Your website’s user experience benefits visitors and enhances your marketing strategy. Navigation and other elements make it easy for users to engage with your content and move further into your sales process.
But even the most intuitive navigation design isn’t enough to help visitors find the information they need most.
Internal search features give users an invaluable tool that helps them address their immediate needs while supporting your search engine optimization, marketing, and lead generation.
Why an Internal Search Feature Benefits Your Law Firm’s Website
An internal search feature helps users find content within your site. It gives your law firm insights on its content development and website organization.
The intent of users searching on Google is different than those who are searching within a website. Internal site search users are more likely to purchase your legal services or products.
The following are some of the benefits of including an internal site feature on your website:
- Better navigation
- Website, service, and product optimization
- Increased conversions on each page
- Higher purchase frequency
- Improved “time on page” and other metrics
- Keyword insights
- More revenue
Visitors who are interested in purchasing your legal services are more likely to use your internal search feature.
You’ll learn what keywords are used by visitors who are further along in your sales process. This directs future marketing decisions related to content development and advertising campaigns.
How to Put Internal Search to Work for Your Law Firm
There are a number of ways to implement internal search into your website. Many content management systems (CMS) provide the ability to search its content database.
JavaScript and external sites can also be used to provide an internal search feature. Regardless of how you implement internal search, there are a few considerations to keep in mind.
The search bar should be placed in a location that’s easily accessed. A website’s search field will typically be located near the top of the page. The magnifying glass icon is recognized by most users along with terms such as “find” or “search”.
The results provided by the search feature should consist of all pages including blog posts and landing pages in addition to the primary pages of your site.
The search results should bold the keywords that were used by the visitor. This helps them find the content they’re looking for and enhances the user experience.
Autocomplete features can be used to provide keyword suggestions as a user types in a search query. This generates more visibility for related content within your site’s pages.
The Right Search Tools for Your Website
Using the wrong tools or making common mistakes can hurt your sales process. If the results provided to users fail to meet their needs, it could lead to higher bounce rates and the loss of revenue over time.
Incomplete or inaccurate information creates friction in the search process, which could negatively impact search rankings. An internal search feature should account for misspellings, typos, and other errors.
Most websites use the Google Custom Search tool for their internal search feature. It adds a search bar to your law firm’s website and is based on Google’s search technology.
Image and multilingual search features can also be incorporated to further improve search capabilities.
Other search tools include Swiftype, FreeFind, and FusionBot. Understanding the needs of your users and your law firm is the first step in determining how to integrate your own internal search feature on your website.
Would helping users search your site’s content improve their experience while supporting your business goals?
Have you been able to get better results by adding an internal search feature to your current website? Let us know in the comments below.
Giving your site’s visitors the ability to search and access the content they need most improves the performance metrics related to your law firm’s online success.
