Tips for your 'Shopify’s Top Online Store Searches with No Results' report

Imagine a customer walks into a physical store, asks for a product, and the salesperson simply says, “We don’t have it,” without offering alternatives. That customer will likely leave frustrated and may never return. This is exactly what happens when visitors search for products in your Shopify store and get no results.

Shopify’s Top Online Store Searches with No Results report helps store owners uncover these lost opportunities. By analyzing this data, you can adjust product titles, add missing inventory, and improve search functionality to increase conversions.

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Understanding the Top Online Store Searches with No Results Report

The Top Online Store Searches with No Results report displays a breakdown of the search terms that your customers used to search for a product in your store that didn't give them any results.

Where to Find the Report in Shopify

  1. Navigate to Shopify Admin.
  2. Click on Analytics > Reports.
  3. Find Behavior Reports.
  4. Select Top online store searches with no results 🔗 .

Why Do Customers Get No Search Results?

  • Mismatch with Product Titles: Customers search for "running sneakers," but your product title says "athletic shoes."
  • Spelling Errors: A user types "tshrt" instead of "t-shirt."
  • Out-of-Stock Products: People search for unavailable or discontinued items.
  • Shopify Search Limitations: Shopify’s default search may not recognize vague queries.

The Impact of No Search Results on Your Business

  • Lost Sales: Customers may buy from competitors.
  • Higher Bounce Rates: Frustrated users leave the site.
  • Negative Brand Perception: A poor search experience can hurt customer trust.

Strategies to Optimize Your Store Based on the Report

1. Improve Product Titles and Descriptions

Use customer-friendly keywords that match search terms.

2. Implement Synonyms and Alternative Keywords

Use Shopify’s Search & Discovery app 🔗 to add synonyms.

3. Enable Semantic Search

Activate Semantic Search in Shopify to improve accuracy.

4. Optimize for Misspellings

Add alternative spellings manually, or use the no results export to add the search terms as tags in your products. If you don't know how to add tags, take a look at Shopify's helpdocument 🔗
Shopify applies various search behaviors to improve accuracy and deliver more relevant results when customers search for products in your store. These built-in features help reduce missed opportunities by accounting for plural terms, typos, and advanced search operators.

Singular and Plural Search Terms

Shopify automatically recognizes singular and plural variations of words to ensure customers find relevant results.

  • Searching for "puppy" or "puppies" will return results that include both terms.
  • Shopify’s stemming technology also links words with a common root. For example, searching for "leggings" can return results that include "leg" as well.

If you want to allow broader matching beyond singular and plural forms, consider using prefix search, which we’ll cover below.

Typo Tolerance in Search

Customers often make small spelling mistakes when searching. Shopify’s typo tolerance feature helps prevent lost sales by automatically correcting minor errors.

  • It can identify words that differ by one letter or have two letters swapped.
  • However, the first four letters of the search term must be correct for typo tolerance to work.

For example, searching for "chocollate" will still return products containing "chocolate" or "chocolates" in the title or description.

Limitations:

  • Typo tolerance does not apply to search syntax queries (e.g., searches using AND/OR/NOT).
  • Some fields, like product tags, do not support typo tolerance.

Advanced Search Syntax

Shopify allows for more precise searches using search operators:

  • AND (default behavior): Searching for "artichoke hearts" automatically looks for products that contain both words.
  • OR: Searching for "artichoke OR hearts" returns results containing either word.
  • NOT (-): Searching for "artichoke -hearts" returns products that mention "artichoke" but exclude "hearts."

Prefix and Phrase Search

  • Prefix Search: Shopify automatically includes results that start with the search term.
    • Example: Searching "artich" will return results for "artichoke".
  • Phrase Search: Placing terms in double quotes ("") returns exact matches.
    • Example: Searching "artichoke hearts" will find "Can of artichoke hearts" but not "Canned hearts of artichoke".

You can refine searches by targeting specific fields:

  • title:artichoke → Returns products with "artichoke" in the title.
  • vendor:Nike → Displays only products from the brand Nike.

However, searching specific fields does not include typo tolerance, meaning a misspelled query like "title:artichoqe" will return no results.

How Store Locale Affects Search Behavior

Your Shopify store's primary locale determines which search behaviors are supported. If you operate in multiple languages, ensure that your store settings align with customer search patterns to improve accuracy.

5. Customize Search Result Display

Show similar products instead of returning "no results."

6. Use Product Boosts

Ensure high-demand products appear at the top of searches.

Leveraging the Data for Marketing and Sales Growth

  • Run ads for frequently searched terms.
  • Restock popular but unavailable products.
  • Create bundles based on common searches.

Tracking and Measuring Improvements

  • Monitor the report regularly.
  • Test changes in product titles and descriptions.
  • Check search conversion rates.

FAQs

How often should I check this report?

Review it at least once a month or weekly for high-traffic stores.

Can I customize Shopify’s search results?

Yes, use the Search & Discovery app 🔗 for better control.

How do I fix common misspellings?

Add alternative spellings and synonyms in Shopify settings.

Does enabling Semantic Search affect site speed?

No, Shopify optimizes Semantic Search for performance.

Which Shopify plans support Semantic Search?

Semantic Search is available on Shopify, Advanced, and Plus plans.

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