Knowledge Center

Site Search

Modern AI services like Google and Alexa have trained consumers to expect a clear, direct answer whenever we ask a question — even on brands’ own websites. By surfacing direct answers on your website, you can pave a smooth path to a transaction — whether that’s an order, an appointment, a call, an RSVP, or any other action.

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What is Site Search?

If you've ever typed a word or phrase into a website's search bar, you know what site search is. Simply put, site search is the process of searching for products, services, or information directly on a business' website, rather than looking up that information via third-party search services like Google, Amazon Alexa, Siri, etc.

The people who land on your website are either existing or potential customers whose business you want to be able to capture. A good site search experience does just that. A customer who can navigate to your website, ask a question pertaining to their needs, and quickly see a relevant result is more likely to do business with you. If you create a great site search experience on your website, delivering the right answers at the customer's moment of intent, you'll be able to increase conversions — and hopefully, you'll have delivered a seamless experience that makes customers want to come back to you.

How do I add site search to my website?

Build Knowledge Graph

Build and maintain your own brand knowledge graph. With a knowledge graph, you can define the relationships between all of the entities essential to your business — such as your products, hours, locations, and more — so that you can answer the questions customers are likely to ask on your website.

Make Search Bar Prominent

Make your search bar prominent on your main page against a minimalist UI backdrop. Add descriptive placeholder text that helps users understand how and why to use the search bar.

Tailor Results Page

Tailor the results pages to your liking. Build the page to serve both the visitor's needs and your own business needs, inclusive of relevant imagery and calls-to-action.

Benefits of Good Site Search

Increase Conversions

Put direct answers and calls-to-action at your customers' fingertips, so you always meet them at their moment of intent.

Reduce Support Costs

Answers helps consumers find information quickly and easily — without having to contact a support center or chatbot.

Gain New Customer Intelligence

Search Analytics catalogs each search query, and its response, to show you where you might be missing opportunities with customers.

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Learn how the Yext Answers Platform enables brands to capture and retain consumer traffic from all corners of the web.

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