Welcome

Welcome to this new-look edition of Telescope on Search, our monthly newsletter devoted to search. Our goal is to offer a regular, quick-browse e-newsletter with useful information, tips, and news of the latest developments on Site Search, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, and site usability. If you have any feedback or questions please direct them to newsletter@sli-systems.com.

Feature: Have You Looked at the Many Facets
of Your Site Search Results? Part 1

Faceted search, which refers to the categorizing of search results, is often not used to its full potential to drive people to the products they seek. While it's called different things by different people, faceted search is becoming a standard feature in site search and is something your visitors will now expect. Facets on your search help your visitors find what they're looking for by making it easy to refine their search. This in turn improves conversion rates.

To see an example of faceted search in action, go to www.ulta.com (an SLI customer site) and type in "lipstick" in the search window. As you'll see, when the search results are delivered, there's a section at the top with categorized results, which gives people a chance to filter their results to more specific types of products. Since there are fewer pages of results to scroll through, this tactic simplifies the search for your customers and increases the chances they'll find what they want and make a purchase. As you'll see in this example, it's possible to sort the results by numerous categories including brand, price, product category, feature, sub-brand, and others.

There are several ways to show the facets to your visitors. They can be shown as links or as a drop down menu. They can be shown at the top of the page or on either side of the search results. The best layout for your facets depends on your site and your visitors' preferences. The layout will impact how often the facets are used. We've seen usage as low as 3% in a site which offers a single drop-down box and as great as 40% where multiple facet choices are presented 'above the fold'. It's worth experimenting to see what works best on your site.

Are you taking full advantage of Faceted Search on your own site? If not, SLI Systems' team of search experts can help you determine the right categories to offer for different products. Contact us at sales@sli-systems.com.

Stay tuned for the our next issue of Telescope on Search where we'll discuss the benefits of using the facets not just for search but also for your navigation.

Tips'n' Tricks: Get Feedback on Your Site Search from
Your Most Trusted Source ? Your Customers

Did you know you can very easily solicit feedback from your site visitors about how well your site search is working for them? A simple plug-and-play Feedback Tool ? available for free download from our Web site ? will give you invaluable data about how effective your site search is at helping people find what they're looking for and ultimately making a purchase. A standard question: ?Did you find this search useful?? appears on the results page of every search conducted, and your customers have the option to click ?Yes? or ?No? and offer additional comment.

With the holidays right around the corner, now could be a perfect time to get this feedback and still have time to make any changes before the online shopping frenzy begins. Contact us if you would like more information.

If you have any tips or tricks you'd like to share, email us at newsletter@sli-systems.com.

SLI Systems & Customers in the News

E-commerce Guide: Savvy Search Boosts Sales - August 15, 2006

Hosted E-commerce Search Provider SLI Systems Celebrates 5th Birthday - August 15, 2006

Sales Bloom on Home and Garden Retail Sites with SLI Systems' Hosted Search Solutions ? August 8, 2006

Time.com: SLI powered Shop Intuition named in Time's 50 Coolest Websites 2006 - August 3, 2006

SLI Systems Brings Suite of E-Commerce Search Solutions to U.K. Market ? July 5, 2006

If you have any comments or suggestions for future issues please email us at newsletter@sli-systems.com.