What visitors look for once they arrive.
WHY IT MATTERS
Your site's search box records what visitors could not find through navigation. That is direct evidence of gaps.
SETTING IT UP
Most platforms include search. Default search is frequently poor, particularly on shops, where it fails to match SKUs, partial names or attributes.
A dedicated search plugin improves relevance considerably.
TRACKING IT
Configure analytics to record internal searches. It takes minutes and produces some of the most useful data available.
WHAT THE DATA TELLS YOU
Terms searched frequently that return nothing: either you should stock it, or you describe it differently from your customers
Terms people use for products you have: adopt their words
Pages people search for that exist but are hard to find: a navigation problem Repeated searches for information not on the site: content to write
PRACTICAL ACTIONS
Add content or products for common empty searches Rename things to match customer vocabulary Improve navigation for frequently searched existing pages
THE SEO CONNECTION
The words your visitors use internally are frequently the words others use in search engines. It is free keyword research from your actual customers.
