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Enterprise Search Best Practices

Introductions: Jason and Chris
Chris Risner – Chief Strategy Officer
Jason Lichon – Chief Solutions Officer

Agenda
The importance of search
How to know when to invest
Best Practices with examples
How to initiate a search project

Project Definition Process
DescriptionThe Importance of Site Search

The Importance of Site Search
Users that perform a
search convert 5x
more often than
those that don’t.
Forrester Research
5x
• Very directed
activity
• Bottom of the
funnel … maybe

80% of visitors will
abandon sites if
search functionality
is poor
Jupiter Media
80%
• Bar is raised
• Mobile impatience

Content and Keyword Strategy Tool
Keyword search analytics can be one of
best ways to formulate content strategy.

DescriptionHow to Know When to Invest

How to Know When to Invest: You Have No Search
You have no search function …
… and you have a lot of content

How to Know When to Invest in Search: Poor Analytics
 Lots of “no results” > content issue or search issue?
 Search yields poor conversions
 Search has high abandonment (“search exits”)
 Users have to paginate or re-search to get results
 Search is the initial content finding mechanism
*Analytics can take some effort to set up
Indications from analytics

How to Know When to Invest: Mobile Impacts
Your mobile usage is growing …
 And mobile bounce rate is high
 And mobile pages views per visit are low
 And mobile conversion is low

How to Know When to Invest: Out of the Box Engine
You’re still using a standard platform search
 Via your CMS or e-com platform
 Limited customization options
 Platform vendor is focused on other features
 Search was never tuned, just “turned on”

How to Know When to Invest: Competitive Positioning
Your competitors have a better site
search

DescriptionBest Practices in Site Search

Best Practices
 Make it prominent
 Make it wide enough
 Include Instruction
 Autocomplete /
Guided
 Follow convention
 Auto focus
Search
Box  Include all your content
 Faceting / filters
 Segment content types
 Content previewing
 Provide display options
 Provide sorting options
 Natural language handling
Results Page

Best Practices – The Search Box: Make it Prominent
 Make it prominent
 Make it wide enough for typical keywords
 Consider “watermark” guidance
 Use autocomplete and guided navigation techniques
 Don’t ignore convention and place search box in odd
location
 Auto focus
Search Box Best Practices

Best Practices – The Search Box: Make it Prominent
Make it Prominent

Best Practices – The Search Box: Autocomplete and Guiding
 Show common keywords that match typing a la Google
 Show potential content matches
 Show potential category matches
 Segment options by content type
 Combinations
Search Box – Autocomplete and Guiding

Best Practices – The Search Box: Autocomplete and Guided

Best Practices: The Results Page
 Include all your content – federated search
 Faceting / filters so that users can narrow
 Segment content types via tabs or panes
 Content previewing using hover, modal, etc.
 Provide display options such as list vs. grid
 Provide sorting options – popularity, date, price, etc.
 Language handling – synonyms, plurality, misspellings
Results Page Best Practices

 Searching across multiple data sources …
 Different portals, brands, forums, cloud content stores,
CRM, ERP, etc.
 Saves frustration, exposes all your activities
Federated Search

Federated Search

 Search context
 Facets
 Tabs for content types
 Content previewing
Best Practices

Result item template
adjusts according to the
kind of content
Best Practices

Provide display options to
user: calendar grid vs.
event list view
Best Practices

Best Practices
Provide display options to
user: calendar grid vs.
event list view

Best Practices
• Searchable parametric
filters
• Tabbed content types
• Configurable columns
• Instructional and
contextual info
GREAT FOR TECHNICAL
AUDIENCE

Best Practices
• Content types are
segmented
• Refinement via tags
• Extended filter options
hidden upon initial
load
SIMPLE, EASY UI FOR
CONSUMERS

DescriptionHow To Initiate a Search Project

Getting a Better Search: Initiating a Project
 Gather analytics data
 Attempt to quantify the cost of poor search – should help
establish a budget
 Attempt to quantify benefits of improved search
 Identify pain points – missing content, poor language
handling, poor relevancy, slow speed
 Determine if current engine can be improved
Assessment of Current Search

Getting a Better Search: Initiating a Project
 Identify comparable sites and their approach / engine
 Determine if there are solutions for your particular
platform
 Establish requirements that address your pain points
 Look for service providers that can help you identify a
solution (search engine + implementation)
 Explore on premise vs. cloud hosted options
Identify Options for Improvement

DescriptionOur Solution
+
Services Platform

Todays Topic: BravoSquared Enterprise Search
www.bravosquared.com

Enterprise Level Search Solution
Can be plugged into any existing website
Dramatically improves site search

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