Empower Search (Focus Pt. 4)

Fix Your Site Search: 7 Ways to Make B2B Buyers Find What They Need

As B2B eCommerce continues to grow, strong on-site search is no longer optional, it’s a direct driver of revenue. The majority of buyers use site search as their first action when visiting a supplier’s website. A well-configured search experience helps them quickly locate what they need, reduces friction, and supports self-service ordering. Poor search experiences, on the other hand, lead to frustration, abandoned sessions, and lost sales.

 

Here are seven ways manufacturers and distributors can transform their site search into a competitive advantage.

 

 

1. Understand Your Customers

Improving search starts with understanding how your customers think. What words do they actually use when searching? What do they type when they don’t know the exact product name? By analyzing both successful and failed queries, you can map real-world buyer behavior to your product data structure.

 

For example, if customers frequently search by brand or part number, ensure your search algorithm prioritizes those fields. In high-SKU catalogs, analyzing mismatched terms can reveal how search configuration and data structure may be out of sync.

 

 

2. Use Facet Filters

Filters allow buyers to refine large result sets quickly. When configured correctly, they create a seamless, self-service buying experience. Include filters for product category, price, brand, material, voltage, or other relevant attributes. Make sure filters are logically grouped and clearly labeled, ambiguity is one of the most common causes of buyer frustration.

 

Test filter combinations regularly to ensure they return meaningful results and not empty states. A well-structured taxonomy and normalized attributes make all the difference.

 

 

3. Optimize Your Product Data

Search is only as strong as the data it draws from. Descriptions, specifications, and technical fields must be detailed, accurate, and consistent across all SKUs. A search engine can’t find what isn’t there.

 

Normalization is key. If one record lists “galvanized steel” and another lists “steel, galvanized,” results and filters will fragment. Structuring and enriching your product data not only improves search accuracy but also enhances merchandising and cross-sell opportunities.

 

 

4. Use Synonyms

In B2B, buyers often use different terms for the same product. A contractor searching for “basin” may be looking for a “sink.” An engineer typing “cable” may expect to see results for “wire.” Accounting for these variations makes your search experience more inclusive and effective.

 

Leverage internal search logs to identify common synonyms and missed queries. Mapping these terms directly within your search configuration closes gaps and reduces zero-result searches.

 

 

5. Implement Predictive Search

Predictive search suggestions, those that appear as a user types, can dramatically improve user experience when tuned correctly. Beyond speeding up searches, predictive suggestions help users discover related products or trending terms they might not have considered.

 

However, predictive search must be relevant. Regularly review your suggestion lists and click-through performance. Treat predictive terms as a live merchandising surface that reflects your buyers’ interests and current demand.

 

 

6. Understand When and Where to Use Boosting

Boosting allows you to weight specific product attributes higher in the ranking algorithm. Common boosting strategies include prioritizing in-stock items, high-margin products, or best sellers. This helps balance user experience with business goals.

 

Be cautious not to overuse boosting, it can hide relevant items. A best practice is to regularly test key search terms across different personas such as engineers, contractors, and purchasing managers. Adjust your boosting logic based on how well results align with each user’s intent.

 

 

7. Monitor Search Analytics

Search optimization is never one-and-done. Monitor search analytics regularly to understand what buyers are looking for, what they find, and where they fail. Key metrics include zero-result queries, top refinements, search-to-cart ratios, and conversion rates from search sessions.

 

Spikes in failed queries or no-match terms can reveal product data gaps or missing synonyms. Treat search as an evolving, measurable component of your digital performance strategy, not just a feature of your site.

 

 

Final Thoughts

Configuring B2B site search is both art and science. By understanding search intent, enriching product data, refining filters, managing synonyms, guiding users with predictive suggestions, and continuously analyzing performance, businesses can turn search into one of their strongest conversion tools.

 

Layer One’s Search Fitness Program applies this process in a structured 90-day framework, combining analytics, configuration, and continuous optimization to transform search from a static tool into a living performance engine.

 

Want to improve your site search performance? Let’s talk.

 

 

 

Empower Search is the fourth of Layer One's 14 Focus Points

See the other 13 Focus Points for Manufacturers and Distributors here!