Search

Onsite search, relevancy, and the gap between what people look for and what they find.

Apr 22, 2026

•

5 min read

What your search metrics are actually telling you

Most people look at their search metrics and see numbers. What they should be seeing is a conversation their customers are trying to have with them. Here's how to read it.

Emma Chittenden

What's actually inside your search engine?

Nov 29, 2023

•

5 min read

What's actually inside your search engine?

Your site search is broken. Before you can fix it, you need to understand what you're actually fixing. Here's a plain-English guide to what's inside a search engine and why each component shapes the results your customers see.

Emma Chittenden

Nov 15, 2023

•

5 min read

The cost of a broken search

When customers can't find what they're looking for, they don't complain, they leave. Here's what that's quietly costing you.

Emma Chittenden

Why too much choice is costing you customers

Apr 21, 2022

•

5 min read

Why too much choice is costing you customers

You've given customers everything they could possibly want. So why are they leaving empty-handed? The problem isn't your catalogue. It's the cognitive weight of having to choose from all of it.

Emma Chittenden

Why search noise is quietly killing your conversions

Apr 6, 2022

•

4 min read

Why search noise is quietly killing your conversions

Your search bar is there. People are using it. So why aren't they converting? The problem might not be your products or your prices. It might be noise, and it is quieter and more destructive than you'd think.

Emma Chittenden

Why your search engine can't read minds (and what to do about it)

Apr 6, 2022

•

5 min read

Why your search engine can't read minds (and what to do about it)

Your search engine doesn't know that "bum" and "bottom" mean the same thing unless you tell it. Synonyms are the configuration layer that bridges the gap between your language and your customers'. Here's how they work and why most sites don't use them.

Emma Chittenden

Your search results are showing up. So why isn't anyone clicking?

Apr 6, 2022

•

5 min read

Your search results are showing up. So why isn't anyone clicking?

Relevant results get clicked. Irrelevant ones get ignored. Here's what relevancy actually means and why it decides whether your search is working.

Emma Chittenden

Google is not your search. But your visitors think it is.

Mar 28, 2022

•

5 min read

Google is not your search. But your visitors think it is.

If people are Googling their way around your website rather than using your onsite search, you have a problem. A serious one. The bigger the site, the bigger the problem.This is not a quirk. It is a signal.

Emma Chittenden

Search

What your search metrics are actually telling you

What's actually inside your search engine?

The cost of a broken search

Why too much choice is costing you customers

Why search noise is quietly killing your conversions

Why your search engine can't read minds (and what to do about it)

Your search results are showing up. So why isn't anyone clicking?

Google is not your search. But your visitors think it is.

Murmurings