Site Search Analytics — What Zero-Result Searches Are Telling You

Short answer: site search queries are the clearest statement of intent you will ever get from a visitor. Track what people search for, how often a search returns nothing, and what they do next. Zero-result searches show demand you are failing to meet, through missing products, missing content, or wording your search does not understand. Fixing the top twenty usually pays for itself quickly.

Table of Contents

1. Why Searchers Matter
2. What to Track
3. Types of Failed Search
4. What Recordings Show
5. Fixes in Order of Effort
6. Key Takeaways

Why Searchers Matter

Someone who types into your search box knows what they want. On most stores, visitors who search convert at a noticeably higher rate than those who only browse. A failed search turns your most motivated visitor into an exit.

What to Track

Send searches as a custom event, with a result count:

deepsync("track", "site_search", { resultCount: 0 });

A privacy note: people type names, emails, and sensitive terms into search boxes. Do not send the raw query to third-party tools unless you have considered that, and avoid putting queries in the URL where every script can read them (PII in URLs). Analyse the query text in your own search backend, and use behavior analytics for what happens around the search.

Types of Failed Search

The non-product row is commonly overlooked. Many searches on a store are for policies and help, and a product-only search engine returns nothing.

What Recordings Show

Filter sessions to those that fired your search event with no results, and watch ten.

• Do they retype the query with different spelling?
• Do they give up after one attempt?
• Is the search box easy to find on mobile, or hidden behind an icon?
• Does the keyboard cover the suggestions?
• When results appear, do they use filters or scroll?
• Do they click a result and come straight back?

A common finding is that the "no results" page is a dead end: a blank page with a sad message and nothing to click.

Fixes in Order of Effort

Quick

• Add synonyms and common misspellings for your top zero-result queries.
• Make the no-results page useful: popular products, categories, and a contact link.
• Return help and policy pages for queries such as "returns" and "delivery".
• Make the search box visible on mobile.

Medium

• Add typo tolerance and stemming.
• Add autocomplete with suggestions.
• Show result counts and let people filter results.
• Improve ranking so the obvious result is first.

Larger

• Add content or products for queries with real demand.
• Rename categories and navigation using the words people search (navigation).

Review your top zero-result queries monthly. The list changes with seasons and trends.

Key Takeaways

• Searchers are your highest-intent visitors.
• Zero-result queries are a ranked list of unmet demand.
• Help and policy searches need answers too.
• Keep raw queries out of third-party tools and URLs.

Conclusion

Your visitors are typing what they want into a box on your site. Read it every month.

Start free with DeepSync.