Most stores look at sales and traffic every week. Few look at search, even though every search is a shopper telling you, in their own words, exactly what they want.
For a parts store this is especially valuable. Your shoppers search with part numbers, sizes and model names. A search that finds nothing is rarely a vague browse; it is usually a specific part they were ready to buy.
The numbers worth watching
You don’t need a dashboard full of charts. Four things are enough:
- Searches per day. A baseline for everything else. Sudden drops can mean the search box broke after a theme change.
- Share of searches that found nothing. The main health number. Watch the trend, not the exact value.
- Top searches. What shoppers want most. Check that each one shows the best product first.
- Searches that found nothing, by frequency. The to-do list.
Compare each period with the one before it. A 7-day view is good for the weekly routine; 30 and 90 days show trends and seasonal parts.
Reading the searches that found nothing
Missed searches in a parts store fall into a few groups. Sorting them is most of the work:
| Group | Example | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Other part numbers | An old number, another brand’s number, an OEM number | Link it to the product you sell |
| Different words | viton when you write FKM, shower seal when you write group head gasket | Add a synonym |
| Missing products | A part you don’t list | Note it for purchasing, reply if the shopper sent a request |
| Noise | Test searches, random letters, a competitor’s name | Nothing |
Examples are illustrative.
The first two groups are the cheap wins: the product is already in your store, and one change fixes the search for every future shopper.
Turn each fix into a habit
The weekly routine below takes about fifteen minutes once you’re used to it. Do it on the same day each week. Over a few months, the list of missed searches gets shorter and more interesting: fewer formatting problems, more real gaps in your range.
Two things help:
- Don’t fix what isn’t broken. A search that found nothing once may be a typo nobody repeats. Start with searches that appear several times.
- Check the fix. After adding a synonym or other number, search it yourself on the storefront.
How Tolra handles it
Tolra’s search report shows searches per day (with the ones that found nothing marked), the share with no results, top searches and missed searches for 7, 30 or 90 days. The 7- and 30-day views are compared with the period before; the 90-day view covers every search record kept, so it has no earlier period to compare with. Every missed search has a one-click fix next to it: add a synonym, add a search rule, or, for searches that look like part numbers, “Add as other part number”. From the Starter plan up, there is also a weekly email summary with the searches that found nothing, top searches and new product requests. Product requests from the “Can’t find what you need?” form show up on their own page.
For more on the fixes themselves, see reducing “no results” searches.
A weekly 15-minute search review
- Open the last 7 days. Look at total searches and the share that found nothing. Compare with the week before, but don't panic over small changes.
- Go through the searches that found nothing. Start with the most frequent. For each one, decide which of the four groups it belongs to.
- Fix part numbers. If it is a number for a part you sell (old, another brand's, OEM), link it to that product as an other part number.
- Fix words. If shoppers use a different word for something you sell, add a synonym.
- Note missing products. If it is a real product you don't list, note it for purchasing. Check product requests too.
- Check the top searches. Search your top five searches yourself. If the first result isn't the best one, pin the right product with a search rule.
Questions
What is a good share of searches with no results?
There is no universal number. It depends on your catalog and your traffic. What matters is the trend in your own store, and whether the missed searches are fixable.
How long should I keep search logs?
Long enough to see trends, short enough to respect privacy. Tolra keeps search logs for 90 days and does not store shopper IP addresses.
Are popular searches useful too?
Yes. They show what to keep in stock and what to feature. They also show where your top result should be pinned by hand.
Examples use made-up brands and part numbers unless a real format is needed to show the point. Try them in the interactive demo.