Site Search Best Practice: Visual Results Pages At Colbenson we like to share our expertise in e-commerce site search and have created a series of Site Search Best Practice tips. A picture might be worth a thousand words, but some pictures are worth more than others. A search engine results page with images usually converts more effectively than one without, but it's not just a matter of slapping a few pictures on and waiting for the numbers to go north. Here are some top tips to consider when adding images to results pages.

1. SearchBroker
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Colbenson
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Site
Search
Best
Practice
Tips
At
Colbenson
we
like
to
share
our
expertise
in
e-­‐commerce
site
search.
On
our
website
we
have
stacks
of
information
and
useful
content
to
help
you
maximize
the
potential
of
site
search
in
your
online
store.
Top
Tips
for
Visual
Search
Results
Pages
A
picture
might
be
worth
a
thousand
words,
but
some
pictures
are
worth
more
than
others.
A
search
engine
results
page
with
images
usually
converts
more
effectively
than
one
without,
but
it's
not
just
a
matter
of
slapping
a
few
pictures
on
and
waiting
for
the
numbers
to
go
north.
Here
are
some
top
tips
to
consider
when
adding
images
to
results
pages.
1. Do
you
really
need
images?
Okay,
we
did
just
say
that
pictures
are
good,
but
there
are
some
exceptions,
especially
on
channels
which
are
bandwidth-­‐challenged
such
as
mobiles.
For
example,
if
you're
ordering
pizza
via
a
mobile
app,
providing
photos
may
do
more
harm
than
good
to
the
impatient
and
hungry
customer
forced
to
wait
while
the
image
downloads.
Remember,
the
objective
of
images
on
the
results
page
is
to
increase
click-­‐through
rates.
If
this
isn't
the
case
then
maybe
you
don't
actually
need
pictures
(or
maybe
you're
not
doing
it
right).
So
don't
rush
to
stick
any
old
photo
on
every
page
on
every
channel.
If
the
visual
image
is
less
important
to
your
products
then
slowing
down
the
delivery
of
the
results
page
may
not
be
worth
the
benefit.

2. SearchBroker
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Colbenson
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2. Make
the
picture
big
enough
to
see
without
a
microscope
Tiny
thumbnails
that
you
can
barely
distinguish
from
a
dirty
mark
on
the
screen
can
do
more
harm
than
good.
If
users
have
to
spend
time
squinting
to
try
to
decipher
the
picture,
the
only
business
that
will
see
a
rise
in
sales
is
the
local
optician.
The
picture
must
be
big
enough
to
be
useful.
The
customer
must
be
able
to
get
a
quick
and
engaging
idea
of
the
product,
and,
if
relevant,
be
able
to
recognise
the
packaging
or
cover
to
gain
confidence
that
they
are
buying
the
right
thing.
3. Choose
the
right
photo
The
key
to
picking
the
right
photo
is
to
focus
on
the
source
of
customer
satisfaction.
If
this
is
aesthetic,
such
as
clothing,
furnishings
or
decoration,
then
the
only
option
is
the
product.
For
some
other
products,
there
is
a
bit
of
flexibility.
If
the
key
factor
is
flavour
intensity,
you
can
show
a
flavour
chart.
If
the
important
point
is
where
it's
from,
you
can
show
a
map.
This
is
a
bit
more
risky,
and
so
lends
itself
well
to
A/B
testing:
try
different
images
and
see
which
works
best.
If
you're
selling
a
service,
it
may
be
tempting
to
use
an
off-­‐the-­‐shelf
library
photo
of
a
happy
family
or
a
smartly-­‐dressed
group
of
diverse
business
people
enjoying
a
particularly
productive
meeting.
The
problem
is
that
these
stock
photos
are
overused
and
have
become
visual
clichés
that
just
don't
mean
anything
anymore.
If
you
are
selling
something
intangible
you
should
still
consider
images,
but
make
sure
they
mean
something.
4. Add
useful
explanatory
text
A
picture
on
its
own
may
or
may
not
actually
speak
a
thousand
words,
but
if
it
does,
it
likely
speaks
different
words
to
different
people.
This
is
why
it's
important
to
minimize
ambiguity
and
add
explanatory
text.
If
the
text
doesn't
quite
fit,
you
can
use
an
elipsis
or
fade
out
to
show
that
there
is
more
text.
I'd
recommend
the
latter,
have
the
word
fade
out
by
lightening
the
colour
of
the
text
toward
the
end.
This
shows
that
there
is
more
text
without
occupying
scarce
space
with
an
elipsis.
However,
if
you're
having
to
fade
out
the
text
on
a
lot
of
images,
you
may
need
to
think
about
redesigning
to
avoid
this.
The
fade
should
be
the
exception.

3. SearchBroker
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5. Allow
the
customer
to
judge
the
actual
size
If
all
your
products
look
the
same,
or
if
the
customer
can't
get
a
feel
for
the
product
in
a
physical
sense,
they
will
be
confused
and
put
off
making
an
online
purchase.
In
many
cases,
size
is
important.
For
example,
if
you
want
to
buy
a
camera
to
fit
inside
your
pocket
or
a
small
bag,
then
you
need
confidence
that
it's
not
going
to
turn
up
the
size
of
a
house
brick.
If
size
is
key
to
the
product,
then
show
it
next
to
something
of
a
known
size
such
as
a
coin
or
a
drinks
can.
This
also
gives
a
bit
of
space
for
reinforcing
your
brand
identity.
For
example,
a
brand
associated
with
timeless
classic
designs,
may
choose
to
picture
its
products
next
to
a
Champagne
flute.
The
most
important
thing
is
to
remember
that
in
designing
visual
results
pages
(SERPs)
it's
all
about
click-­‐through
rates
(CTR).
If
it
doesn't
increase
CTR,
then
however
beautiful
or
well-­‐designed
it
may
be,
it's
not
working
and
needs
to
change.