Why your website search is broken (and why it's costing you customers)

Imagine this: a potential customer arrives at your website. They're already interested and actively searching for information on a specific product or service. They type their needs into the search bar, hit enter, and... "0 results." Or even worse, they're presented with a long list of completely irrelevant or outdated links.

The reason for this frustration is simple: customers are accustomed to interacting through search, and Google has set the bar extremely high. Customers expect to find what they’re looking for instantly.

However, the reality is stark: website’s own searches are consistently – if not terrible – at least weak. Often, a customer gets so frustrated that they go back to Google and search for information from your site there – or, in the worst-case scenario, from your competitor’s site. This is where the ball can be dropped.

Internal site search is often taken for granted, seen as just a technical detail. In reality, it’s one of the most important, yet most often neglected, parts of the digital customer experience.

A non-functional search is a hole in your customer journey, through which you can lose your most valuable customers.

A customer using search is a goldmine – don’t let them go

It’s important to understand that a person using the search function isn’t just a casual browser. They are further along in the buying journey and have a clear intent. They know what they want and are ready to take the next step.

Industry studies show that customers who use internal site search are up to 6 times more likely to convert than those who don’t. They are engaged and motivated. Therefore, every failed search is a direct blow to potential sales and customer satisfaction. When we fail to serve these customers, we fail at the most critical moment.

Pitfalls of traditional search: Why technology can’t keep up?

So why do so many searches fail? The reason is often outdated technology that no longer aligns with how people naturally look for information. People also no longer know how to use traditional search functions, because Google and other search engines have taught us to search with full sentences and questions.

Traditional search has three fundamental problems:

1. A prisoner to keywords

Traditional site search only works with exact keywords: if you don’t know the precise term or keyword, you won’t find anything. The search doesn’t understand synonyms (“running shoes” vs. “sneakers”), inflectional forms, or even small typos. The result is a frustrating “zero results” dead end.

2. Endless lists of links

Even when a search produces results, it often serves them up as a long, unstructured list of links. It doesn’t provide direct answers, but instead shifts the burden of finding and organizing the information back onto the customer. This isn’t service; it’s extra work. The customer doesn’t want a directory; they want an answer.

3. A search that doesn’t learn

Traditional search is static. It doesn’t learn from previous searches, doesn’t understand which results have been useful to users, and can’t adapt to users’ changing needs.

Is your online service’s search stuck in the past?

A poorly functioning search is more than just a technical problem — it’s a business burden.  It can lead to lost sales, a weakened brand image, and an increased load on customer service, as customers have to call or email to find what they need.

In today’s digital world, an effective, intelligent, and service-oriented search experience is no longer a “nice-to-have” but a necessity. It’s the first step toward a website that truly understands its users and serves them on their own terms.

In our next blog post, we’ll delve into what a modern, AI-powered search experience looks like and what benefits it brings.