By Adam Agassi, Director of Publisher Relations
It no longer makes sense to log into a site and try to figure out its design and architecture just to find a piece of content. Nowadays, we want to find the proper information when we need it – now. So instead of figuring it out, we just use a website’s search tool and instantly find what we need.
This is, of course, a best-case scenario, but it’s worth working toward as a company. According to our study, visitors to content sites who utilize search tools are three times more likely to find what they are looking for and spend three times as much time on the site overall.
But they must find what they’re looking for… and preferably, on the first try.
That’s why we’ve invested resources into upgrading our on-site search engine. We’ve added several new features, which are all about making your search in the site as user-friendly and ROI-driving as possible.
Let readers tell their devices (out loud) what content they want to find
The first step toward helping your readers find content is to give them the option to search for it efficiently, in the way that’s most comfortable for them. For many people, that means just talking to their devices. 42.1% of the US population already uses voice assistants, and that number is expected to grow north of 50% by 2026, according to Insider Intelligence.
Source: Insider Intelligence
So yeah, voice search has moved past the early adopters’ stage and it’s definitely not just another passing trend, certainly with 78% of the global population using a smartphone.
And seriously, who’s got time – or desire – to type and then read through a long list of results?
For many people, voice search enables multitasking, speed and convenience. They find it enjoyable, useful, efficient and easy to use.
Efficiency and ease of use were our top considerations as we added a voice search option. We waited until it proved itself over and over: You can optimize even very internal pages, and you’ll see readers starting to spend more time on your site, viewing more pages, then coming back for more
Include PDF Documents in On-Site Search Results for Extra Value
If your website displays PDF files, chances are these files have tons of value that could really help your audience (and, frankly, it can likely help you meet your KPIs, too). However, it’s not necessarily easy for on-site search tools to find this type of content, let alone specific parts within it.
But remember, we said we decided that our on-site search engine will help your readers find the content they need, when they need it, in the most efficient and convenient way, right?
So, we now enable PDF searches.
Here’s how PDF searches work on the Zoomd engine:
=> Our crawler scans the article’s content. If there’s a PDF link in the article, it scans the PDF’s text as well.
=> When a reader searches for a phrase that is part of the PDF content, we show this article in the search results (because it links to the relevant PDF document).
=> You get flexibility regarding the length of characters to index. Our premium subscription programs allow you to index a wide number of characters.
Highlight the content that got readers clicking, and save them some scrolling
We’ve all had that time, when we saw just what we needed in a search results page. It was clearly in the meta description, so we clicked through to read more – and then the real search began. Maybe it was a single sentence hidden in a long article, and maybe not even that.
To save your readers time and frustration, the Zoomd on-site search engine now highlights the text that appeared in the search results when a reader clicks through. And it gets better:
The search engine will automatically take your reader to that section of the article the moment she clicks through from the search results. She won’t even need to scroll in order to find it, because it’ll be right there, waiting for her.
Increase brand consideration with voice ads, which half-ish of consumers actually like
Something else that’s always waiting online is advertising. Unfortunately, many of us have grown numb to popups, flashing GIFs and other formats that feel too cold, impersonal and intrusive. Who hasn’t hovered over the “skip” button, so they can skip an ad as soon as YouTube allows, for example? Even advertisers do it.
But advertising doesn’t have to be this way. As voice-enabled technology makes significant market inroads, voice advertising emerges as a fascinating new path, which many prospective and returning customers actually like.
According to a 2022 NPR and Edison research, 53% “of smart speaker owners who have heard an ad on their device agree they are likely to respond to ads on their smart speaker.” Moreover, the study continues, “48% of smart speaker owners who have heard an ad on their device say that compared to hearing an ad in another place, hearing it on their smart speaker would make them more likely to consider the brand.”
Source: NPR and Edison via Voicebot
Now, publishers who use the Zoomd on-site search engine can tap into this captivating, contextual user engagement strategy. Simply hovering over an ad causes it to automatically play (in accordance with Google regulations, of course). The voice ads offer two-way communication, a much more accurate indicator of success than whether or not an advertisement was clicked. Clicking may indicate curiosity, but having a conversation is simply more informative for all parties. It’s easier to get better user experiences and higher CMPs.
Get started within minutes (did we mention it’s free?)
All these new additions build on years of earning and keeping the trust of industry leaders around the world. We do this by offering a customizable on-site search engine, that’s driven by the most advanced technologies, displays visual search results and provides real-time search analytics, which help our customers optimize their results for both their audiences and their bottom lines.
Our on-site search engine is free, and you can set it up within minutes. If you, too, are ready to increase your bottom line by serving your readers better, click here to Zoom into growth.