Make website search show the most useful answers

What this means for your practice

Decide which content should answer common search tasks. Give current service information a clear identity and review unhelpful results using actual visitor questions.

A practical example

For example, a search for a service should help someone find the current service page even if an older announcement uses the same words. Try the everyday phrase and the specialist name. If both describe the same task, ask how the search can recognise that connection. A good result is one people can identify confidently from its title and description, with the relevant next step available after they open it.

Review the results after service names or availability change. A search system can continue displaying an old summary even when the page itself has been improved. Ask the supplier how those summaries are refreshed so current information does not remain hidden behind an outdated description.

Make this improvement work

Choose a small set of common visitor questions and agree which current pages should answer them. Search should help people find those useful destinations, rather than rank every old announcement equally because it shares a word. Ask the supplier to demonstrate everyday wording, a specialist term and a common abbreviation for the same topic. Review results with the service owner for accuracy and with an unfamiliar reader for recognisability. Keep withdrawn or outdated content clearly distinguished. Repeated poor results can indicate unclear titles, missing wording or a genuine content gap; establish which problem exists before paying for a more elaborate search feature.

How to check the result

Count important searches without a useful current result.