Though search box optimization (SBO) sounds great, you may well ask yourself “How effective is search box optimization”?

This article covers what you want to know. But before we get into the details, let’s briefly review the basics of search box optimization.

How Search Box Optimization Works

Whenever you perform a search into Google, YouTube, or Bing, auto suggestions pop up. You can save time by just clicking on one of those suggestions to be taken to a page of relevant search results.

Now what if it just so happens that your company could appear in these search engine autosuggestions when people are searching for products or services they offer?

Say someone in the Boston area types in the search “personal injury lawyer Boston.” Google and Bing will list a handful of autocomplete options such as “best personal injury lawyer Boston,” “personal injury attorneys Boston reviews” and similar options. If your client is an attorney who wants more web traffic, then by using SBO, your client could appear in that short list of auto suggestions.

See this example for a hypothetical attorney Michael O. Smith. There are a huge number of personal injury attorneys in Boston, but your client could be the only one that appears due to our search box optimization technique.

This is already a win, because the user has now seen the name in this example as Michael O. Smith, and it is as though Google recommended him above all the other personal injury attorneys in the area.  Amazing, right?

But it gets better. If the user clicks on the autosuggestion “personal injury attorney Boston Michael O. Smith,” they are taken to an entire page of search results dedicated exclusively to results showing Michael O. Smith. You are not just one of many on the search results page – only links related to your client appear on the search results page, with the exception of some PPC ads at the top of the page. It’s essentially a monopoly of search results for your company.

This is what the screen would look like.  See the example below.

Search Engine Optimization is Extremely Effective

This sounds great to grab traffic before anyone even sees competitive links. But just how effective is search box optimization?

The only way for search box optimization to be effective is if many people are clicking on search engine auto-suggestions when they type in a search query. Let’s focus on Google, since over 90% of search queries are on Google.

Google says, “Autocomplete is a feature within Google Search designed to make it faster to complete searches that you’re beginning to type.” Autocomplete reduces typing by about 25%. And boy, do people use it!

According to Google, autocomplete saves over 200 years of typing per day! In other words, people heavily use autocomplete. It’s a tool that people regularly rely on when doing searches. It can be particularly helpful on mobile devices where typing is more difficult.

Search Engine Optimization Through Autocomplete Shapes Customer Behavior

Search box auto-suggests play a significant role in shaping customer behavior by guiding searchers toward popular or relevant queries.

• According to a recent study, people searching on Google use autocomplete suggestions 23% of the time.
• The majority (59%) of those searching on Google only visit a single page during their search session. That means if they select your company’s page from autocomplete, they will be taken to a page all about your company and they are unlikely to look further.

Users tend to trust autocomplete suggestions as recommended by the search engine. They see the search engine as a reliable source, and the autocomplete suggestions as sanctioned. That means if your company appears as a search engine autocomplete suggestion, the user will automatically trust your company more.

A survey by Search Engine Journal revealed that 63% of respondents trust auto-filled suggestions and find them useful in guiding their search process. In fact, people trust Google for news more than they trust other media.

AutoComplete Is Available Where Your Audience is Likely Search

Autocomplete from either Google or Bing or YouTube is available in most places you are likely to find a search box. It is delivered in the top browsers: Edge, Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari. It’s available on the Google app for both Android and IOS, the quick search box in Android and the Google search box in Chrome.

Does Search Engine Optimization Replace SEO or SEM?

Search box optimization is different from SEO (organic search results) or SEM (paid search results).

Both SEO and SEM help drive traffic to your website. But once a user gets to a search results page, even if your company is listed, they will still have to vie for attention among plenty of other businesses. With SBO, once a user clicks on an auto-suggestion while doing a search for your company, they are taken to a page that ONLY has links to your website.

Normally, you will want to use SBO as another valuable tool in your marketing toolkit. We don’t recommend that you immediately jettison all your SEO and SEM efforts. However, we think you may find that once you implement search box optimization for your company, you will drive significantly more traffic and may be able to cut back on any SEO and SEM efforts you may be using.

How Do I Get Search Box Optimization for My Company?

Now that you have an answer to the question, “How effective is search box optimization,” you may want to have MAM put it to work for you to get more clients. Contact MAM for a free consultation about our search box optimization services by completing a form on our website or by calling 1(999) 999-9999. Our experts can help you get started immediately on SBO.