Search Analytics lets you know what your users search, how they behave in search, and general metrics to feel the pulse of the value coming from Nosto’s Search.
In this article, we take a closer look at different sections within the analytics and what certain metrics stand for.
Analytics structure
Enhanced analytics provide you with a clear breakdown of performance data in three separate sections:
Search
Category Merchandising
Autocomplete
Key Metrics: Search
Feature-level statistics
Total Searches - The total count of search impressions. Actions contributing to search impressions include:
Submitting a Search Term: Each time a search term is submitted, it counts as a separate search impression. This includes repeated submissions of the same term within the same session. For example, submitting the same search term five times in a session will count as five search impressions.
Applying a Filter: Each filter applied adds a search impression. For instance, submitting a search term like "Shorts" and then filtering by "Size M" would result in two search impressions.
Pagination: Navigating to another page, such as moving from page 1 to page 2, generates an additional search impression. For example, submitting "Shorts" as a search term and then moving to the second page would count as two search impressions. Adding a filter on top of this would increase the total to three search impressions.
Changing the Sorting Option: Selecting a different sorting option is also counted as a search impression. For example, submitting "Shorts" and then sorting by "Price: Low to High" would result in two search impressions.
Orders - Total number of orders generated from searches, including Autocomplete interactions
Sales - Total sales generated through search, including Autocomplete interactions;
CTR % (Click-through rate) - The percentage of searches that resulted in clicks in the search results page;
CR % (Conversion rate) - The percentage of visits that led to orders.
Product clicks - All product clicks on search result pages.
If you have access to hybrid vector search, additional metrics will be shown in the feature-level stats:
Accumulated impact of hybrid search for total searches, orders, sales and product clicks.
Absolute amount of searches with vector or hybrid results
Absolute amount of avoided no-result pages
All search terms
The "All search terms" table shows a comprehensive summary of all search queries for the given tim period. You can easily switch between the different tabs (representing the different response types) that all include the same detailed metrics for each query:
Result type - Keyword, Hybrid or Vector.
Searches - Amount of total searches
Clicks - Amount of product clicks
CTR % (Click-through rate) -The percentage of searches that resulted in clicks
Orders - The number of orders generated from searches with this query
Share % - the percentage of searches for a specific term compared to the total number of all searches.
CR % (Conversion rate) - The percentage of visits that resulted in orders
Total sales - Total amount os sales for this query
By clicking on the "view details" icon, you can open a drawer containing more details for the specific query like "top clicked" and "top purchased" products.
Top clicked products
This table shows a summary of the products with the most product clicks across search.
Clicks - Total number of product clicks in search results
CR % - The percentage of visits that led to orders for the specific product in search
Share % - the percentage of total product clicks for the specific product compared to product clicks overall
Top purchased products
This table shows a summary of the most purchased products across search.
Orders - Total number of orders placed for the product through search
CR % - The percentage of visits that led to orders for the specific product in search
Sales - Total number of sales products generated through search
Organic vs. Non-Organic Searches
Organic - The percentage of searches initiated by directly visiting the site and using search
Non-organic - The percentage of searches driven by external promotions or influences that led to the search results page (e.g. clicks on banners or Google links leading directly to certain search results pages)
Device type
Device - Phone, Desktop, Tablet, Other
Key Metrics: Categories
Feature-level statistics
Total Category Views - The total number of category views (impressions). Actions that contribute to category views include:
Accessing a Category: Each time a category is viewed, it is counted as a separate category view (impression), even if the same category is revisited within the same session. For example, navigating to the same category five times in a session would result in five category views.
Applying a Filter: Each filter applied within a category view adds another category view. For instance, navigating to a category like "Shorts" and then applying a filter for "Size M" would result in two category views.
Pagination: Moving to another page within a category view, such as navigating from page 1 to page 2, generates an additional category view. For example, accessing the "Shorts" category and then going to the second page of results would count as two category views. Adding a filter on top of this would increase the total to three category views.
Changing the Sorting Option: Selecting a different sorting option within a category also counts as a category view. For example, accessing the "Shorts" category and then selecting a sort option like "Price: Low to High" would result in two category views.
Orders - Total number of orders generated from categories
Sales - Total sales generated through categories
CTR % (Click-through rate) - The percentage of category visits that resulted in clicks
CR % (Conversion rate) - The percentage of visits that led to orders
Product clicks - All product clicks on category pages
All categories
Views - Amount of total category views
Clicks - Amount of product clicks
CTR % (Click-through rate) -The percentage of category visits that resulted in clicks
Orders - The number of orders generated from category visits
Share % - the percentage of category visits for the specific category compared to the total number of category visits.
CR % (Conversion rate) - The percentage of visits that resulted in orders
Total sales - Total amount os sales for this category
Top clicked products
This table shows a summary of the products with the most product clicks across all categories.
Clicks - Total number of product clicks in all categories
CR % - The percentage of visits that led to orders for the specific product in all categories
Share % - the percentage of total product clicks for the specific product compared to product clicks overall
Top purchased products
This table shows a summary of the most purchased products across all categories.
Orders - Total number of orders placed for the product through categories
CR % - The percentage of visits that led to orders for the specific product in all categories
Sales - Total number of sales products generated through all categories
Device type
Device - Phone, Desktop, Tablet, Other
Key Metrics: Autocomplete
Feature-level statistics
Product clicks - Total clicks on product suggestions
Keyword clicks - Total clicks on keyword suggestions
Usage - The percentage of all autocomplete interactions compared to the total search interactions
All keywords
Clicks - Total number of clicks generated from a specific autocomplete suggestion
Orders - Number of orders generated from searches using keyword suggestions
CR % (Conversion rate) - The percentage of visits that resulted in orders from the unique keyword.
Share % - The percentage of clicks for a specific autocomplete keyword suggestion relative to the total number of autocomplete clicks
Top clicked products
This table shows the most clicked products from the Autocomplete.
Clicks - Total number of clicks in the Autocomplete autocomplete suggestions
CR % - The percentage of product views from autocomplete that resulted in orders.
Share % - the percentage of total product clicks that the product received, compared to clicks on all products.
Data Export
Nosto analytics provides a possibility to export different data points allowing you to perform data analysis out of the platform. Before exporting, make sure that relevant data ranges are selected and export relevant tables as .csv files. Once ready, the link to download the export will be shared to the email.
We recommend merchants to have a monthly routine to go through these and improve search based on that. Remember that many relevance challenges can be easily tackled by improving searchable fields or with merchandising rules targeting specific or all search queries.
Data Attribution
Some important points to understand on how certain data points and metrics are calculated:
Same search terms appearing in both "All search terms" and "No results search terms" tables: For example, if the search term “Shirt” appears in the "All search terms" table with a count of 20 and in the "No results search terms" table with a count of 10, this indicates that in 50% of cases, the search term did not return any results. There could be multiple reasons for search terms appearing in both tables, including:
Fluctuating availability of the product;
The "Filter" functionality in merchandising rules may result in no search results during certain periods. For example, if a rule with a filter is applied, it may cause a search term to return no results if the filter eliminates all matching products. This can occur during A/B tests or when specific segments are applied, affecting only certain visitor groups rather than the entire audience;
Changes to the product catalog, such as product discontinuation.
Difference in the sum of orders from the "All search terms" table and the "Statistics" table: This difference occurs for several reasons:
A single order can be attributed to multiple search terms within the same session, causing the sum of orders from the "All search terms" table to be higher than the order count in the "Statistics" table.
The "All search terms" table represents the top 500 searched terms, meaning that rarer search terms are not included, and their orders, if any, are not considered.
As noted in the tooltip, orders in the "Statistics" table include orders generated through both Search and Autocomplete, whereas the "All search terms" table attributes orders specifically to Search.
Pagination, Filtering, and Sorting Options: Each action—pagination, filtering, and sorting—is counted as a separate search query or category view. For example, searching for "Pants" or navigating to the "Pants" category, then applying a filter such as "Type=Shorts," would count as two search queries or category views. Similarly, searching for "Pants" or accessing the "Pants" category and then moving to the second page of results would also be counted as two queries or views. Selecting an additional sorting option, such as "Price: Low to High," would bring the total to three search queries or category views.
Number of search terms presented: Search analytics return the top 500 search terms based on count. Therefore, any sorting in the "All search terms" table applies specifically to the 500 most frequently searched terms.