We are trying to figure out why shoppers search based on a keyword phrase like, "long black skirt" for example, then land on a page that has a "long black skirt" on it and then immediately leave the website. If one of us landed on the first page and didn't like that "long black skirt", we would then at least try one page up to see if there were more that we might find interesting before leaving the website in our quest for a "long black skirt". No one ever walks into the main store, looks at one skirt and walks out the door. They look at all the black items looking for the black skirt they want before giving up and leaving. We understand needing to grab the shoppers interest quickly, but can't figure out this phenomenon we see in the site statistics. By the way, it is clearly marked above the item on the page (for example: Home > Clothing > Skirts > Long Black Skirt) and there is a "Search" field clearly marked. One analyst told us that it was because those particular "hits" represented people who didn't really know how to search for stuff and were just floundering around. But our target market is between 25 and 35 years old, an age group that would seem to have some experience searching for merchandise on the web.
I'm constantly exasperated at people who land on the homepage of one of my sites for one phrase - then straightaway click a link that takes them to something different on the site, while ignoring the link that matched their search term perfectly. In reality, people don't put much thought into their searches. They sit at a computer, and try to remember something they saw 3 months ago. Or they've just seen in a magazine. Long black skirts? Thye're not looking for any long black skirt - they're looking for the one their friend Sarah was wearing in that bar 2 months ago. Or one with buttons. Or without buttons. Or one for a Barbie doll. I don't think being of an age experienced in computers has any bearing on it - people just wander around looking for a second at loads of stuff - they would walk into one store and look at one skirt and walk out if it it took seconds to be at the next store. Having said that - maybe a "if you like this - look at this" feature would work - click here for more long skirts - more black skirts
Thanks for the reply. We do use that and it has been a great help in decreasing our bounce rate. It is exasperating though, I do agree with you; trying to figure out what motivates the behavior on our site. Never dull though, never dull. --------------------------------- The more we discussed it, we realized you just confirmed what the analyst we consulted said. "One analyst told us that it was because those particular "hits" represented people who didn't really know how to search for stuff and were just floundering around." equals "In reality, people don't put much thought into their searches. They sit at a computer, and try to remember something they saw 3 months ago. Or they've just seen in a magazine. Long black skirts? Thye're not looking for any long black skirt - they're looking for the one their friend Sarah was wearing in that bar 2 months ago. Or one with buttons. Or without buttons. Or one for a Barbie doll. I don't think being of an age experienced in computers has any bearing on it - people just wander around looking for a second at loads of stuff - they would walk into one store and look at one skirt and walk out if it it took seconds to be at the next store."