Not every site needs, nor should have, an on-site search feature. But those that do must be sure that the search isn’t just an after-thought. It needs to be more than something to add because you think visitors want it. Adding a search function is not necessarily good for on-site usability. Implementing a search function improperly is often a greater source of frustration than not having one altogether.

For this reason your on-site search function should not be taken lightly. In fact, it’s better that no search option be present than one that potentially gives the searcher a “false impression” as to the availability of products/information on your website. Much time and consideration (and development) needs to go into the search option to ensure that it not only returns accurate results, but is fully comprehensive in interpreting the searchers intentions.

Location

Website search boxes are most often located in the top right corner of the website. This creates an expectation from shoppers, so make things easy for them and place your search box where they expect to find it.

Search options

The search box should default to a “simple” search. If warranted, provide a link to “advanced” options that allow visitors to fine-tune their search helping them find what they want more quickly.

Case sensitivity

The basic or “simple” search should not be case sensitive. If case sensitivity is an issue then this option should be made available through the advanced search option.

Search labels

The search box and/or button should be clearly labeled. Using words such as “go” or “start” are not inherently obvious for search. The word “search” should absolutely be used on or near the search box.

Results query

The original search query should be presented on the results page, both in the search box and as a headline above the search results. This ensures the visitor knows what exactly was searched and allows them to refine it without having to retype the entire query.

Misspellings

The search feature must be intuitive enough to recognize all possible common misspellings. Searchers who mistype their search and don’t realize it will otherwise be told their product is unavailable on your site, causing them to leave for another site.

Result matches

Results should display exact matches first, with close matches second. This provides visitors with enough information that a second search may not be necessary. Get them what they want sooner, rather than later.

Result highlights

It’s beneficial to highlight (or bold) the words on the results page that were used in the query. Even better if you can continue the highlighting of search words as the visitor clicks through a link into the content page.

Titles and descriptions

Each result should display a clear title and description. This information should be pulled from page titles and meta descriptions or on-page content.

Number of results

Results page should display 10-20 search results at the most, however it’s a nice benefit to add an option to increase/decrease the number of results per page.

Number of result pages

Links to additional search result pages should be provided as necessary and located at both the top and bottom of the page.

Zero results found

If no results are found, you must provide clear messages to visitors suggesting alternative searches, refinement options and links to important areas of the website. You should never leave them with “no results found.”

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As the dynamic CK points out, “Your Company” + SUCKS is the new Google barometer for how well you are
satisfying your customers.  And sometimes, it’s not very pretty.

So how do you change the conversation that your customers are having about your business?  By listening and participating, of course!  And that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to start blogging.  In fact I would never advise a business to begin blogging UNTIL they have begun to monitor the online chatter about their business, as well as what others are saying about their competitors and industry.

If you want to change the ‘You SUCK’ reaction online from customers into ‘You RULE!’, follow these steps:

1 - Monitor.  Find out what is being said about your business RIGHT NOW!  I’ve already detailed exactly how to launch a plan to monitor the blogosphere in a previous SEG post.

2 - Participate.  Once you find these online conversations, join them.  Reply to bloggers, address their comments and concerns.  Launching such an initiative can be done in one day.

3 - Engage.  Challenge your customers to continue the conversation.  Encourage them to give you more feedback, and address and RESPOND to the feedback they give you. 

4 - Co-Create.  You can’t change your bad perception by yourself.  And you can’t do it by listening, either.  You have to bring your customers in and listen to and act upon their complaints.  You have to work with them to co-create your online reputation.  Remember that passion that’s ignored can become anger which leads to a bad online reputation.  But if you embrace the passion of your customers, and apply that passion to creating and improving a dialog with them, then that passion can become evangelism for your business.

But remember that these conversations are happening online about your business, whether you are a participant or not.  Indifference and ignorance are no longer viable excuses, if they ever were.    

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I was talking recently with a friend who’s been trying to hire an SEO to work on her company’s website. She was surprised to find out how much it could cost to hire a good SEO (by “good” I mean those people I was willing to recommend to her because I know they do a good job).

“You always say SEO for most sites isn’t rocket science,” she complained. “How is it these people can get away with charging so much for something so simple?”

Here’s what I told her.

A man worked for years as a maintenance technician at a manufacturing plant. His job was to keep the antiquated production machines running, and he was very good at it. Despite the age of its equipment, the plant hadn’t suffered any downtime in years.

The company was sold, and the new owner wanted to cut costs. Unfortunately, the new owner was a bit “penny-wise and pound-foolish.” He noticed the plant had never had any downtime due to machines breaking down. He reasoned if the machines were so reliable, why did he need a maintenance technician on salary all the time? Despite the production manager’s protests, the new boss laid off the maintenance guy.

Others in the plant knew how to take care of minor maintenance issues, so all went well for a few months. The new owner was patting himself on the back for having made a wise decision, when one of the most important machines in the plant suddenly broke down completely.

Without this machine, all work at the plant came to a standstill. With all the employees standing around and all the other equipment idled, the plant was losing money by the minute.

Worse still, nobody in the building had any idea how to fix the machine. And the company who manufactured the machine had gone out of business decades ago.

Everyone told the owner the only one who knew how to repair that machine was the former maintenance technician. With reluctance, the owner called him.

“Oh, yes, I know that machine well. I’d be happy to come in and help you out,” said the maintenance guy. “But since you laid me off, I’ve gone into business for myself as a consultant. If I can get the machine up and running for you, you’ll have to promise to pay my invoice on the spot.”

The owner didn’t have much choice at that point, so he agreed.

An hour later, the maintenance tech walked through the door. He strode to the malfunctioning equipment, opened his toolbox, and carefully selected a small hammer. He opened a door in the side of the machine, reached in and whacked something inside with the hammer.

The machine started right up.

The man replaced the hammer in his toolbox, wiped his hands, and presented the owner with a neatly typed invoice. It read:

INVOICE
Repair of equipment….. $10,000

“Ten thousand dollars?!” sputtered the owner. “All you did was whack the machine with a hammer! That’s outrageous! How could you possibly expect me to pay ten thousand dollars for five minutes of work?”

The man took back the invoice, extracted a pen from his shirt pocket, and scribbled a few words on the paper. He handed the invoice back, and the owner could see what he’d written:

ITEMIZATION OF CHARGES
Whacking equipment with hammer…….. $100
Knowing exactly where and how hard to whack… $9,900

The plant manager paid the invoice.

Knowing what to do is important, of course, but frankly the what is usually pretty easy to learn. The former employee could have told them the what in 30 seconds over the phone: whack just the right spot with a hammer.

Likewise, most people can grasp the basics of what needs to be done to optimize most small business websites fairly quickly. As my friend pointed out I’ve said on more than one occasion, most of SEO isn’t rocket science.

The hard part, though, is the how. Telling the folks at the plant the machine could be fixed by whacking it with a hammer would have told them the what… but without the how that knowledge would do them little good. Knowing which hammer to use and precisely where and exactly how hard to whack with that hammer — therein lies the skill.

It’s one thing to understand, for instance, you need a unique title tag for each page. It’s quite another to know how to write title tags that effectively incorporate each page’s most important target search phrase and encourage maximum click-throughs from the search results. Simply recognizing you need “search optimized web copy” is a far cry from knowing how to write it. Realizing you need more high-quality links pointing to your pages is not the same as knowing how to go about getting those links.

The what you can learn in minutes. The how takes considerably more time, effort and skill.

It’s the how you pay for when you hire an outside expert, whether it’s an accountant or a lawyer or an SEO or whatever. Those who have devoted the time, put forth the effort and learned the skill sufficient to be considered “experts” are entitled to charge appropriately for their hard-won knowledge.

Absolutely, if you have the time and the desire, you can learn to do it for yourself. But you have to decide whether that’s the best use of your time and energy. For some, it may be worth it to learn. For many others, it’s a better idea to hire an expert and focus their attention on their core business.

The plant was dead in the water without the help of the former maintenance tech. Your company’s website might well be dead in the water without the help of an experienced site optimization expert. If you can afford to let it languish for months and you’re able to spend time away from your core business while you learn the how of optimization, that may be a viable option for you. Otherwise, like the plant manager, your best bet may be to hire the expert.

That’s why the good ones charge what they do for their services, and why their clients willingly pay the invoice.

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