What is smart search

Before we explain what smart search is, you first need to understand the concept of website search. Website search is a technology that gives the user the ability to search the content of a particular website for a given string. In other words, it’s an internal function of an online resource designed to quickly find content that is of interest to the user. Most search algorithms are based on pre-indexing pages and files.

Smart search is an advanced search algorithm that is embedded in the website’s code. With the help of an AI, it’s capable of recognizing typos, finding synonyms, recognizing transliteration, correcting queries entered with the wrong keyboard layout, etc. Smart website search operates in a way similar to that of a search engine, which can understand user queries even if they’re entered incorrectly.

Smart search has a number of features, including:

• Synonym correction.
• Dynamic filters.
• Query optimization (correcting typos, queries entered with the wrong keyboard layout, and transliteration; taking morphology into account during search).
• API support, etc.

Statistics

About 70% of users will leave the website after failing to find the item they want in 60 seconds. More than 43% of visitors use the search bar. And 12% of potential customers will leave you for a competitor after an unsuccessful search attempt. These days, it’s highly important to get the interest of your potential customers and enable them to find the right product.

Smart website search is no longer just an element that every website is expected to have — it’s a powerful tool for working with your conversion rate and boosting sales. It paves the user’s way to the item they’re looking for.

Dependence of sales on the search algorithm

When a website incorrectly handles search queries, shows too many options, or fails to find anything at all, your sales go down, since the user can’t buy what they can’t find. Visitors who use the search bar to find a product don’t want to waste their time, switch their keyboard layout, correct typos, or properly phrase their queries — they want to find and buy the item they’re looking for. Therefore, your sales directly depend on the quality of your search algorithm. By implementing smart search, you’re increasing the sales numbers on your website.

Influence of content

As obvious as it is, many stores forget that their search algorithm needs to know the quality of a product’s content. One of the key goals of a search algorithm is to get the user’s attention and show products that are appealing to them. And the quality of content, such as the availability of an image or video, a detailed description, and the attributes of the product, affect the user’s impression. Your search algorithm should be able to evaluate the quality of content and bring the most attractive products to the top. People don’t want to think and spend their effort while shopping. The most common type of customer is a picture person, which is a customer who simply scans the information for what they ultimately need to get.

Benefits of smart website search (for the user and for the company)

For the user

With smart search, the user will be able to quickly find the right product, even if they forget the correct spelling, make a typo, fail to switch to the right keyboard layout, etc. The customer will be happy to find what they were looking for while spending as little time as possible. You have to agree that when Yandex/Google corrects the query we type into the search bar, it makes our experience easier, and likewise, smart search will make it easier for the visitor to your website to find the right item.

For the website owner

Smart search helps you to avoid losing potential customers or missing out on sales because of the user’s mistakes. With that being the case, it reduces the percentage of your website’s exit rate associated with unsuccessful search attempts. It’s always a shame when a visitor enters an incorrect query and leaves your website, not knowing how close they were to buying the right product.

Summary

• Smart search allows increasing the sales conversion rate by helping the user to find and buy the right product.
• Smart search helps you to meet your marketing goals.
• Smart search is a cutting-edge solution for online stores and other websites with a large number of pages. It greatly simplifies your website’s user experience by understanding the user’s search query and displaying the results they need in a timely manner.

We recommend you carefully examine your website’s search algorithm after reading this article to find out whether it can take into account everything smart search does.