What happens when you combine two key factors like search optimization and merchandising? You get Searchandising! Not only does your on-site search illuminate information about your customers to you, but ultimately, it makes your store easier to navigate and creates the perfect journey for users to find what they’re looking for. In the following few paragraphs, we’re going to talk about why Searchandising is the key to unlocking a higher converting site.
What are the KPIs of a successful site optimization?
👉 #1️ Higher conversion rate
👉 #2️ Lower cart abandonment rates
Conversion rate optimization, also known as CRO, identifies what makes a visitor buy and then applies those principles to other visitors. One of our fav tools for monitoring the user journey and learning why users do or don’t convert is Hotjar. Enabling you to watch user sessions and view heatmaps, it gives a crystal clear picture of what your users want in terms of search, merchandising, and the overall buying journey.
💡Keep in Mind: One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to optimizing your site - changes should be based on user behavior, industry, product assortment, psychographics, and demographics.
What your on-site search can illuminate:
👉Products that your customers are having a hard time finding
When you’re shopping online, where do you go when you don’t know where to go? A search engine! Your on-site search is the same for your customers. Typically, before dropping off, or even at the first resort, customers will use the search function to find what they’re looking for. So, as you can imagine, these keywords can really illuminate what they’re trying to find AND what they’re having a hard time finding.
👉 What your highest converting customers really want
Customers that use your on-site search function are much likelier to become buyers (2 to 4 times likelier to be exact!) than those who don't use search. So, looking into past search keywords from users is like looking into the minds of your actual converting customers. This can show you want they want in terms of price, shipping, colorways, sizes, and more.
For Shopify stores, here’s how you can easily check customers’ past search history.
Reducing abandoned cart rates and increasing conversion rates:
In order to increase conversion, it’s crucial to understand why customers are dropping off and abandoning their carts in the first place. The industry standard for abandoned carts is a massive 70%! This is a lot of lost customers and revenue that you can easily recoup with some simple optimizations. In terms of money, that's about $18 billion a year! So, why ARE most customers abandoning their carts? ⬇️
Once the above common cart abandonment issues are addressed, it’s clear to see how the final optimizations coming between you and your customer could be solved with stronger Searchandising.
Between 30% and 60% of users fall back on the internal site search to find what they need. For many, it's quicker and functionally easier to use than navigation. This is why it’s important to invest in your on-site search.
In terms of Apps, for the best overall value, we suggest Searchanise. For a more enterprise solution, that covers more than just search and gets into the nitty gritty of merchandising too, we suggest Searchspring.
Quickly add new products to your store based on users’ search terms:
As you dig into your search term reporting, you may be wondering how to quickly add new products to your store without losing a ton of money.
Using a cross-store selling solution, like Carro, enables you to add new products to your store in just a single click. With Carro, you can browse the network of top D2C brands’ product catalogs and add their products directly to your site! With zero upfront wholesale costs or logistics required, Cross-Store selling is a fantastic way to test out new products that your customers are inquiring about in your on-site search.
Time to start searchandising! ⬇️
Ready to review your search results reports with a Cross-Store selling product pairing expert?
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