More than 70% of Web site visitors on the World Wide Web use the search functionality of the Web sites they visit, and over 40% of Web site owners feel that the search functionality is their most important feature for online shopping (even more important than customer service, wish lists, personalization, and product information). Yet more than 50% of large Web sites (over 500,000 pages) and 70% of moderately sized Web sites (up to 5,000 pages) do not offer search functionality to their visitors. And although Internet search engines index many of these Web sites, they either cannot or do not index all available content.
The top two reasons given by Web site owners for not offering search functionality are the difficulty in setting up a search service, and the length of time involved in doing so.
QuickFinder Server is easy to set up and manage, and is included free with Novell Open Linux Enterprise Server. For more information on supported platforms, see Table 3-1, Network Operating System. It includes a browser-based administration utility with helpful examples and tips right in the interface. The help system offers additional information and provides links to relevant topics in this manual. Unlike other search engines available on the market today, there are no escalated fees or limits on the number of documents indexed, the number of users who use the service, or the number of user transactions.
Additionally, QuickFinder Server lets you do many things to increase your site’s usability:
Gather customer metrics by reviewing customer searches to identify what your customers look for the most
Direct customers to the information you know they need, and away from the information you know they don’t want
Spotlight products for marketing purposes by redirecting searches to specific Web pages
Keep customers on your site longer
Improve employee productivity by helping them find information more quickly
Use the search page as an advertising portal (because the search page is often the most seen page on a Web site)
Help customers navigate your Web site
Provide an information portal for customer service departments to quickly answer customer questions