Very useful suggestions Friday with Why Every Website Needs a Search Engine on Small Business Technology. I like the practical advice:
Convert visitors into business. Research firm MarketingSherpa released results of a study that found that visitors who used site search were three times more likely to convert than those who didn’t. Their research also showed 43% of site visitors went directly to the search box when visiting a website.
Gather data on visitors. By using the right tool, site search can provide valuable insight into your visitors. You can use these search terms to determine what information your visitors are seeking, which can help redirect your future marketing efforts.
Increase retention. Research shows the average visitor spends eight seconds on a site before clicking away. A search engine allows them to get where they are going quickly, increasing the chance they’ll find what they’re looking for before they leave.
The post, written by Stephanie Farries, specifically recommends SLI Systems for this. I also did this google search to get a list of free and not-so-free website search engines.