Beef Up Your Site Search With How-To Videos

A couple weeks ago, I posted on 22 features for site search nirvana.

We can add one more to this list. Staples.com is leveraging "how to" buying guides at the top of search results for its most popular terms, like "paper:"

This attention-grabbing tactic can help reduce bounce rates on key search pages (the percentage of visitors that abandon the page within 5-10 seconds), and help customers understand which search results to click. For example, the video explains page weight and brightness and which types of usage (e.g. double sided printing, advertising) they are appropriate for.

If you're thinking of using this technique, consider not only the most popular search terms but also product categories that have the most variable product attributes (and thus, decision criteria) or whose product descriptions include a lot of jargon.