The top 4 percent of all unique search-term queries on a Web site make up about 50 percent of all searches on that site, on-demand digital marketing provider WebSideStory Inc. found in an analysis of site searches.
For e-commerce sites, the figure dropped to just 2 percent of all unique queries, according to the April 2006 study released June 6. The report examined 34 million search phrases across 40 major Web sites using WebSideStory Search, a site search solution, or HBX Analytics, a Web analytics solution.
WebSideStory, San Diego, said the results suggest that marketers can improve their Web site search results by focusing on those few hundred unique search terms that make up about half of all Web site queries.
Additional site search metrics include:
- Visitors who use the site search application on a site are nearly three times as likely to convert than the average visitor.
- One- and two-word queries make up 83 percent of all site searches. Among e-commerce sites, this measure rose to 91 percent.
- Nearly 12 percent of all site searches led to zero results. Among e-commerce sites, this figure was 8.5 percent.
