The B2B search audit handbook

In B2B manufacturing and wholesale, the search and browse experience is central to your business. Like a salesperson, search and site navigation carry the essential touch points between you and your customers. These experiences define the way people visit and interact with your catalog, learn about your products and services, and decide what to buy and how much to buy.

To know how effectively your search and browse experience is performing in those areas, you need to benchmark. We’ve developed a simple rubric you can use to conduct a search audit that will help you see if your search capability measures up. For many B2B organizations still climbing the commerce maturity curve, conducting a search audit is especially important. 

The purpose of this guide

Conducting a search audit helps B2B manufacturers and distributors like you understand how your current experience lines up with customer expectations. Having this baseline helps you:

• Improve your user experience
• Increase engagement  
• Improve search accuracy
• Reduce downtime and get faster search
• Meet your profitability goals

This guide explains why it’s important to conduct a search audit in B2B ecommerce. Secondly, it walks you through the search audit rubric so you can measure your search solution’s effectiveness yourself. (We recommend downloading the rubric before you read the guide.)

Algolia: a trusted voice in search and search auditing

Algolia is used by 1,700 B2B manufacturers and distributors and 17,000+ customers globally. We know what works for search. We’ve worked with customers to resolve all kinds of pain points, like decreasing search latency, improving relevance, driving accuracy, and by enhancing the user experience overall. Second only to Google’s public search, Algolia’s search scale is immense:

• Powering 1.75 trillion searches per year

• Regularly delivering 100,000+ queries per second

• Indexing more than 30 billion product records

In B2B commerce, the search bar is your sales rep.

Even if ecommerce isn’t your primary sales channel, most B2B businesses use digital resources for product sourcing, description, tracking, warehousing, and rep-assisted ecommerce. The bottom line: search is also critical to support faster and more accurate sales efforts that happen face-to-face.

B2B ecommerce is a battle for customers — win them over with outstanding search 

An exclusive supplier relationship is one of the most valuable commodities in B2B sales, but the digitally native marketplace drives competition for customers even higher. Suppliers can compare a world of products, and there are apps that do it automatically. Sites like Amazon have a decades-long head start and endless resources to keep prices low.

The good news is the strength of your digital experience can win customers over. McKinsey found that suppliers that provide outstanding digital experiences are more than twice as likely to become primary suppliers. The bad news? A poor experience risks losing them.

19% of B2B buyers will switch vendors due to poor ecommerce functionality; 
15% will switch due to a poor website.

(Accenture Interactive)

Getting a numerical baseline

How do you know whether your search is performing well enough? Google Analytics is a popular choice, as are other analytics programs provided by your search or ecommerce platform.

In this example, you can get a sense of traffic, conversions, and revenue data. A summary breakout of key benchmarks (e.g., conversion rate, Average Order Value (AOV), bounce rate, etc.) drills down deeper into how search is used and how much revenue you derive from it.

Search vs. browse

To gain a finer understanding of your performance, it’s essential to first segment your data into:


• People who use the search bar
• People who browse through catalog, category, or PLP experiences

In your ecommerce reporting, segment by “site search status,” 
“interaction with your site search page” or “site search event.”

In the example above, search drove 1/3 of revenue, but touched only 1/6 of sessions. That shines a light on how crucial search is to conversions and revenue. Search generally punches above its weight from a conversion rate perspective. 

Interpreting the results

Often, a smaller number of users use search rather than browse B2B websites via category  navigation, although significantly more than in the B2C world. At the same time, research shows that those who search convert more often and purchase more volume.

Many B2B suppliers are finding an unusual pattern: higher than average search exit rates and search AOV lagging considerably behind browse AOV. B2B customers are eventually finding what they need by clicking around, instead of through the search bar. This is often due to issues with search relevance and accuracy. Improving those criteria helps B2B organizations reverse those numbers and earn substantially more.

Having even approximate numbers provides a valuable baseline for driving profitability. They make the case for investment, experimentation, and testing to improve the customer experience. 

Common search issues

UX and site navigation present fascinating problems to solve. Even experienced ecommerce organizations run into issues with speed, differentiated experiences, and usability. Organizations that try to build their own search platforms or use lower-cost providers often face the steepest climbs. From our experience, the following are the most common obstacles faced by B2B organizations.

Sub-optimal latency

An experience that lags doesn’t feel intuitive or performant. With poor latency, pages are slow to load and reload. Clicking a filter reloads the entire search result set. With large catalogs, customers are waiting 3, 4, even 5 seconds to get results. Importantly: Deloitte has found that every 100MS of latency can reduce conversion by up to 8%.

No “search-as-you-type” experience

Great search experiences drive engagement from the very first keystroke with finely tuned autocomplete functionality, automatic query suggestions, in-built typo tolerance, and federated content search.

Inadequate query suggestions

Search tools that rely on old-school methods like catalog wordlists and dictionaries for query suggestions aren’t fit for today’s B2B demands. Today’s search bar suggestions combine search history with robust datasets and sophisticated relevance models to make the right suggestion to the right person at the right time.

Complex queries “break” search

Great search reduces the manual effort involved in landing on the right product. Keywords, facet values, and filters are designed to help users narrow things down. Poor search experiences have trouble with compound searches, delivering dead ends and wrong results. Users should leave satisfied, not feeling like their complicated query broke the search bar.

Merchandising inconsistency

Merchandising teams sometimes curate category pages in special ways so that a search for “screws” in the toolbar presents different results than it will on the category page. This is confusing for customers and also a wasted effort. Suppliers should curate for consistency above all.

Mediocre front end UX

B2B is now playing on the same field as every other digital goods and services provider. Expectations are high. Front end UX needs to be immersive, responsive, and follow best practices.

The rubric: Does your search tool support these 36 functions?

The core of conducting a search audit is a Q&A rubric. It consists of 36 yes/no questions to ask about your current search functionality and browsing experience.

The rubric questions are divided into four buckets:

1. Search bar UX
2. Overarching relevance
3. Results page and filtering
4. Category pages and the browser experience

Depending on your search maturity, you may not need to address all of the questions. Knowing what you don’t know helps point out gaps. Your current site search and navigation might not offer some features you don’t know are available (e.g., AI personalization, federated search, dynamic facet re-ranking, etc). If that’s the case for you, the search audit generates a checklist of your search potential. 

The following four sections review the search audit questions in more detail. Download the rubric and follow along. The more you answer “yes,” the more specialized capability you’re offering your customers. The more “no,” the more work you have to do to optimize search to meet today’s user expectations and leverage it to drive conversions and revenue.

Let’s dive in.

Bucket 1: Search 
bar UX and logic

With the search bar as your sales rep, it needs to provide an immersive, responsive, and welcoming experience, one that begins with a hydrated empty state. That means that before users enter terms into the search toolbar, they should see a personalized, relevant layout of items that announces “this is what we sell.”

• Does the search bar have a hydrated empty state?
• Does search latency meet expectations as I’m typing?
• Is the search bar responsively designed for an in-app or a mobile browser?

When the user does start typing, users should see results as they type. Your search platform should have the power and the latency to update those results with every keystroke. That performance should be as good on mobile as it is on PC. B2B organizations sell to contractors, project managers, and tradespeople in the field who are researching and buying products from their phones.

• Does the search bar have a scope selector or category suggestions?
• Does the search bar provide query suggestions, search history, and autocomplete suggestions?
• Are autocomplete product suggestions separate from query suggestions?
• Are autocomplete suggestions unique and not redundant?
• Do autocomplete suggestions correct for spelling?

An industry leading toolbar makes search faster and more efficient by anticipating what users are looking for. Design blocks on the search page for “Popular Categories,” “Suggested Searches” and “Popular Searches” are the gold standard. These suggestions should dynamically refresh to match what the searcher is typing. For the most performant UX, product suggestions should be separate from suggested searches.

Powerful search tools leverage search history to feature products the user previously bought — and avoid wasting space with two variants of the same product. Spelling errors, partial SKU numbers, and entries without dashes shouldn’t stymy your search tool. A cutting-edge search platform can parse irregular entries to understand what they mean and deliver accurate results

Bucket 1: Checklist

• Hydrated empty state
• Responsive design
• Category scope
• Query suggestions
• Autocomplete
• Spelling/typo tolerance

Bucket 2: Overarching relevance

Relevance is the measure of most search capability and search engine control and flexibility. How easily can users find exactly what they’re looking for? How well does your search platform let your business return accurate results to users?

• Does the search match product titles?
• Does the search recognize category values?
• Are categories suggested?

Matching product titles is a low bar for search, but can be a challenge for B2B organizations. Similarly, when users enter category values, the Search Results Page (SRP) should deliver that category information from nested categories instead of redirecting the user to a different landing page. Providing category suggestions helps users navigate the textual experience and gives them ready-made ideas of what to search for.

The goal is always to make things easier for the user, not force them to follow a search pathway that makes sense to your developers.

• Do category searches return relevant results?
• Can I search for a category name and qualifier at the same time?
• Can I search for a feature, size, or job to be done?
• Can I search for non-product content in my primary search bar?

Results should be relevant to the user at every step to hone and sharpen the search, not kick them back to the starting gate. If a customer is searching the Tools category on an ecommerce site they should be able to type “hand tools” and still get relevant results. If they’re searching “2X4 lumber,” they should see the exact product without having to click on dimensions again.

Customers are often putting purchase proposals together, looking for spec sheets, and product safety information. Federated search across all your content supports that work so customers can better qualify future purchases.

• Does the search bar support search for part numbers?
• Can I match a partial part number?
• Can I include or omit dashes or other special characters?
• Can I perform a compatibility search? (Year/Make/Model, model selection, search bar recognition)

As noted above, B2B needs search that understands partial and irregular entries. The best platforms let users filter searches to items they’re interested in, such as year, make, and model.

Bucket 2: Checklist

• Category value recommendations
• Suggested category pages
• Visual browse
• Non-product content
• Federated results
• Content-specific filters
• Partial SKU/number match
• Partial part number match
• Omitted dash

Bucket 3: Results page and filtering

Results are where the rubber hits the road in search. When search is optimized and blended with robust filtering, you drive more conversions and higher AOV.

• After pressing “enter,” does the search bar persist on the results page?
• Are results federated on the SRP?
• Are “no results” searches a dead end?

The search toolbar is so important that it should persist on every page. Users shouldn’t have to navigate back to search again. Top search platforms enable federated search, which pulls results from a variety of materials (e.g., blogs, instructional videos, safety information, and FAQs).

No query should return “0 results.” Intelligent search engines try to match a portion of the query or make product recommendations based on the user’s search history

• Does filtering a search or changing a query trigger a page reload?
• Are pages configured to “load more” or quickly add additional results?

B2B customers are busy people. When a page reload takes a few seconds more, they feel it. Filters should be a shortcut, not a time-waster. Endless scroll is sticky and familiar to users from social media. In B2B, it displays more options without forcing another page click.

• Are the relevant sorts to your business provided on the SRP? (Price/Popularity/Relevance/Alphabetical)
• Are facets available for core attributes required for the business?
• Do facets reload the page or cause significant latency?
• Are facets dynamic and relevant to the result set?
• Are filters prioritized by query relevance, results volume, or another relevant metric?

The remaining questions for this bucket dig into the arrangement of search results, facets, and filters. The order is important. It should suit the buying behavior of your customers and your business objectives.

A powerful search platform will provide enough control to make that arrangement meaningful for your users and your business.

Superb UX provides enough facet filter flexibility so users can drill down to what they care about. Price is common, but dimensions, color, model, local availability, and delivery options are important, too. Facets should shift dynamically to match the current results set and show product counts. A best practice is to put filter categories containing more results above those with fewer.

Top marks: King Arthur 
Baking Co’s results page

The search bar is available on the results page. There are federated results, with tabs for “Products,” “Recipes,” “Blogs,” and “Classes” – content that helps the company’s marketing effort. Instead of forcing a click to another page, the page displays endless results.

Bucket 3: Checklist

• Persistent search
• Federated results
• Additional results
• Unique facets
• Relevant sorts
• Prioritized filters

Bucket 4: Category pages 
and browse

This bucket focuses on bringing consistency and relevance to the category browse experience, including home page navigation.

• Are categories clearly navigable from home page navigation or from carousel experiences?

Instead of burying categories in deeper navigational layers, they should be easy to locate from the home page. For instance, safety company MSA features “top products” on its home page, plus the sub-category “fall protection” since it’s central to its business. A click from either of these image carousels delivers users faster to the part of the catalog that they care about.

Visual browsing is also an excellent UX approach to the category experience. With parts, components, and tools, it’s often easier to spot the thing you’re looking for than figure out what it’s called. A home page might feature pictures for each sub-category to help users instantly refine their search with the help of visual cues.

• Do category searches exactly match category experiences when browsing?
• Can subcategories be filtered from the category page?
• Are category-specific facet values available?
• Do facets work without reloading the page?
• Are filters prioritized by query relevance, results, volume, or another relevant metric?
• Are pages configured to “load more” or quickly load additional results?

The remaining rubric questions delve into category search UX. Categories, subcategories, facets, and filters should be available, easy-to-find, consistent, ordered logically, and fast-loading. Clicking a facet shouldn’t force a reload. Endless scroll is better than tapping a subsequent page. When a user shifts from one category page to another, they should see different refinement options. A great search platform makes this easy to implement.

Bucket 4: Checklist

• Category-specific facets
• Responsive page
• Filters that automatically prioritize
• Optimized home page navigation
• Visual browsing, where applicable

How did you do?

Once you gauge how effective your B2B search experience is, you’re in a stronger and more informed position as a business.

Like any benchmarking activity, establishing a search UX baseline pinpoints opportunities to support your B2B ecommerce investment. The next step is to hone your search capabilities to drive more online sales and grow profitability.

If you found yourself answering “no” more than “yes” in your search audit, your search UX needs improving to compete in today’s B2B ecommerce marketplace.

Get the best search for your B2B business

Why not start your journey with the world’s leading AI-powered search platform? We’ve provided exceptional search performance to B2B businesses across industry sectors by delivering:

• Lightning fast results
• Natural language understanding
• Relevance control, flexibility, and transparency
• End-to-end AI personalization and recommendations
• Quick deployment and easy to use dashboards

What’s so important about search?

The buyer’s experience has changed dramatically in B2B. Customers used to talk to sales reps to learn what products were available and what parts they needed. Now these same queries go directly into the search bar. Consider these research findings:

• 92% of B2B purchases start with search (Forrester)
• 68% of B2B buyers prefer to research online before calling a sales rep (Forrester
• 2/3 of B2B customers prefer remote human interactions or digital self-service (McKinsey)

Today’s customers are looking for expertise, organization, and response speed from the site search experience. Your search needs to handle every potential query the moment it’s asked.