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Marina Lippincott
Why You Need To Set Up Predictive Search For Your Ecommerce Site
Before we get into the why you need predictive search, first let’s introduce you to what it is. Have you noticed that when you are typing a query on Google, Google suggests some keywords to help you complete your search? If any of the suggestions match what you’re trying to get information on, you click on it and the search engine will load related results. Let’s say you want to know about “black dresses for girls”. When you type in “black”, Google will suggest keywords such as black panther, blackboard, black mirror, black bet, black seed, and black-ish. Since these suggestions don’t match what you are looking for, you continue to type in, so now, you have “black dresses”. This time, Google will update the suggestions to black dresses for girls, black dresses for graduation, black dresses for women, black dresses for wedding, black dresses near me, black dresses plus size, and black dresses online. Now, you can choose “black dresses for girls”.
This is how predictive search works, many sites use it already. It uses your entry during the search, and your browsing history to come up with possible suggestions. I’m quite sure you’re familiar with this feature on eBay, Amazon, Walmart and others. So why do you, as a small or medium scale business owner, need to set up predictive search on your site? Simply put, it will improve your site’s navigation and sales. In fact, a study shows that predictive search can increase an average website’s conversion rate from 2.77% to 4.63%.
How Predictive Search Can Improve Your Ecommerce Sales
Predictive search was first used by Google in 2004, and has since then been adopted by 80% of e-commerce sites on the internet. Since then, the use of predictive search on e-commerce sites, customer interactivity and customer engagement have increased by 11% and 20% respectively. This is because predictive search can do the following:
It Makes Navigation Easier For Potential Customers
There’s nothing more annoying than when someone visits a site but can’t find what they’re looking for on the site because of poor navigation. Imagine having to manually search for an item on Amazon or eBay, it may take you days before you will find the item. Even scrolling through pages of products can be too demanding for a ready buyer who already knows what they want to buy. This is why comprehensive search is important. It will save your e-commerce site’s visitors the time and stress of manually navigating your site. Also, they won’t have to type in all their queries because the predictive search feature on your site will give them product suggestions based on their keyword and browsing history.
It Will Make Your Ecommerce Site Look Organized
Besides helping potential buyers find products quickly, predictive search will make your e-commerce site more organized. A well optimized predictive search feature will show products according to their category. You can also make your site’s predictive search feature show product images. This will let potential buyers have a peek at different products images without having to click each product one by one. For example, here are two sites, righttobear.com and firepenny.com both sites were developed by MAKDigital and both sites use our Volusion Predictive Search App, they both allow for potential buyers to see the product images. Both sites also show product categories when a potential buyer enters a keyword.
Why users like predictive search
One of the reasons why users like predictive search or autocomplete as it is often called, is that it helps them complete their typing. Google has said that predictive search saves internet users 25% of total time typing. This may not seem like much but when calculated, we learned that autocomplete saves up to 200 years of typing each day. So predictive search relieves potential buyers of the stress of typing, which means that your site won’t be demanding too much from users unlike e-commerce sites that do not make use of autocomplete.
Volusion Predictive Search developed by MAK
Predictive search functionalities have the tendency to influence potential buyers to make purchases. Predictive Search is notable for improved conversion rate and sales and this is why we here at MAKDigital created a completely stand alone application that is easy to install and modify for your Volusion Store.
We understand the benefits of having the predictive search feature on your e-commerce site and we also understand the possible challenges. That is why we are here to provide you with quality predictive search installation. You too can add a predictive search feature to your e-commerce site today and have it up and running in just under a week!
Our custom predictive search Volusion extension will not require you to have monthly payments unlike SearchSpring, Nextopia or 4-tell that charge monthly fees.
We offer a one-time app installation for your e-commerce site, making it more affordable over other companies, while providing better value to improve your e-commerce conversion rate and sales.
Tech-savvy and innovative, Marina is a full-stack developer with a passion for crafting seamless digital experiences. From intuitive front-end designs to rock-solid back-end solutions, she brings ideas to life with code. A problem-solver at heart, she thrives on challenges and is always exploring the latest tech trends to stay ahead of the curve. When she's not coding, you'll find her brainstorming the next big thing or mentoring others to unlock their tech potential.
