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Webinar on Responsive Web Design and Site Search

This webinar has already occurred. To view the webinar replay, please click the button below.

 

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Create a Great Shopping Experience with Faceted Navigation Despite Complex, Difficult or Missing Data

For most retailers, the main aim of your ecommerce site is to sell product, and that sale needs to take place in as few clicks as possible to avoid the risk of customers abandoning your online store. Site search and filtered navigation has now become an essential part of consumer onsite search behaviour. In fact, around 43% of visitors will go straight to your internal search box to start their product discovery.[1] Your site search needs to help customers quickly refine a list of search results to find the exact items they are looking for. Read More

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Delivering the Best Search, Navigation and Merchandising Experience

In this video, Ben Rudnick, e-commerce expert, explains how to use EasyAsk to deliver the best search and navigation experience on your site, and to allow your merchansisers to optimally promote products on the site.

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Increase Online Revenue with Natural Language Search and Merchandising

If your site is easy to search and navigate, consumers can find their exact products faster, will shop more often with you and buy more products. If your online marketing team can easily and continuously tune offers and promotions, it will increase wallet-share.  The end result – increased revenues and happier customers! Search, Navigation and Merchandising are the most critical components to effective, profitable online retailing.

To date, comprehensive search and merchandising has only been a tool for only the largest e-retailers due to the high cost and complexity of solutions.  Now, easy to implement, operate and tune natural language search products bring superior search, navigation and merchandising to online commerce firms of all sizes.

Watch this previously aired webinar hosted by EasyAsk with online retailer Travers Tools to see the impact of comprehensive search and merchandising for online retailers.

 

 

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Poor Product Data? – No Worries!

Many people will tell you that your search and navigation is only as good as your product data.  However, derived attributes with natural language search and navigation now allows you to mask the problem of insufficient data in your product catalog and still deliver a rich search and navigation experience.

Derived attributes enable you to add extra navigation facets and search terminology when these attributes are not fields in your e-commerce catalog.  This saves you the cost of fixing or restructuring your product catalog when you want to deliver better search and navigation.

Also, from a customer experience standpoint, derived attributes can provide alternative ways for customers to shop on your site, creating a better shopping experience and allowing customers to find the right products faster.

Derived attributes are a feature unique to natural language site search systems such as EasyAsk.  They are defined easily using natural language rules.

The natural language rules derive the attribute values from any field in your product catalog and/or operational data from your e-commerce system.  When the search index and navigational facets are generated, the natural language rules calculate the derived attributes, extending the range of the index and facets.

The derived attributes can also provide unique merchandising and promotional capabilities.  Promotional rules can use the derived attributes to raise products or place products in special display blocks.  Andertons Music, who has a derived attribute named “Great for Beginners”, can use this attribute in promotion rules when they offer specials on music products geared for beginners.

Let’s look at two EasyAsk customers and how they use derived attributes: Andertons Music and The North Face UK.

Andertons Music

As mentioned above Andertons Music uses derived attributes to label specific products as “for beginners.”  This allows customers to search for things such as “beginner guitars” when looking for guitars geared for those just learning the instrument.  Customer can also select a navigational attribute called “Great for Beginners” when a person performs a more generic product search such as one for a specific instrument.  You can see this navigational facet in the screenshot below.

andertons-beginners-nav

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition, since Andertons products cover a wide range of color types, some of which have complicated color names, they needed the ability to rationalize these colors into a palette more easily readable by the generic consumer.  Thus, they created a derived attribute for color, which you can see on the screenshot below, which takes these various color descriptions and presents them in a facet more understandable by the shopper.

andertons-colour

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The North Face UK

The North Face UK site also uses derived attributes to help describe the different technologies that go into some of their products, such as jackets.  This derived attribute is called “Technologies” and appears in the navigation after performing a search on products which include unique technologies.

This allows a sophisticated buyer who is looking for a product with that technology to find it faster on the North Face UK site.  In the screenshot below, you can see the Technologies navigational facet after I performed a search on “mens jackets”.  I can then narrow the results by selecting the technology I am looking for.  I can also use those technologies in my search, allowing me to search for “mens primaloft jackets” and get the exact results.

TNF-technologies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Derived attributes help you provide a unique shopping experience on your site without the high cost and complexity of re-organizing your product catalog.  In addition, the derived attributes are automatically applied to new products added to your catalog, which simplifies the launch and merchandising of new items.

To learn more about derived attributes and ways in which you can increase conversions through better product findability on your site, click here to receive our white paper Increasing Customer Conversion by Boosting Product Findability.

Also, contact the EasyAsk team to schedule a demo today, and we show you this unique feature and others that will lower the cost of maintaining your site and increase your customer conversion.

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How New Consumer Search Behaviors Affect Online Conversion

With the rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets, the demands of the consumer for a more advanced search capability mean traditional keyword search tools are unlikely to satisfy the needs of your customers. Today, effective site search is not defined by a multitude of results, but by a relevant and targeted selection that meets the specific requirements of a search user.

As a result, site search tools have needed to adapt to facilitate the intricacies of natural language, which can’t be catered for with traditional search functionality. This advanced Natural Language Search (NLS) technology is capable of delivering a far richer search experience to users, aiding speedier product discovery by returning a list of precise, relevant results.

Download our free white paper to learn how you can adjust your site to work with new consumer search behavior. No Registration Required.

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EasyAsk to Show Significant Advantages of Natural Language E-Commerce Search over Obsolete Keyword Search at IRCE 2014

EasyAsk will showcase dozens of customer sites who upgraded from keyword search solutions from their e-commerce platform, SOLR and other 3rd party solutions.

 

INTERNET RETAILER CONFERENCE AND EXPO, CHICAGO, IL, USA – JUNE 9, 2014 – EasyAsk (www.easyask.com), the leading independent e-commerce site search provider as ranked by Internet Retailer, will be showcasing the significant advantages of natural language search, navigation and merchandising over obsolete keyword search products at the Internet Retailer Conference and Expo, June 10th through June 12th in Chicago.

At IRCE 2014, EasyAsk will be showcasing a large number of customer sites of e-retailers and B2B commerce firms who moved to EasyAsk’s natural language based solution.  Many of these customers could not get the results they needed from the search in their e-commerce platform, open source solutions such as SOLR or other 3rd party site search solutions – all based on keyword search technology.

Customers are gaining significant business results from EasyAsk including dramatic increases in customer conversion rates, higher Average Order Value (AOV), and rises in e-commerce revenue.  EasyAsk e-retail customers include The North Face (North America and Europe), Samsonite, Anna’s Linens, Journey’s, Boscov’s, J. Jill, True Value, Andertons Music, Jo-Ann, Lamps Plus, Personalization Mall, Sonic Sense, HD Tracks, Totsy and Travers Tools.  Leading B2B commerce firms are using EasyAsk also including Aramark, Kaman, Tenaquip, and C.H. Briggs, and EasyAsk is embedded in Infor Corporation’s B2B commerce solution, Infor Storefront.

The North Face Europe recently completed the implementation of EasyAsk on 11 sites across 9 different countries, seeing a 35% increase in search conversion rates and a 24% increase in revenue from search.

EasyAsk’s solution offer significantly superior features for site search, navigation and merchandising, including:

  • Natural language search
  • Advanced visual Search-as-you-Type (SayT) auto-suggestion
  • Algorithmic spell-correction and stemming, along with term relaxation,
  • Dynamic navigation multi-attribute selection,
  • Derived attributes and categories,
  • Part number search expanders,
  • SKU processing and grouping,
  • Easy to use merchandising studio with natural language rules,
  • Rich analytics and reports on customer behavior,
  • Full internationalization and localization,

EasyAsk works on any e-commerce platform with specific tight integrations with Magento, WebSphere Commerce, SAP Hybris, and NetSuite SuiteCommerce.

During IRCE 2014, EasyAsk will be continually showing customer sites and product demonstrations in their booth (#508).  A number of mini-sessions will be held at the EasyAsk booth by Ben Rudnick, e-commerce expert and EasyAsk’s “man in the green hat” to show how leading e-retailers are leapfrogging their competition with site search with significant advances in the EasyAsk solution.  The schedule for these sessions is as follows:

Tuesday, June 10th:

5:30 PM        E-Retailers Changing the Competitive Landscape with Natural Language Search

Wednesday, June 11th

10:00 AM     How Search-as-you-Type Changed the Tune at Anderton’s Music & Sonic Sense

11:00 AM     Live Sites using Natural Language Search, Navigation and Merchandising

1:00 PM        Making Part Number Search Easy with Natural language

2:00 PM        Using Voice-enabled Mobile Search to Hear Your Customers Clearly

3:00 PM        Live Sites using Natural Language Search, Navigation and Merchandising

Thursday, June 12th

10:00 AM     Using Voice-enabled Mobile Search to Hear Your Customers Clearly

11:00 AM     Live Sites using Natural Language Search, Navigation and Merchandising

1:00 PM        Making Part Number Search Easy with Natural language

2:00 PM        How Search-as-you-Type Changed the Tune at Anderton’s Music & Sonic Sense

3:00 PM        Live Sites using Natural Language Search, Navigation and Merchandising

Please join us and we look forward to seeing you at IRCE 2014.

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Internet Retailer Conference & Expo 2014

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Please join EasyAsk at the Internet Retailer Conference & Expo 2014 at the McCormick Place West in Chicago from June 10th to the 13th.  EasyAsk will be presenting and demonstrating our EasyAsk E-Commerce solutions in our booth, booth 508.  Please stop by to get a demonstration and e-commerce advice from our Man in the Green Hat.

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EasyAsk Sees Rapid Customer Expansion in Magento E-Commerce Market

The North Face, Anna’s Linens, Harbor Freight Tools, Sonic Sense and dozens of other Magento sites rely on EasyAsk Search, Navigation and Merchandising for superior business results over Solr option

MAGENTO IMAGINE 2014 CONFERENCE, LAS VEGAS, NV, USA – May 13, 2014 – EasyAsk (www.easyask.com), the leading independent e-commerce site search and merchandising provider as ranked by Internet Retailer, today announced rapid customer expansion in the Magento E-Commerce market with the EasyAsk for Magento solution.  Leading Magento customers worldwide are deploying EasyAsk for Magento, with over 35 sites licensing the solution.  EasyAsk’s plug-and-play connector for Magento seamlessly delivers highly superior natural language search, navigation and merchandising for Magento sites that converts more customers and reduces costs.

Some of the largest Magento customers are using EasyAsk eCommerce Edition for Magento, including The North Face Europe, Watsco, Sonic Sense and Anna’s Linens.  The North Face Europe recently completed the implementation of EasyAsk on 11 sites across 9 different countries, seeing a 35% increase in search conversion rates and a 24% increase in revenue from search.

Chris Todd, Director of Ecommerce, The North Face EMEA said “At The North Face, we are constantly innovating to provide the best products to our customers, to deliver the best advice in-store and deliver a similarly quality user experience online. EasyAsk allows our customers to find the right products quickly and efficiently. The resultant uplift in conversion rates and revenue from search has been extremely positive”.

The plug-and-play EasyAsk Connector for Magento seamlessly integrates the best-in-class EasyAsk search, navigation and merchandising services into Magento e-commerce sites.  Through EasyAsk, Magento customers can gain the following capabilities and benefits:

  • Natural language search integrated directly with the Magento product catalog and attributes, allowing customers to find products faster using long-tail, descriptive searches,
  • Advanced visual Search-as-you-Type (SayT) auto-suggestion that displays product, search and category suggestions to convert customers directly from the search box
  • Seamless integration into the Magento site display with no API programming for rapid implementation and easy change,
  • A dynamic navigation plug-in that supports the selection of multiple attributes for faster navigation to products by visitors,
  • Support for “derived attributes” that allow you to create new categories and attributes from existing ones without the time and cost of restructuring your Magento catalog,
  • An easy to use merchandising studio that allows merchandisers to define and rollout promotions without IT support, speeding time to market and reducing IT costs,
  • Full internationalization and localization which enables the simultaneous rollout on sites in different languages and countries,

In addition, EasyAsk enhances the performance of Magento sites through high-speed indexing and more efficient servers, delivering a better customer experience and saving costs.  By offloading the search and navigation load to EasyAsk, customers report seeing a marked improvement in the performance of their Magento sites.

“Through our free EasyAsk Connector for Magento, we can implement far superior search, navigation and merchandising in as little as three weeks,” said Craig Bassin, CEO EasyAsk.  “Upgrading to EasyAsk provides significant benefits in terms of functionality and search accuracy, which leads to a better user experience and higher customer conversion.

EasyAsk is the only third-party e-commerce search and merchandising solution that can be deployed on-site or in a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model.  This provides the ultimate flexibility for Magento customers who can deploy an EasyAsk solution on-site near their Magento server(s) for first hand control or off-load the IT costs by deploying in EasyAsk’s reliable, secure SaaS environment.

EasyAsk will be demonstrating this functionality at the Magento Imagine Conference, Las Vegas May 12-14th

About EasyAsk

EasyAsk is the leading provider of natural language software and solutions for e-commerce and business applications. EasyAsk software products go far beyond traditional search, allowing users to simply ask questions in their own language and receive highly tuned results from e-commerce sites, mobile devices and business applications.  EasyAsk eCommerce Edition uses this unique technology to deliver industry-leading site search, navigation and merchandising solutions that boost online revenue through increased conversion rates, improved customer experience and agile merchandising.   Based in Burlington, Massachusetts, with offices in Europe, EasyAsk has customers such as The North Face, Samsonite, Anna’s Linens, Journey’s, Lillian Vernon, Aramark, True Value and Andertons Music that rely on the EasyAsk software products to run their business and eCommerce operations daily.  For further information please visit www.easyask.com.

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EasyAsk Helps Sonic Sense Offer Unprecedented Search Flexibility and Accuracy on Magento Site

Easy to use EasyAsk natural language tools and platform along with Magento Connector streamline the process of deploying great site search

MAGENTO IMAGINE 2014 CONFERENCE, LAS VEGAS, NV, USA – May 13, 2014 – EasyAsk (www.easyask.com), the leading independent e-commerce site search and merchandising provider as ranked by Internet Retailer, today announced that Sonic Sense (www.sonicsense.com), a professional audio e-commerce retailer, has deployed EasyAsk’s advanced site search, navigation and merchandising solution for Magento. The EasyAsk for Magento solution has allowed Sonic Sense to deliver a much richer user experience with visual Search-as-you-Type, natural language search with highly accurate results and dynamic relevant navigation.

Sonic Sense offers 25,000 SKUs of both individual products and packaged bundles from over 100 brands on their Magento-based e-commerce site. They offer a highly technical set of products for the audio profession that are often described by complicated industry jargon and overlapping terminology, creating a difficult challenge in deploying site search.

According to Sonic Sense, the majority of online customers search for products and do not browse, because they know exactly what they are looking for. This makes the search box an incredibly important component to the customer experience in professional audio e-commerce.

Sonic Sense is so proud and confident of its EasyAsk powered e-commerce search, they promote it in the company description on the website – “Our search function is top of the line and sure to help find you the products you’re looking to buy.”

“In our industry it is impossible to have an out of the box search solution that will cover the search terminology used by our customers,” said Preston Smits, Technical Director, Sonic Sense. “EasyAsk’s natural language technology has given our customers the ability to find any product quickly to streamline purchases. EasyAsk’s integration with our Magento catalog and easy to use tools allowed us deploy the most extensive and flexible search capability.”

Sonic Sense chose EasyAsk to help deliver a richer customer experience for their Magento-based site, and has taken advantage of a number of unique EasyAsk features including:

  • Natural language search which allows visitors to find products in their own words that combine industry terms, brands, categories, features and much more (example search on www.sonicsense.com – “green large body MXL mics”),
  • Visual Search-as-you-Type (SayT) which provides visual product, category and search suggestions directly under the search box as the visitor types to more quickly convert customers,
  • A highly tuned relevancy model and natural language rules which dramatically improved search accuracy and product placement,
  • Easy to use tools and rich analytics that make it easy for site managers and merchandisers to hone the search capabilities and display,
  • Easy integration via the EasyAsk Magento Connector to the Magento product catalog, Magento display, and 3rd party display extensions (GoMage).

“Sonic Sense is another shining example of the dramatic improvements in customer experience that EasyAsk delivers for Magento or any e-commerce site, said Craig Bassin, EasyAsk CEO. “EasyAsk’s solution is head and shoulders above the SOLR option and other third party search solutions for Magento Enterprise which is proven by the results at Sonic Sense and dozens of Magento customers flocking to EasyAsk.”

About Sonic Sense

With over twenty years of live sound, recording, and performance system design experience, Sonic Sense focuses on providing components and designing turnkey systems to meet every audio application. Whether you are a seasoned veteran or a hobbyist, Sonic Sense strives to provide a well-informed solution for your application. For more information, please visit https://www.sonicsense.com.

About EasyAsk

EasyAsk is the leading provider of natural language software and solutions for e-commerce and business applications. EasyAsk software products go far beyond traditional search, allowing users to simply ask questions in their own language and receive highly tuned results from e-commerce sites, mobile devices and business applications. EasyAsk eCommerce Edition uses this unique technology to deliver industry-leading site search, navigation and merchandising solutions that boost online revenue through increased conversion rates, improved customer experience and agile merchandising. Based in Burlington, Massachusetts, with offices in Europe, EasyAsk has customers such as The North Face, Samsonite, Anna’s Linens, Journey’s, Coldwater Creek, Lillian Vernon, Aramark, True Value, Andertons Music and Harbor Freight Tools that rely on the EasyAsk software products to run their business and eCommerce operations daily. For further information please visit www.easyask.com.

Ready to see how EasyAsk's eCommerce solution can help you? Request a demo!
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