Supercharge Your Search Part 3 - Style Your Search

Decembers's top CRO Edge-estion

If you have read the first 2 parts in this series you will now know how to analyse your search data and how to take ownership of your search. The last part in this series is about getting customers excited about using your search. Customers who use the search bar are 6 times more likely to convert into a purchase. Therefore the best way to boost your C.R.O is to get people using your search.

Make your search as visible as possible.

Your search should have pride of place and be in optimal view. Users will expect a search box to be at the top and either in the centre or to the right. The daddy of all e-commerce sites Amazon have an extremely obvious and inviting search (in fact I have never used anything else on that site).

Ensure that your search is prominent on every page of your website. You could make your search or header “sticky” so it is always in a user’s view as they scroll down a page.

We recommend having a wide text box for your search so it is inviting and customers know there is space for a detailed query. A magnifying glass symbol or an obvious call to action button will help encourage interactivity.

On all devices you should favour a textual dropdown with suggested search terms and autocomplete as the user types. This makes your search easier to use and can further help direct customers to what you want to show them. Too many images in results can make the search slower and reduce the amount of suggestions within it. Some of the biggest brands like Amazon and Asos take this approach and navigating through their sites via search is easy - therefore in general we recommend not showing images in the search drop-down for most sites.

For mobile users ensure there is a prominent search icon in an easy to use location. Avoid putting your search into your menu, as it will be harder to see and less likely to be used. Here is a simple mobile header giving the search button prime positioning.

You want customers to use your search - so give it pride of place, you can’t really over egg the pudding when it comes to your search box, bigger generally is better. Talk to us about how we can help you improve the look of your search.