5 tips for your blog
In this way, readers can find relevant information more quickly.
The search within your blog is one of the important features and increases user-friendliness. It supplements the navigation via the menu and the links in the texts. A good search function increases the length of time your visitors stay if they get relevant results immediately. However, the default search built into WordPress has limitations. So get to know practical tips for optimization. The more extensive your website is, the more your site visitors will benefit.
1. Plugins for better WordPress search
Free WordPress plugins offer additional features and are worthwhile for blogs with many posts.
Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugins
Ivory Search is an easy to use plugin with advanced search functionality.
The 5-star rated Ivory Search extension replaces the standard search and lets you create custom search forms. There are regular updates and 30,000 active installations. The search masks created are displayed either in the header, in the footer, in the sidebar, in the menu, in pages or in articles. Ivory Search supports AJAX search and also searches products on WooCommerce websites, photos, files and attachments.
Relevanssi – a better search
Relevanssi scores with a better and configurable search engine.
Relevanssi is characterized by a large number of functions and setting options. 100,000 active installations, a 4.5-star rating and regular updates speak for the extension. Fuzzy matching displays results for partial queries when there is no direct match for the search term. Among other things, visitors have the option of searching for phrases. The paid premium version corrects search queries (“Did you mean?”), among other things, and indexes formats such as PDF, Office and OpenOffice.
Ajax Search Lite for live search
With the free Ajax Search plugin, readers of your blog can find relevant information faster.
The Ajax Search Lite search form immediately lists matching search results with a title and a short description after each letter. Functions known from Google, such as autocomplete and show suggestions, are also part of the range of functions. You can try a live demo. The plugin has 50,000 active installs and an average rating of 4.5 stars. The Pro version includes numerous other features.
2. Integrate the WordPress search into the menu
On the Microsoft website, the search can be accessed quickly from any page using the magnifying glass icon in the menu.
The optimal position of the search on the site depends on the structure. In blogs with sidebars, web designers usually add search to them. If your blog does not have a sidebar, it is best to add the search function to the main menu.
Tip: Use a so-called sticky header if you want the menu to remain visible when scrolling. Recommended sticky plugins are Sticky Menu (or Anything!) on Scroll and My Sticky Menu.
At notebooksbilliger.de, customers can search for products directly using the search function in the menu.
Depending on the space required, the WordPress search is displayed via the magnifying glass symbol (Figure 4) or as an input field (Figure 5). With some modern themes, you simply activate the function via the customizer.
Example Astra theme: Click on Theme > Customizer and up there Header > Primary Menu and select under from the drop-down list Last item in the menu the point seek out. With other themes, the function may be hidden elsewhere.
If the menu integration doesn’t work, the rest of the header area can be used. Themes sometimes offer a search here or you add it as a widget.
3. WordPress search widget
Assign the search a position on the site.
Your blog consists of several areas, for example the header, body and footer. You can easily expand this with additional content using widgets.
Click in the backend Appearance > Widgets. The selection displayed depends on the active plugins. Here you can add either the standard WordPress search or better a widget of the search plugins in the header. Assignment is done via drag-and-drop or through the widget’s drop-down menu. Enter a name and save the changes.
4. Add search to a page
Depending on the design and your own requirements, integration into the text may also be desired. With the Gutenberg editor, all you have to do is click Add Item (+) and type “search” to position the search widget on the post or page. Enter a placeholder text in the search field that encourages you to search.
5. Track search queries with Google Analytics
Enable site search tracking and capture user searches.
What are my readers looking for? Google Analytics tracking will answer your questions. To activate it, you must first connect Google Analytics to your blog. Then go to the Google Analytics website and click Administration > Settings of the data view. There you activate Site Search Tracking and wear it search parameters one. As a rule, WordPress adds “/?s=search word” to the URL. In this case, enter the “s” as the search parameter. You can find the evaluation below Behavior > Site Search.
summary
The internal search function increases the user-friendliness of your blog and makes it easier for readers to find relevant information quickly. With the plugins presented, you replace the standard search and configure it according to your requirements. Professional web designers usually integrate the search field in the menu or in the header area, the sidebar is the alternative. Depending on the theme and plugin, you activate the search for your blog via the customizer or widget. You can use Google Analytics tracking to record search queries. The information will help you to further optimize your website.
Photo credit: Unsplash
