On-Site Search: Is Your Site as Optimized as It Could be?

When you hear the term “search engine optimization” you probably think about search giants like Google and Bing and how their search algorithms interact with your website. Well, you would be correct, but did you know there’s an entirely different type of SEO you probably have never considered.We’re talking about on-site search. Also known as internal search, an on-site search takes place when a user searches for content and pages on your site via the site’s search function. According to a survey conducted by eConsultancy, just 15% of companies dedicate enough resources to optimize users’ on-site search experience.This 15% is just a drop in the barrel, considering approximately 30% of site visitors perform on-site searches. Meanwhile, those who perform on-site searches are twice as likely to convert and are more likely to return to your site with the intent to make a future purchase.Optimizing your site for on-site search is different from optimizing your site for search engines like Google and Bing. For one, user behavior during on-site searches is much different in a number of ways.