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Search Conversion Dashboard
The B2C Commerce Reports & Dashboards Search Conversion Dashboard reflects how customer searches translate to orders and revenue.
You can use the dashboard analytics to review how customer searches with results and without results impact your site orders and order conversion rates. Use the Conversion of Search Phrases table to review the use of specific search terms and modify your search strategy.
The Search Conversion data is recorded on all search terms leading up to the conversion. When an order is placed, the search conversion is reset. New search terms, searched after a placed order, count as a new search session.
The dashboard consists of two main views: the Summary section (graphs showing aggregate metrics) and the Conversion of Search Phrases table (detailed search term data). These views provide different perspectives on search conversion and shouldn't be directly compared.
Understanding Visit Categorization
The dashboard categorizes visits into three distinct groups based on search behavior:
- With unique searches and results — Visits that had at least one search that returned results. If a visit includes multiple searches, and even one search returned results, the entire visit is categorized here—even if other searches in that visit had no results.
- With unique searches and no results — Visits that had at least one search, but none of those searches returned any results. This category only includes visits where all searches failed to return results.
- Without searches — Visits where no searches were performed.
This categorization means you can't simply add numbers from the "no results" detail view to cross-check against the summary. A visit with mixed search results (some with results, some without) is counted only in the "with results" category.
Search Attribution Model
Understanding how orders are attributed to search terms is essential for interpreting the Conversion of Search Phrases table correctly.
- Attribution to all searches — When an order is placed, the order value is attributed to every unique search term used during that visit before the order. If a shopper searched for "shoes" and then "sneakers" before placing an order, the order value appears in the detail table for both search terms.
- Duplicate values in detail table — Because of this attribution model, you may see the same order value appear multiple times in the detail table when a visit included multiple different search terms.
- Unique searches only — Only unique search terms are attributed per visit. If a shopper searches for "shoes" three times in the same visit and then places an order, the order is attributed to "shoes" only once, not three times.
This attribution model provides insight into which search terms contribute to conversions, but it means the sum of order values in the detail table can exceed the actual total order value shown in the summary.
Data Limits
The Search Conversion Dashboard has the following data limits:
- Top 10,000 search terms per day — Only the top 10,000 search terms are included in the conversion report each day. For high-traffic sites, search terms with very low frequency (searched only once or twice) may be excluded.
- CSV export limit of 25,000 entries — When exporting data, the CSV file is limited to 25,000 entries. This limit becomes relevant when analyzing longer time periods spanning multiple months.
Using Summary vs. Detail Data
The summary graphs and the Conversion of Search Phrases table serve different purposes:
- Summary view — Provides aggregate metrics about overall search behavior and conversion rates. Use this view to understand high-level trends and compare searches with results versus without results.
- Detail table — Provides granular data about individual search terms. Use this view to identify specific high-performing or underperforming search phrases and optimize your search dictionary.
The following sections describe the specific metrics available in each part of the dashboard.
Visits with Searches
With Results: The percentage of visits that include at least one search with results. The calculation uses the total number of visits that include at least one search. Example: Over a 24-hour period your site logs the following:
- 1000 visits that included at least one search
- 700 visits that included at least one search with results
700 / 1000 = 0.70
70% of visits with searches have at least one search with results.
Without Results: The percentage of visits that include only searches without results. The calculation uses the total number of visits that contain at least one search. Example: Over a 24-hour period your site logs the following:
- 1000 visits that include at least one search
- 300 visits that include only searches without results
300 / 1000 = 0.30
30% of visits with searches have no results.
Orders with Searches
With Results: The percentage of orders placed in visits that include at least one search with results. The calculation uses the total number of orders placed in visits that include at least one search. Example: Over a 24-hour period your site logs the following:
- 500 orders were placed in visits that included at least one search
- 400 orders were placed in visits that included at least one search with results
400 / 500 = 0.80
80% of orders were placed from visits that included at least one search with results.
Without Results: The percentage of orders that happened in visits that include only searches without results. The calculation uses the total number of visits that included at least one search. Example: Over a 24-hour period your site logs the following:
- 1000 visits that include at least one search
- 100 orders placed in visits that include only searches without results
100 / 1000 = 0.10
10% of orders were placed in visits that included only searches without results.
Order Conversion with Searches
With Results: Number of orders placed in visits where a search with results happened, divided by number of visits that contain at least one search. Example: Over a 24-hour period your site logs the following:
- 400 order placed in visits with search results
- 1000 visits that include at least one search
400 / 1000 = 0.40
40% order conversion rate for visits that included searches with results.
Without Results: Number of orders placed in visits where a search happened but no results were returned divided by number of visits that contain at least one search. Example: Over a 24-hour period your site logs the following:
- 100 orders placed in visits that only include searches without results
- 1000 visits that include at least one search
100 / 1000 = 0.10
10% order conversion rate for visits that included searches without results.
Average Visit Duration
- With Searches: The average duration of visits that contain at least one search
- Without Searches: The average duration of visits that don’t contain any search
Conversion of Search Phrases
This table lists the search phrases or terms that customers searched on your site. You can set the table view to list the search phrases with results or the search phrases without results. You can sort the table by orders, descending or ascending.
For each search phrase, the table lists the following:
- Search Phrase: The phrase that was searched. If a phrase produced a result in one visit and didn’t produce a result in another visit, it’s counted once in each table view. If a phrase produced a result once and didn’t produce a result in a second search within the same visit, the search that didn’t produce a result is ignored.
- # Searches: The number of times the phrase is searched.
- #Visits: The number of visits during which the phrase was searched one or more times.
- Orders: The number of orders placed during visits that include a search with the search phrase.
- Merchandise Total: The value of the orders placed during visits that contain a search with the search phrase.
- Avg. Merchandise Total Per Search:
Merchandise Total/#Searches - Avg. Merchandise Total Per Order:
Merchandise Total/Total Orders - Items Per Order:
Total number of units sold in visits that contain at least one search/Total Orders - Order Conversion: The rate of visits during which the phrase was searched and an order placed.
Orders/Visits.
You can use the table to identify search phrases that influence customers to place orders. You can also use the table to identify the search phrases for which your site isn’t returning results. For example, you can modify your search library so that it includes search phrases that have a high rate of use but don’t return results. After adding the search terms, you can evaluate their performance on the dashboard.
