Faceted Search

You may have come across the term "faceted search" while searching for navigation tools for your website. The wording seems complicated, but it's actually a simple tool that helps your users find the content they want.

What is Faceted Search?

At which the Faceted Search product or content characteristics are used as criteria that a website visitor can use to refine their search results. Your user is given specific and relevant options to filter their results page. This makes faceted search an easy and practical way to search for products or pages.

An example: A user searches for an iPhone on eBay. eBay offers a logical filter with different facet types. The visitor can choose which storage capacity he wants, which iPhone model and which color he prefers. The faceting makes it easier for the customer to find exactly the phone he was looking for.

The Faceted Search is therefore a great tool for any website with extensive content. It makes it easier for your user to find "the needle in the haystack".

Faceted navigation helps the visitor who uses the search function the most by narrowing down the options and allowing the visitor to find what they were looking for faster. It pays to prioritize these users because visitors who use the search function on your website are the most likely to convert. They feel instant satisfaction when they find what they need quickly, and are more likely to return to the site after a good first experience.

4. how does faceted search work?

The faceted search works in four steps:

4.1 Step 1: Collect data

First, we need to collect information about all the things we can search for on a web page. It's like collecting shoes in a shoe box. Each pair of shoes has information like size, color and style.

4.2 Step 2: Create categories

Now we need to sort this information into different categories, such as "color", "size" and "style" for shoes. It's like we sort the shoes in the shoe box according to these categories.

4.3 Step 3: Add filter

Next, we'll add filters so you can select the categories you want. For example, if you want to see only red shoes, select the "Red" filter.

4.4 Step 4: Display results

Finally, we show you all the things that fit the selected categories. So if you selected "Red" and "Size 38", you will see all red shoes in size 38. Super easy, right? 😊

Faceted Search makes search results more relevant

Facets provide a way to describe an aspect of a product or page. For example, a facet can be an option for a product. To return to the iPhone example: A facet would be "black," "gold," or "pink" as a color.

If you have a Faceted Search users won't lose their search if they go back and type in the facet themselves ("iPhone black" after searching for "iPhone"). Also, your users don't have to scroll through pages and pages of phones they're not interested in.

When done well, faceted search provides a structure to educate the user about your product catalog or website content and give them an idea of what is available.

Faceted search is more flexible and efficient, but it also requires time to create and maintain and incurs interaction costs (see #Facet Search for more information).

Why you should use Faceted Search

Faceted Search is right for you if you have a large product catalog or a large content base. In either case, you want to avoid frustrated users scouring page after page when what they're looking for can be easily found with faceted search.

Even if you have exactly what they are looking for, but they can't find it, they will leave the site. And if your site doesn't have what they're looking for, they should be able to find out as soon as possible so they don't feel like they've wasted their time.

Faceted Search improves the user experience

A pleasant user experience directly impacts how likely they are to come back. For a large product catalog or many content pages, facets can make the difference between a satisfied user coming back and a frustrated user leaving.

For rich content, a simple filter is not enough, even if your customer knows exactly what they want. Users don't use perfect search terms, often their queries are more guesses because they don't know exactly what they're looking for. With faceted search, you prevent your customer from getting lost page after page.

Faceted search is no longer optional or a nice-to-have for websites with lots of content and pages. Faceted search is a must-have because it drives purchase decisions for E-commerce-websites, resulting in lower abandonment rates, higher conversion rates, and overall profits.

The Faceted Search offers more options to the users

Facets are a great way to educate your users about what questions to ask. For example, a visitor to a university website is interested in the topic of war and peace. With this question, he may land on many pages. Faceted search can offer categories like "courses" or "programs" to differentiate between individual courses and entire bachelor's or master's programs around the topic.

In addition, facets such as "sociology," "politics," "cultural studies," or "ethnic studies" might include various institutes that offer courses in war and peace studies. Your user will get an idea of what his options are and what perspectives your college offers on the subject. While he may have been looking for a stand-alone course, you can pique his interest in a degree program.

How to use Faceted Search: Best practices and tips

If you only have a few pages of articles, simple filters for searching your site may be enough. You don't want to slow down visitors, you want to make it easier for the customer.

If you have a large product catalog or content library, faceted navigation can make all the difference. With smart faceting, you can improve the user journey, bring your users closer to your site's content and products, and drive higher conversion rates.

Tips for using Faceted Search:

1. Keep your user in mind: When you introduce faceted search, think about what your users are looking for and which facets interest them. You want to help them find what they want, when they want it. To make your faceted search on a E-commerce-To optimize your website, you don't have to offer all options for a product. Respect the language of your customers and how relevant certain aspects of a product are to them. It's important to help them and not overwhelm them with options. A visitor who uses site search is most likely coming with the intention to buy. You don't want to confuse him with too many facets.
2. Use an appropriate number of facets: You should have enough facets to choose from to narrow down the search results in a meaningful way. At the same time, you don't want to overload the user with information and options, especially if the product is not purchased regularly and the customer is not very familiar with it.

Best practices for implementing intelligent faceted search

1. Multiple choices: Your visitor might want to wear different colors or prefer multiple brands. With a multiple selection, he doesn't have to search multiple times to get what he wants.
2. Thematic filters: Thematic filters are very subjective, but if done well, they can educate your customers and show them options they haven't considered. For example, if a user is on a recipe platform and the facet search offers topics like "Christmas," "Halloween," or "Brunch," they can get inspired about what to cook for Christmas.
3. Price: Buyers usually use price as a secondary or tertiary filter. Users want to compare options and prices, but they don't always look for the cheapest option. They may want the option that gives them the most value for their money. In this case, it makes sense to provide a way to order or descend products by price and give users the option to set a minimum or maximum price (for example, via a slider).
4. Number of hits next to the facet filter: With a number of matches for each facet, you give your user insight into the catalog and the quantity of certain products, making them an expert on your catalog.
5. Quality assessment: Many customers appreciate some form of product evaluation. The inclusion of reviews and ratings from other customers provides social proof. Reviews strengthen users' trust in the website because they offer transparency and give the feeling that nothing is hidden from them.

Advantages of Faceted Search

The use of Faceted Search offers many advantages. It enables faster, more precise searching by narrowing down results to specific criteria. It also helps to avoid unwanted results. Since the user can narrow down their search to specific criteria, they can get more relevant results. It also increases usability and allows users to narrow their search to specific criteria.

Disadvantages of Faceted Search

Unfortunately, there are also some disadvantages in the use of Faceted Search. One of the biggest drawbacks is that it can be difficult to create all the facets needed for a particular search. Therefore, it is important to provide users with as many facets as possible so that they can narrow down the search according to their needs. It can also be difficult to choose the right facets, as they are not always very precise.

Use cases

Faceted Search is widely used in search engines, online stores and libraries. It allows users to narrow down the search to criteria that are relevant to their needs. It can also be used in other applications where it is important for users to be able to narrow down search results, such as directories or indexes.

10 examples

1. An online store: When you go shopping on a website, you often see different filter options on the left side of the screen. These filters allow you to search by specific criteria such as price, color, size, etc. This is an example of faceted search, as it allows you to refine your search to find exactly what you're looking for.
2. A travel booking portal: When you search for a hotel on a website, you can often use various filter options to search for things like star rating, location, amenities, and so on. Again, the multi-faceted search allows you to tailor the search results to your specific needs.
3. A job portal: When you search for a job on a job board, you can often filter by criteria such as industry, company size, experience level, and so on. Again, the multi-faceted search allows you to tailor the search results to your specific needs.
4. A music streaming service: When you search for music on a music streaming service, you can often filter by criteria such as artist, album, genre, and so on. Again, the multi-faceted search allows you to tailor the search results to your specific needs.
5. A social media network: When you search for posts on a social media network, you can often filter by criteria such as date, author, hashtags, and so on. Again, the multi-faceted search\
6. A real estate portal: When you search for apartments or houses on a real estate portal, you can often filter by criteria such as size, number of bedrooms, location, and so on. Again, the multi-faceted search allows you to customize the search results to your specific needs.
7. An online car dealership: When you search for a car on a website, you can often filter by criteria such as make, model, price, mileage, and so on. Again, the multi-faceted search allows you to customize the search results to your specific needs.
8. An online libraryWhen searching for books on an online library, you can often filter by criteria such as author, genre, publication date, and so on. Again, the multi-faceted search allows you to customize the search results to your specific needs.
9. An online marketplace: When you search for items on an online marketplace, you can often filter by criteria such as price, seller, delivery time, and so on. Again, the multi-faceted search allows you to customize the search results to your specific needs.
10. An online course provider: When you search for courses on an online learning platform, you can often filter by criteria such as focus, length, language, and so on. Again, the multi-faceted search allows you to tailor the search results to your specific needs.

Conclusion

Faceted Search is a useful search technology that allows users to narrow their search to specific criteria. It offers many advantages, such as a faster search and the possibility to avoid unwanted results. There are also some disadvantages, such as the need to provide many facets and choose the right ones. Faceted Search is widely used in search engines, online stores and libraries. It is a powerful search technology that allows users to narrow down results to relevant criteria.

In summary, faceted search, when used correctly, is a powerful tool that can help users who are already interested in your website and content, and increase the likelihood that they will convert.