With the integration of Solr or Elasticsearch, the search functionality in WordPress and WooCommerce transforms from average to exceptional, providing faster, more accurate search results and enhanced user experience.
Having an internal search engine in your e-commerce site, ideally placed in the navigation menu, allows you to cater to customers who are searching for a specific product or already have something in mind from your range. This enhances their shopping experience by making it easier to find exactly what they’re looking for.
On an e-commerce site, customers typically find products in three main ways:
1 Browsing Ads and Offers: Many visitors explore the entire homepage or click on ads and special offers, much like “window shoppers” who browse the selection without any specific preferences, often attracted by promotions or discounts. This group typically represents around 75% of general e-commerce traffic.
2 Product Categories and Navigation: Some visitors use the product categories and navigation menu to find what they want. These are customers who have a particular need but are unsure about the exact product. For example, someone looking for a t-shirt may not settle for just any t-shirt but rather browse different options. This approach gives customers a broader view of what’s available, filtered by their preferences. Around 15-20% of e-commerce traffic tends to use this method.
3 On-site Search: This is for customers who know exactly what they’re looking for and prefer to use a search engine on the website to find it. Whether searching by product name, or specific features like color, material, or shape, on-site search helps customers quickly locate their desired product without browsing. This method typically accounts for 5-10% of general e-commerce traffic.
What on-site search reveals about your website
While some customers use on-site search on your WordPress/WooCommerce site to quickly locate products, a high volume of searches can indicate potential weaknesses. Heavy reliance on the search engine suggests that customers may struggle with site navigation, leading them to search rather than browse other products. This can limit their exposure to other offerings, potentially impacting overall sales. If your site’s search engine is heavily used, it might be a sign that the design or navigation needs improvement. Revisiting these elements can help improve user experience and encourage greater product discovery across your site.
What on-site search reveals about your website
While some customers use on-site search on your WordPress/WooCommerce site to quickly locate products, an excessive reliance on the search engine can signal underlying issues. When customers frequently resort to search, it suggests that they may struggle with site navigation, making it harder for them to explore other products organically. This can limit their exposure to your full range of offerings, potentially impacting sales. If your on-site search is being used heavily, it may indicate the need to revisit your site’s design or navigation. Optimising these elements can enhance user experience and promote greater product discovery.
We recommend using these services
Elasticsearch
We use ElasticSearch when we need a fast, efficient search engine for WordPress and WooCommerce that delivers the core functionalities you expect from a top-tier search solution. ElasticSearch ensures quick, accurate results while providing a seamless user experience for both customers and site administrators.
- Integration projects are relatively quick.
- Cost-effective.
Disadvantages:
- No possibility for internal statistics.
- A lot of work to index PDF, Word and other formats.
Solr
We use Solr when we need a robust search engine for WordPress and WooCommerce that can handle anything you throw at it. Solr has everything you’d expect from a search engine and then some, but it’s not as fast and easy to work with as Elasticsearch.
Pros:
- Easy to index PDF, Word and other formats.
- Internal statistics engine.
Disadvantages:
- Comprehensive software that requires more hands-on integration.
- Can do significantly more things than Elasticsearch which increases complexity.
We can help you to
- Set up and optimise an on-site search engine on your e-commerce.
- Analyse and test how visitors use the search engine.
- Make any changes to navigation and design to increase your conversion and improve the visitor experience.