Your website is a trove of information, but admit it: There are times when even you have trouble finding a specific page or piece of information. Just imagine, then, how frustrating it must be for a visitor who is not familiar with your college or university.
Thank goodness for the site search.
In recent years, site search has become one of the most valuable features of individual websites. Just as users search on Google to find something specific, site search allows you to do the same thing within a specific website. It’s easy: A website visitor simply enters search terms or phrases into the search bar on your website, and a list of relevant pages appears.
In this post about site search for higher education, learn:
Website administrators spend a lot of time thinking about strategic navigation, but even the most vigilant administrators will overlook something. Site search fills the gap by helping website visitors find the information they need.
Based on research about the digital habits of high school students, site search is an especially useful tool for these digital natives who are accustomed to having information at their fingertips.
Also, a comprehensive site search is a smart way to make a good impression on visitors who appreciate the flexibility and accessibility of information on your school’s website.
In addition to a search box, Oral Roberts University includes top search topics in its site search.
Image courtesy of Oral Roberts University.What are prospective students looking for specifically, and how can site search help? According to the 2023 E-Expectations Trend Report, almost half of high-school students use the site search to navigate a website. Therefore, having a site search on a website is not just something that students find helpful, it is something that your prospective students expect.
There are certain things buried in or omitted from learning management systems that can be found easier on your website. A calendar of events and information about particular department contacts are a couple that comes to mind. Another is news written to educate the general public but also of interest to everyone on campus. You’ll find that current students and faculty jump between the two sites to glean the information they need.
Site search provides an intuitive way to navigate your website and find relevant content. It makes it easy for someone who doesn't know how or has the time to maneuver through your website to get the information they need quickly. It also limits the search to your website, which can filter out a lot of unnecessary information that might appear in a general web-wide search query.
With site search, students can find the information they need easily and quickly by just going to the search icon, typing in their query, and hitting the search button. Links to the pages and resources relevant to their search query appear right on the search results page. This results in a positive user experience, which leads to increased website traffic and engagement.
Along with delivering search results, site search also tracks the user data from the most searched keywords to the most clicked search result links. Institutions can use this data to identify and fill any content gaps and gauge the quality of their content. This way, site search helps the institution glean valuable data and insights about user behavior and preferences, which can further be used to improve website content, design, and the site search experience.
Making sure that your website is accessible to all is no longer a nice to have. Research shows that every one in four adults in the United States has some kind of disability. Every effort made in the direction of ensuring that your website is accessible to all makes a difference. Site search is a significant step in that direction. Site search makes it easier for users with disabilities to navigate a website and hence, improves website accessibility.
One of the most useful features for college and university websites is site search. If you’re going to invest in a site search tool, be sure that it includes the following:
There are site search tools—and then there is Modern Campus CMS Search. A few years ago, Google discontinued its Google Site Search tool, leaving website administrators struggling to find a suitable replacement. Modern Campus CMS Website Search has the same custom search features and more. These include:
Additionally, Modern Campus CMS Website Search allows for advanced searches, customized administrative control, and easy implementation. It’s one of the reasons why many Modern Campus customers chose Modern Campus CMS Website Search when they decide to switch to a more powerful, functional site search.
Central Oregon Community College effectively uses Modern Campus CMS Website Search Search with parametric filtering, which allows site visitors to narrow down search results by keywords or categories.
Image courtesy of Central Oregon Community College.Like Modern Campus CMS Website Search, a quality site search tool should allow visitors to access information from any page on your website, giving them power, flexibility, and access to the information they need the most.
Last updated: July 13, 2023