Search Yourself

The words 'search marketing' usually bring up thoughts of Google and Yahoo. But Tower Records found it could increase conversion rates by 50% by improving it's on-site search. Wow.

Realizing its site search wasn’t producing results that would convert visitors into purchasers, Tower Records deployed a new search and navigation tool last fall from Mercado Software. Search-to-sales conversion rates rose 50% and customer satisfaction ratings “went through the roof,” Kevin Ertelll, vice president of e-commerce, tells InternetRetailer.com.

On site search is a feature that most developers and ecommerce packages either don't support, or don't support well. Most inexpensive 3rd party search add-ons aren't very good either. There's a class of higher end products that can work very well (as these Mercado results demonstrate). Hopefully this success will motivate more entrants and broader recognition that search is an important part of how people use your site, not just how they find it.

(Original info via MarketingVox)

Posted by Craig Danuloff at July 23, 2004 1:28 PM