Auto-Suggest guides users as they type, helping them choose clearer queries before they submit a search. This can reduce dead-end searches and improve first-click success.
Prerequisite: Review the Get Started articles before using this article, especially the analytics workflow and the guidance on cookies and session interpretation.
When to Use Auto-Suggest
Use Auto-Suggest when early query guidance can help prevent low-quality searches.
- Users often type partial terms and abandon searches.
- Your no-result rate includes many avoidable wording variations.
- You need more consistent queries for recurring high-value journeys.
- You want to guide users toward priority topics.
How to Configure or Analyze
- Choose suggestion sources (historical, dictionary, or combined) based on how much control you want.
- Set the number of suggestions to display and the minimum number of characters required before suggestions appear.
- Add manual dictionary entries for important business terms.
- Upload bulk dictionary terms only after you validate the format and quality in a pilot.
- Use the draft and publish workflow deliberately so production behavior matches your release intent.
How to Validate Impact in Analytics
Validate Auto-Suggest using both query quality and engagement outcomes:
- No Result Searches: Check whether avoidable misspellings and wording variations decline.
- Searches with Clicks: Check whether guided queries lead to stronger click outcomes.
- Search Feedback comments: Check whether users report that it’s easier to form effective queries.
If suggestions increase noisy traffic, tighten your source lists and raise the minimum character threshold that triggers suggestions.
Review Schedule: Review this analysis on a regular schedule, such as weekly for active programs and monthly for stable programs. Keep a short change log with the date, owner, target query or feature, and expected outcome. Use the same scope and date ranges each cycle so you can connect metric changes to specific edits.
When to Ask Your Developer or Web Team
Escalate when you need configuration details or troubleshooting depth outside the marketer workflow. Use Auto-Suggest as the primary reference for deeper implementation details.