Navigation versus search

Is good navigation important?

A client recently asked me: “Navigation, isn’t that a bit old hat? I mean, this is the time of search engines. Doesn’t everybody just search on a website?”

No, they don’t. Good navigation and good links are vital for the success of a website.

A search feature is an added bonus, sure. But if you have one, it has to be as good as Google or even better.

Less than 5% uses the search feature

Google might be insanely popular but that doesn’t mean the search feature on your website is too. On the contrary.

When we dive into analytics we often see that the search feature is rarely used by more than 5% of a site’s total number of visitors. On our blog the number of searchers is even lower: around 1,5%. On the website of a Flemish government agency we work for it’s just below 5%.

Things we know about search

During user tests we see the following happen time and time again:

• Most people only use the search feature after they’ve tried the navigation or the content links. Search is seen as the last resort.
• If people are looking for something very specific, like a product they know the name of, they’re more inclined to search.
• Devs and engineers use the search feature more often than ‘normal people’.

What if more than 5% of your visitors uses the search feature?

If the number of visitors that use your search feature is higher than 5%, that might actually be an indication that all is not well on your website.

Check whether your navigation is clear to your visitors. Do they understand the words you’re using? Do your overview pages contain the right links?

It’s also worthwhile to check on which page people start searching. And to see what it is about that page that might cause them to do that.

These rules obviously don’t apply to job sites, real estate sites, etc. where people basically come to search.

5 reasons to encourage people to browse rather than search

1. Most people aren’t very good at searching
   It’s quite shocking to see how bad some people are at formulating a good search query. Often they use words that are either too general, way too specific or just plain wrong.
2. Different words
   People often use different words than the website uses. They type in ‘night school’ for example, when the site talks about ‘lifelong learning’. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it usually doesn’t deliver great results.
3. Spelling errors are very common
   You wouldn’t believe the amount of ‘sandels’ and ‘sandles’ being offered on eBay when actually what these people are trying to sell are ‘sandals’.
4. Most search features aren’t very good
   Most search features, especially the ones that come with a CMS, aren’t very good. The way of searching the data, ordering the results, accounting for spelling mistakes, … it’s all a bit depressing.
5. People who browse see more and buy more
   People who use the search feature look at less other pages after they’ve found what they’re looking for than people who browse. On e-commerce sites the shopping carts of browsers are fuller than those of searchers. On the other hand, searchers often have a higher conversion rate than browsers. That’s pretty logical, given that people who use the search feature know what they want and are often looking for something specific. And so not an argument in favour of just pushing any and every visitor towards the search feature.

A good search feature is helpful, for sure. But a good information architecture is still the basis. Ideally, you have both.