What is the feature about?
By adding a Link Finder entry you can add individual URLs for specific keywords. Thus you could forward directly to branded landing pages when entering a trigger keyword. With the 'Promoted Link' option you can display a link box above the search result.
You can find the feature Link Finder in the Control Desk under Service > Search > Features.
How does the Direct Link work?
If the option 'Direct Link' is activated, it will automatically be redirected to the registered 'target URL'. In this case the headline, title, description, title, picture and button are not displayed.
Example:
Imagine you are running a promotion campaign for your brand 'fatboy' and you also want to lead your users to the landing page via the onsite search of your online shop. Enter relevant keywords for the brand 'fatboy', i.e., 'hammock', 'beanbag chair', 'armchair' etc. and enter a target URL that links to your landing page. If you enable the option 'Direct Link' the users will be forwarded to the landing page directly without a step in between.
Direct links are often used for service pages such as imprint, delivery times, payment methods, but also brand pages. If you enter the keyword in the search field and then trigger the search, you will be redirected directly to the target URL.
How does the Promoted Link work?
If a search query with the keyword specified here is triggered in the shop, the Promoted Link appears with the deposited data (title, description, headline, image, button ...). This link will then redirect to another page.
Example:
At Christmas time, you'll want to steer your shop visitors towards a special Christmas action page for the keyword 'Christmas'. To do this, enter all the relevant keywords: 'Christmas', 'XMas', etc. and enter a target URL that links to your Christmas action page. Then, enter all other information, such as headline, title, description, and a button text. A link will then be displayed in your shop above the search result, which links to your Christmas page.
A Promoted Link is useful if there is a landing page for a keyword that contains information about the product. The Promoted Link can be used to promote the landing page above the search results.
How can I store the same target URL for multiple search terms?
When creating a Link Finder entry, you can enter a search term for which a forwarding to a specific page (target URL) should take place. If you need more than one search term for a forwarding, it is sufficient to add the desired terms via the 'Plus' icon (under the search term).
How do I manage the feature in the Control Desk?
You can find the feature Link Finder in the Control Desk under Services > Search > Features.
After you have created an entry, it will appear in the overview table.
There you can activate/deactivate, configure or delete an entry.
The symbols used in the Control Desk are explained here.
Which variants do I have to store for the search term in the Link Finder entry?
With the help of the Link Finder you can activate redirects to predefined pages of your online shop for certain search terms. This is worthwhile for search terms that are not products in your product catalog, e.g. newsletter, shipping, brochure, opening hours, privacy, imprint, ... In the Link Finder entry you should store all possible search term spellings or synonyms. Upper/lower case is automatically considered.
Example: You have set up an extra page for the payment methods in your shop. When shop visitors search for this information, they should be redirected to this page. In the Link Finder entry you should list all common synonyms & spellings as search terms:
- Payment method
- Payment
- Paypal
- Credit Card
- Invoice
Now the shop visitor is redirected to the predefined target URL for each of these search terms.
With the search term extension "includes" you can include the plural of a search term, e.g. recipe (includes: recipes). But note: Other search terms that contain 'recipe' are also included, e.g. recipe collection.
Examples of Use
You can find some general Use Cases here.
How to set up a redirect to a predefined page in the online shop
By analyzing the no-result searches, you can see that the shop visitors often search for „repair“. There is a separate page on which the procedure for repairing products is described in detail. To make sure that in the future the shop visitors land on this page when searching for the search term „repair“, you create a direct link for the search term repair.
How to promote a link and display it above the search result
The online shop offers products related to skis - from ski clothing to ski equipment. In order to show the online shoppers the products as well as suitable information about the Ski category, a landing page was created.
You want it to be found via search as well. Therefore, you create a Promoted Link for the search term „ski“.
You add a target URL, a title and a description to the entry.
Shop visitors searching for ski will see a link to the landing page above the search results for ski.