Suggestive search
Suggestive search has many names. It is also called "autocomplete search" and "autocomplete suggestions". Here you can read what it is and the benefits of using suggestive search on your website.
In the "old days" (on the web), a search function was an empty input field where you could type your keyword/search phrase. Once you had entered your keyword, you clicked "search" and the search function would see if it could find something that matched.
But then came the suggestive search feature. Loosely translated, this means "suggested search" - the search engine suggested search phrases you could search for. This meant that people who were unsure of a spelling or name would be helped to find the right one and most people see this as a benefit, as the algorithm is now so good that it really helps you on your way.
Suggestive search can look at several things. Firstly, what users have searched for previously, but usually in a webshop, the search function will look at which products or categories match the search string entered by the user.
Often, the user enters a search consisting of a brand and a category such as "Adidas hoodie" or "Adidas shorts". Once the user has entered "Adi", even the simplest search engine knows that we're looking for something with "Adidas" and can start suggesting the most searched categories and most popular products.
If the user completes "Adidas" and continues with an "s", the search engine knows that it's not "Adidas hoodies", but perhaps "Adidas sneakers" or "Adidas shorts".
The advantage of suggestive search
There is almost nothing but good things to say about suggestive search. Users who struggle with spelling or simply have difficulty spelling e.g. the brand, which many do, will be guided to the right spelling and hopefully the right product.
In addition, many find it a great help and the search is easier.
The only condition is that the search results should not be too slow. This means that both your web server and the user's internet connection must be reasonably fast. Fortunately, both mobile speeds and web servers are reasonably fast today. So, in short, there's nothing stopping you from using suggestive search on your webshop today.
We know online marketing in Shoporama
We've been working with online marketing ourselves for decades. As the only shop system in the country, we have spoken multiple times at conferences such as Marketingcamp, SEOday, Shopcamp, Digital Marketing, E-commerce Manager, Ecommerce Day, Web Analytics Wednesday and many more.