Improving Your WordPress Site Search Capabilities with Plugins
It’s no secret that the site search capabilities of WordPress could use some improvement. From returning irrelevant results to not being able to search uploaded files, there is definitely room for enhancement. However, instead of waiting for a future update, you can take action today by installing one of the many plugins available to enhance the core WordPress site search tool.
If you’re not currently offering your visitors the option to search your website’s content or you’re not satisfied with your current site search solution, keep reading to learn about the benefits of adding an effective internal site search feature to your website and some plugin suggestions to help you do so.
Benefits of Providing an Effective Internal Site Search Tool
If you’re unsure about the benefits of upgrading your site’s search functionality, consider the following advantages:
1. Increase Page Views and Time on Site Metrics
Making it easier for your visitors to find more of the content they’re interested in can keep them on your site longer, increasing page views and time on site. These metrics are reportedly ranking factors that Google considers when deciding where to list a site in its search engine results.
2. Better Goal Conversion Rates
The longer a visitor stays on your site, the greater the chances of them converting against one of your goals. By enabling site search, visitors will be exposed to more opportunities to join your mailing list, become members, or make a purchase.
3. A User-Generated Source of Blog Post Ideas
Enabling site search for your website can provide you with a user-generated list of content ideas for your blog. By examining the keywords that visitors are using to look for content on your website, you can gain inspiration for future blog posts.
4. Improved User Experience
Enabling site search can improve the overall user experience by providing more relevant results and appealing to visitors who prefer to search rather than interact with navigational menus.
Free and Premium WordPress Site Search Plugins
Now that you understand the benefits of upgrading your site’s search functionality, let’s take a look at some free and commercial plugins that can help you do so.
1. Relevanssi
Relevanssi is available in both free and commercial versions, allowing you to try out enhanced searching on your WordPress site without spending any money. Some of the features of this search plugin include search results sorted by relevance, fuzzy matching, document searching, phrase searching, and the ability to search through comments. The premium version includes additional features such as user profile searching, search suggestions, and content weighting to influence search results.
2. Search Everything
Search Everything is another free option with over 80,000 active installs and a 4.3 out of 5 star rating. With this plugin, visitors can search everything on your site, including posts, pages, excerpts, attachments, comments, tags, and custom fields. You can also exclude items from the results and configure how the plugin works on your site.
3. SearchWP
SearchWP is a premium-only option that is worth considering if you’re serious about improving your site’s search capabilities. This plugin includes detailed settings that allow you to configure how it works, such as setting post weighting and choosing which content is indexed. It also includes a live search feature and the ability to index PDF files on your site.
Conclusion
Enabling an effective site search tool on your WordPress website can improve the user experience, increase page views and time on site metrics, improve goal conversion rates, and provide a source of inspiration for future blog posts. By choosing one of the free or premium search plugins available for WordPress, you can easily add this feature to your website today. Don’t let your site appear outdated and non-user-friendly – upgrade your site’s search functionality today!
