining a query dictionary is usually more valuable than adding more visual effects.

05 The result page should let the user know why it hit

• Echo the query terms entered by the user and allow for quick modifications.
• Display the total amount of results, content types and necessary filters, without creating false accuracy.
• Display short summaries, highlight hit words, versions or product lines outside the title.
• Provide a clear "no result" status. Don't just write "Not found".
• Retain keyboard operation, visible tags and clear focus. The search box cannot merely rely on placeholders to indicate its purpose.

06 "Zero Result" is not an error page but a list of requirements

When there are no results, it can prompt to check spelling, display similar words, recommend popular categories, and provide an entry for contacting technical support or submitting material requests. The background needs to record zero result words, rewritten words and departure rates. If someone continuously searches for a certain model but gets no results, it might not be a problem with the search algorithm, but rather the website is lacking content.

07 Before going live, a set of real queries is used for acceptance

When searching for acceptance, you cannot just enter the page title. At least several types of queries should be selected from sales, customer service, search logs and product information: exact model, old name, industry common name, typos, mixed Chinese and English input, long questions, no result words and high commercial value words. For each query, it is necessary to check whether the results on the first screen are reasonable, whether the summary helps with judgment, whether the filtering is effective, and whether the user can find the next step when there are no results.

• Prepare 10 to 30 real queries and mark the ideal content type that each query hits.
• Have people who are not familiar with the website structure complete the search task and record whether the words need to be repeatedly modified.
• Deliberately enter non-existent models, old product names and spelling mistakes, and check the recovery path.
• Recheck the search box, filters and result list under mobile phone and keyboard operation.
• After going online, compare the test words with the real search logs and continuously supplement synonyms and content.

08 Self-built or use third-party search

Frequently Asked Questions

How many pages does a corporate website need for an site search?

There is no uniform quantity. Dozens of highly similar product models may require a search, and hundreds of well-structured pieces of content may mainly rely on classification. It should be seen whether the user has a clear query goal and whether the navigation is still valid.

Should the search results page within the site be indexed by Google?

Most dynamic query results are not suitable as independent SEO pages, especially those with a large number of parameters and repetitive combinations. Indexable content should be carried by stable category, product and special topic pages, and specific rules need to be set in combination with technical implementation.

Should the search box always be displayed or only have ICONS?

For websites with frequent searches, it is recommended to directly display the input box or obvious entry. If the search is only an auxiliary function, ICONS can be used, but there must be a clear accessible name and expansion feedback.

Does the site search need maintenance after going live?

Necessary. The addition of new content, product renaming, synonyms, sorting rules and zero result words will all change. Search without an operational mechanism will become increasingly inaccurate as the website grows.