Search questions that show what users can't find in your app
Ask users how they search on a small screen, which filters they use and what search fails to find. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What in-app search survey questions tell you
In-app search survey questions ask users how they find things in your app on a small screen: how they type a search, which filters they use, how close the first result is and what search fails to find. Search logs show what users typed, and these answers show what they hoped to find.
Ask users who search often, a few weeks after a search change or before you plan one. Usertick doesn't run inside phone apps, so send the survey's link by email or open it from the app's search screen. On your mobile site or web app, show it as a popup after users view a few pages. Pick four to six questions.
Each written answer gets a type such as idea or complaint, a theme and a sentiment, so requests for the same missing content group together. Results compares each card with the period before, so a search change reads against the last one.
- Questions
- 15
- Best asked
- A few weeks after a change to search
- Industry
- Mobile apps
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 15 search and filters in the app questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
How users search
Start with who searches, how often and how they type, so you know what search has to handle.
- 01Yes / No
Do you use the search box in the app?
A yes or no on using the search box. Add logic to skip the search questions for users who answer No, so the survey stays short for users who browse.
- 13Number
How many searches do you run in the app each week?
Searches a week, from 0 to 200. Results shows the median and the middle half, which tells you how central search is to daily use.
- 03Multiple choice
How do you usually type a search?
How users type a search, from a few words to speaking it. Results shows each share, which tells you whether search must handle sentences, names or codes.
- 11Text
What do you search for again and again?
What users search for again and again, in their own words. The answers name items worth a shortcut, a recent list or a favorite.
Whether search finds the right thing
These questions measure how close results come and what search misses, the core of any search fix.
- 09Big scale
How close is the first result to what you wanted?
How close the first result is to what users wanted, from 1 to 10. A low average means ranking needs work even when the right item is somewhere in the list.
- 08Ruler
How many results do you scroll through before giving up?
How many results users scroll through before giving up, on a ruler from 0 to 50. Results shows the median and the middle half, which tells you how far down the right answer can sit.
- 07Text
What should the search box find that it does not?
What search should find and doesn't, in the user's own words. AI reading files each answer under a theme, so missing content and missing synonyms group together.
- 15Screenshot
Capture a search that returned nothing useful
A capture of a search that returned nothing useful. From your phone app, use File upload so users can attach a screenshot they took. On your web app, the Screenshot question captures the page. Both are on every plan, and Free allows 1 of them per survey.
Suggestions, filters and voice
Ask about the tools users narrow results with, before you add or remove a filter.
- 05Stars
How helpful are the suggestions as you type?
Rates the suggestions shown while typing, on five stars. Read low ratings beside the open question about what search fails to find.
- 04Multiple choice
Which ways of narrowing results do you use?
Lets users tick the ways they narrow results. Results shows a bar with the share for each, so filters few people use can make room for ones they need.
- 06Yes / No
Does voice search work well for you?
A yes or no on voice search. Add logic so only users who said they speak their searches see it, and the answer comes from users who use voice.
- 14This or that
While you type you would rather see
Results while typing or once the user is done. Results shows the split, which settles how the search screen should behave.
The search box on a small screen
Rate searching on a phone and where the box belongs, the layout questions for a navigation change.
- 02Customer effort
How easy is it to search on a small screen?
A customer effort score for searching on a small screen, on a 7 point scale. Results shows the average and the share who found it easy, the headline number for search.
- 10Dropdown
Where should the search box sit?
Where the search box belongs, from every screen to only where needed. Results shows each share, a quick answer before a navigation change.
- 12Matrix
Rate search on the phone
Rates speed, suggestions, filters and recent searches in one grid. The heat map and row averages show which part of search to fix first.
Tips for asking about search and filters in the app
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Read search logs beside answers
Compare what users say search misses with what they typed in your own logs, and fix the gaps that show up in both.
- 02
Ask users who search
Ask the first question of everyone, and add logic so only users who search see the rest.
- 03
Ask for the words they typed
Reword the open question to ask for the exact words, so the team can run the same search.
- 04
Measure after each change
Run the effort score and the first result question before and after each search change. Results compares each card with the period before.
Add these questions to a survey
From the library to the first answers.
- 1
Open the library
In the Usertick survey editor, choose From library, filter by industry and topic, and add several questions at once.
- 2
Or paste your own list
Paste questions reads up to 10 questions from any text on Free, 100 on Starter and 200 on Pro and above, keeps your wording and picks an answer type for each.
- 3
Choose where it runs
Show the survey on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.
- 4
Read the answers
Results counts every score and choice, and Usertick reads each written answer and files it by topic, on every plan.
Templates and more questions about search and filters in the app
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
A few weeks after a change to search, or before you plan one. Send the survey by email now or on a scheduled date, or open its link from the search screen.
Four to six. Start with the effort score, add how close the first result is and which filters users use, and end with what search should find.
Yes. On a website or web app, target the survey to phones and show it after users view a few pages, with triggers such as pages viewed or time on site on every plan.
Yes. The question library comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.
Yes. Once a question is in your survey, reword it, change its options or its answer type, and add logic to skip it for some answers.
Yes. The library is translated into Usertick's built-in languages, and in any other language it shows in English for you to translate.
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