Search questions that show what shoppers typed and missed
Ask shoppers what they searched for, what went wrong with the results and which word should have found the item. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What site search survey questions tell you
Site search survey questions ask shoppers what they looked for, whether the results matched what they meant, how far they scrolled and which filters they missed. A shopper who searches knows what they want, and a search that returns nothing useful loses an order your store could have filled.
Ask on the search results page, with page targeting on the results address and a short delay or scroll trigger, while the shopper is still looking. Two or three questions there is enough. From Starter, or on 1 survey on Free, a custom event from your code can show the survey only when a search returns no results.
Each written answer gets a category, a theme, a type such as bug or idea, and a sentiment, so the words shoppers type and the words they expected are easy to collect. A list of those words is a ready brief for the synonyms and product names your search should know.
- Questions
- 13
- Best asked
- On the results page, while shoppers search
- Industry
- E-commerce
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 13 search on our site questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
Whether search found it
Start with whether search worked, then measure how far the shopper had to go to find the item.
- 01Yes / No
Did our search find what you typed?
A yes or no on whether search found what the shopper typed. Select No in Results to read only those searches, and use logic to show the open questions after a No.
- 07Stars
How well did the results match what you meant?
A star rating for how well the results matched what the shopper meant. Results shows the average and the share who gave four or more, a number to check after each change to search.
- 08Big scale
How close was the first result to what you wanted?
How close the first result was, on a scale of 1 to 10. A column per step in Results shows whether the best match tends to sit at the top or further down.
- 11Number
How many searches did it take to find it?
How many searches it took to find the item. Results shows the median and the middle half. A median above two means shoppers rephrase often before they find anything.
- 13Ruler
How many results did you scroll through?
How many results the shopper scrolled through, on a ruler. Results shows the median and the middle half. A long scroll means the right item is ranked too low.
What shoppers searched for
Collect what shoppers looked for and the words they used, the raw material for better search settings.
- 02Multiple choice
What were you searching for?
What the shopper was looking for, from a product name to their own order. The donut shows the share for each, and a large share for codes or problems to solve shows search needs to handle more than names.
- 09Text
What did you type into search?
An open question for the words the shopper typed. Each answer arrives with a theme, so you can collect the terms that return poor results and test them yourself.
- 10Text
Which word should bring up the product you wanted?
An open question for the word that should have found the product. These answers are the synonyms, misspellings and everyday names your search should map to products.
- 04Dropdown
How do you usually start looking on our site?
Where the shopper usually starts, from the search box to the top menu. Results shows the share of each, which tells you how much of your traffic depends on search at all.
Results and filters
Ask what went wrong on the results page and which filters would help, so fixes reach the right part of search.
- 03Multiple choice
What went wrong with the results?
Shoppers pick everything that went wrong, from too many results to sold out items first. Bars show each share, a ranked list for whoever tunes search.
- 05Multiple choice
Which filters do you want on the results page?
Shoppers pick the filters they want on the results page. Bars show each share, a guide to which filters to add or move to the top.
- 06Customer effort
How easy was it to narrow the results down?
A customer effort score for narrowing results down. A low average points at filters that are missing, hard to reach or reset too often.
- 12Screenshot
Capture the results page that missed the mark
Lets a shopper capture the results page that missed. Screenshot is on every plan, 1 per survey on Free, and Results shows the captures in a gallery your search team can work through.
Tips for asking about search on our site
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Ask on the results page
Use page targeting on your search results address, so the survey appears only to shoppers who searched.
- 02
Catch empty results
From Starter, or on 1 survey on Free, a custom event from your code can show the survey when a search returns nothing, the moment search fails the shopper.
- 03
Collect the words shoppers use
Read the answers about what shoppers typed and expected each month, and add the common words to your search settings.
- 04
Check after every change
Each Results card compares with the period before, so read the match rating and the first result score after each change to search.
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 on our site
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
On the search results page, with page targeting on its address and a short delay or scroll trigger.
Two or three: whether search found it, what went wrong and the word the shopper typed.
Yes, from Starter, or on 1 survey on Free. A custom event from your code can show the survey when a search returns no results.
Yes, on every plan. The screenshot question (1 per survey on Free) captures the page and attaches it to the answer.
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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