Telescope: Everything You Need to Know About Search

Welcome to this edition of Telescope on Search, our monthly newsletter devoted to search. Our goal is to offer a regular, quick-browse e-newsletter with useful information, tips, and news of the latest developments on Site Search, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, and site usability. If you have any feedback or questions please direct them to newsletter@sli-systems.com.

Feature: Descriptions in Search Results

Shaun Ryan CEO, SLI Systems This month we are focusing on one small but important part of the search results: the descriptions that are shown beside each result. The descriptions – also called excerpts – give people additional information about each item so they can better decide if a particular result fits what they’re looking for.

For those of you who choose to display search results on your site in a grid format (see our previous newsletter on Grid vs List view), there may not be enough space to show a description, although it can be shown as a tooltip or a JavaScript pop up.

One of the attractions of showing descriptions within the search results is that they provide an additional information scent for the user. This is especially true if the description contains their search term, as the surrounding words show the context in which the search term appears. Our recommendation is to highlight the search term in the description, which helps draw the user’s eye to it.

Example of search term highlighted on OnlineMedicalSupply.com

When choosing how to display descriptions there are two main options:

1. Context-sensitive excerpt – dynamic; contains search term
2. Fixed description – doesn’t change; search term may or may not be included and can’t be highlighted

Because context-sensitive excerpts almost always contain the search term, the advantage they offer is that the term can be highlighted and give the additional information scent. The disadvantage is you have less control over how they’re worded and the description can be somewhat disjointed. If you do choose to display context-sensitive excerpts, your search technology needs to be able to extract an excerpt from the text it indexes for each search result – this can be harder for longer search terms if the terms are not all located together.

Example of a context sensitive excerpt on ASCycles.com

Fixed descriptions are a little easier to work with, but they don’t offer the advantage of showing the search term. Still, you have control over the wording and you can be sure that they accurately describe the result.

Example of a fixed description on GreenAndMore.com

You also have the option of using both context-sensitive and fixed descriptions. For example, you can show the fixed description when it contains some or all of the search terms. If not, then you would show a context sensitive excerpt. You can also adjust the algorithm for extracting the context-sensitive excerpts, to pull out whole sentences.

Note that when you include descriptions you can also show other structured data about the search result. For example, you might want to highlight the manufacturer or category, or you can show related searches.

Example of manufacturer and related searches in description on Ulta.com

If you have any comments you'd like to share, email us at newsletter@sli-systems.com.

Partner Highlight: ExactTarget

We’re starting a new series to put the spotlight on our various solutions partners. This month, we feature ExactTarget, a provider of on-demand software for email communications, whose dedication to helping small and mid-sized companies better market to and serve their customers is right in synch with our own. Read on to learn how SLI Systems, ExactTarget and Omniture teamed up to bring targeted, personalized email communications capabilities to online cosmetics retailer ULTA.

With site search data provided by SLI Systems, and ExactTarget’s personalized email software, ULTA now has the ability to send targeted, one-to-one email messages to customers. The system leverages SLI’s automated merchandizing capabilities, customer click-through data provided by Omniture, as well as personal preference information provided by visitors to ULTA’s site, and uses this information to send emails to subscribers with personal product recommendations.

First, ExactTarget’s Dynamic Merchandising email software takes data – either a customer’s favorite brand or items they “recently viewed” on ULTA’s site – and assigns a specific keyword to that particular customer or market segment. ExactTarget then sends this keyword to SLI’s Learning Search engine. Learning Search returns a list of products from ULTA.com that the individual might be interested in, based on the most popular items for various search terms people use on the site. These products are included in each personalized email message with links that, when clicked on, take the customer to a dynamic results landing page, driven by SLI’s Learning Search. The result is a highly targeted, personalized form of communications from ULTA, which gives customers a sense of connectedness to the retailer, provides an enhanced online experience and increases the likelihood that they’ll return to the site and make a purchase.

Together, SLI Systems and ExactTarget are bringing the strength of personalized marketing tools most often leveraged by big-box retailers to mid-sized businesses, giving them a powerful yet affordable way to attract and retain customers. For more information about ULTA’s campaign or other options available to you through SLI and ExactTarget, please contact partners@sli-systems.com.

SLI Systems & Customers in the News

Below are links to recent news articles highlighting our Learning Search service:

SEO Report Card: Beachaudio.com - Practical Ecommerce - Oct 16, 2007

Hosted E-Commerce Search Provider SLI Systems Celebrates 6th Year of Success and Growth - Marketwire - Aug 30, 2007

New England Journal of Medicine's Online Site Search Solution Helps its Readers Quickly Find and Identify Important New Medical Research and Advances in Treatments - Marketwire - Aug 28, 2007

A&S BMW Motorcycles Revs-Up Online Shopping Experience with Site Search Solutions from SLI Systems - Marketwire - Aug 20, 2007

Site Search: Increases Conversion Rates, Average Order Value and Loyalty - Practical Ecommerce - Aug 15, 2007

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If you have any comments or suggestions for future issues please email us at newsletter@sli-systems.com.