Site Search – Website visitors are telling you what they want.

When I’m asked about the fundamental elements of a successful site, I always include site search. I know you think that’s crazy. Great writing makes sense. Good design and navigation are web essentials. Online giving helps you support the mission. But, site search?

Well, yes. A search field is more than a convenient tool for web visitors. It is a fundamental component of the visitor/donor experience because it is a window on visitor needs and desires. There are huge benefits for your web visitors and for you.

How Site Search Can Help Your Visitors
You put a lot of work into your organization’s site. But the amount of content is not the only issue: to have value, your site must be accessible. You should certainly consider your overall site architecture, and your navigation options, but many people will need to locate a specific topic right away, and won’t follow links.

In fact, the majority of people who have used the web for four or more years are likely to skip the navigation altogether and look for the search box on a site. In some cases, visitors will come to your site for a reason you could never anticipate, and will not find the navigation links useful.

For example, if you have a site about community youth programs, visitors could find your site by researching the area or youth programs in general. Visitors could be potential funders or persons looking to enroll in the program. Each will have different needs and will approach your site differently. The web is fantastic because each person can potentially get what they need from you site, but you can never anticipate what they'll want!

Site search is particularly useful for sites that get a significant number of search engine-driven visitors landing on pages deep within the site hierarchy. It is also helpful for sites that are adding new and valuable information regularly.

How Site Search Can Help You
A site search tool with reporting capabilities allows you to learn more about what your visitors are looking for. Site search reports enable you to better understand what your visitors are looking for when visiting your site, what they can and cannot find, what the most popular search terms are, and how often they rely on the search box provided.

Once identified this research can be used in a variety of ways. You can insure that there is not a disconnect between the content you provide and content users are looking for. Have your copywriters use these terms as they develop new content.

The valuable information from site search can also help you with organic search engine optimization (use these terms in your page title and description meta tags)as well as paid search advertising. The terms people use on your site should be the building blocks for your keyword list as you prepare to launch pay-per-click search engine advertising.

When you analyze and act on the knowledge the search function brings, you give visitors and donor’s access to what they want, establish a channel for influencing visitors and donors and eliminate any guesswork involved.

January 2006

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