Update to subcategory and search result pages
It has a busy week at Bonanzle world headquarters. Hot on the heels of our a/b test of the homepage comes some changes to our narrow and filter tools on our subcategory pages and search results. Why mess with our tools? To help shoppers narrow down their choices to the items that are relevant to them.
One of the great things about Bonanzle is the incredible depth of inventory. We have over 3 million amazing items on the site. With this inventory comes a challenge – how do we help shoppers find what they want? A quick glance around the site and you’ll see just how much choice we offer. We have over 25,000 handbags, 62,000 postcards, and over 76,000 non-fiction books! And that’s just naming a few.
So we decided to spend a little time making our narrow and filter tools more discoverable and easier to use. As with a number of our recent changes we didn’t want to pull the rug out and change everything. We really wanted to just make the tools more discoverable and fun to use. If a shopper is looking at 25,000 handbags we want to make it super easy for her to narrow her selections down to the criteria that’s important to her. For example, she might only want to see black leather bags from Coach. This example can easily be applied (in its own unique way) to many of our product categories. We also wanted to make it easier to save searches so you can easily return to the site and pick up where you left off.
What did we actually change? Here’s a quick overview….
First we wanted to simply make the tools, and the benefit of using them, more apparent. So we added some instructional text and stronger labels. Second, per earlier, we wanted to make the ‘save this search’ feature MUCH easier to use. We made it contextual so you can save right from the page without being taken away. Just name your search, click ‘save it!’ and you’re done. Saved searches are still stored on your ‘my bonanzle’ page.
Third we wanted to make it more clear what filters were in place and make it easier to remove them. You ‘filter’ your results when you click on a specific attribute (like color or brand) to narrow down your choices. As you can see in the screenshot below the filters are dynamically added in place of the instructions. In this example I’ve added the ‘Black’ and ‘Coach’ filters as I only want to look at black handbags made by Coach. I’ve made my results far more relevant to me and reduced my choices from over 25,000 (yikes!) down to 257 (getting better).
As I add filters their groups (in this case brand or color) are removed from the list on the left so other filters can roll up to the top and be right at my fingertips. Now I can filter easily on other criteria like material or condition. And, to continue with the handbags example, with just a few more one-click filters I can narrow my results further to eight items by choosing a material and a bag type.
To remove a filter (and see more results) I simply click the ‘x’ next to the filter name or click the link. Each group of filters can also be collapsed by clicking on the header if, for example, you don’t care about brand and don’t want it cluttering your view. Each group also now has a scrollbar if it’s too long to display all of the filters in one view. This is more discoverable than the ‘show more choices’ link and helps ensure that our depth of inventory is an asset.
That’s a wrap on the functional changes. We made a few tweaks to the look and feel as well, but we wanted to keep things clean and simple. I look forward to your feedback!
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32 response to Update to subcategory and search result pages
Definitely a huge, much needed improvement, Alex. Making it easier for buyers to find exactly what they want makes it easier for them to click that buy button -which is what we all want.
Excellent!
Phaedra
Great, the more depth there is the better.
Was wondering if it would be a good idea to have a SEARCH button on a main category page. For example, if you go from home page to buy to a category (books) there’s no place to put your own search in. You have to select on of the sub categories first.
Alex – great JOB!
Well done, Alex!! …and what Phaedra said too
Thanks, Alex!
While you’re working on search, can you do something about ‘words within words’? I want UNscented soap, yet out of the 31 available to Canada, half of them are scented. If I wanted scented, I would just search ‘soap’.
If I look at all the UNscented soap results (unclicking the Canada filter), there are 179 results. I can’t be bothered looking through them, to find the ones that are indeed, UNscented.
So, I haven’t bought any.
Great job, Alex! ;D
Question,on (Sellers that matched your search)
How are the sellers links picked that show under matched search?
Thanks for adding Sports Mem. to the categories list. It is now possible to find my items. Thanks Alex!
@NoelsNook – sellers that matched your search are matched against the user ID. If the term you searched on is in the user ID we try to show it.
We wanted to show seller names if someone is using search to try to find someone (as opposed to a product). It’s very likely not perfect.
OK .. one problem .. For example:
Searched Tom Jones Record … knowing I have 3 in booth, only two showed.
Went and checked – ONE has the word recordS not record (note ‘s’) SO does not come up in search.
Some search for candle others for candleS (adding ‘s’)
This should not bring up two totally different results . Otherwise we are going to have to have stupid titles like:
“Tom jones record records LP LPs” in order to appear however the buyer searches. … with an ‘S’ or without.
Just noted had to click ‘broaden search’ … when searching for Tom Jones Records – number of finds jumped dractically when I ‘Broaden Search’ … Why the big jump?
Are you only showing paying members items in intial search?
@renagade All members should be showing up in search when there’s a match. There were no changes to how this worked (just where it sits) and changing its function wasn’t a goal of this effort. That said, I’m sure it could be better. Thanks for the feedback!
so far so good..like it
So, now when I search for that one eyed flying purple people eater, there won’t be so many choices to choose from….COOL!
Oh yeah, and what Renegade said about “s”
Like the improvements to search.
Do not like the test home page, it diminishes the impact of the HPL which is a major difference between Bonanzle and the rest.
Alex:
If you were here, I’d hug you. Thanks much!
Well Looks good on the purses handbags! I just HAVE to add Alex.. that in everything I have seen those of us that offer Designer clothing are kind of neglected as a whole. Bonanzle is great but I believe that as the HPL are presented and other things that you focus on the sellers offering clothing are neglected. The HPL are lovely but the format of the images do not present clothing well.Clothing items just do not fit well in a square format.. There are a lot of sellers on here that offer beautiful Vintage and fine clothing. Once in a while there will be a clothing item in the HPL but it is rare. We just don’t seem to get any attention? Jewelry.Furniture. Antiques. Equestrian and Pets needs! In the few interviews Bill has given – I have not heard him mention any of these items .
Bonanzle is so much more now than collectibles..
Edited -added BUT it is all good – not complaining just wondering what could be done…
Hi
I have a question please.
Why is that my Otagiri shakers are not showing up when I simply type in Otagiri? Many others are showing but not mine.
I have to click on one of the categories on the left to make it show instead of it just being there to begin with.
Any way to fix this?
Thanks
@ Alex – Thanks for the explaination … still wonder about the ‘S’ factor …
Some things I have noticed since my initial shock yesterday early a.m. when I could not do a keyword search…
Still cannot expand the search page to 100 per page. Why should one have to slog thru 10 pages when it can be done in 5? Even better – a return of 150 items are now shown on 4 pages when they could be on 2. The number of pages can be daunting if the returns are broad.
It is still not clear how to do a title AND description search. On some pages the offer to expand the search is there in green script at the BOTTOM of the page, other times and pages it is not.
I attempted to find my own item – a pair of hand-painted flowers – which have “tulips” in the description, not the title. Using the word Tulips, I got some several 1000 items, chose Art – from Dealers or Re-sellers. When I “expanded” for more items they did not come up even tho tulips is mentioned many times and in the first 250 words.
Using “vintage” in the expanded search did bring them up, as it is also not in my title I tried that.
But the expanded did not work for some other words. Since there are so few words we can put in a title, a search of descriptions is really very important.
I had no problems with the old search method, and I am a bit lost with this new method. I am also absolutely missing that option to search title and description-please bring that back.
Alex, is there no longer an option to view 100 items per page? It is much easier to scan for items of interest when you can expand the list to include 100 items. Any way to get that option back? Looks like it was left out with the upgrade. Thx.
@tillingtraders – Correct, but we should add that back in! I think this was an oversight on our behalf. Thanks for the tip. We likely won’t get to this before the weekend, but I’ll see what we can do.
Did some major searching in the middle of the night on the new search.
Keyword search is back
Another of the Good things – search is VERY fast! Photos load faster. I don’t know if that is a function of the 48 per page or not. I’d be willing to suffer a tad of a slowdown to get the 100 back
Still needs tweaking: The expanded search into title and description is there for only some of the time – seems one has to click on a subcategory, go thru those items and then at the bottom of the last page or item is the link to expand for more items in green script… maybe. I really do think that feature needs to be up top and precede the use of the subcategory. Do think it should be clear that it is a title and description search. Very few would have the tenacity to figure it out as it is now.
This is important. Say I am looking for a yellow dress. Many, many sellers do not put the color of an item in their title – maybe because there are more relative words like cocktail, satin, evening, ruffles, Dior – whatever and yellow is in the description. Or maybe there are several colors available and yellow is just one of them. Or maybe a word that is like yellow, say for example “sunny” or “lemon” is in the title, and yellow in the description. I have come across this many times! ESPECIALLY with gemstones. So when I am looking for something that is an adjective I almost always used the expansion to description before I even began searching thru the returns.
Sales!
– I would not have found my latest purchase but for the expansion of the search still in place last week! I wanted a “beach shoe” [waterproof] and what I found and bought would not have come up under a title search – but “beach” was in the description!
With so many items lacking in traits available – esp. collectibles [assuming the traits are coming up with a title search (?)] I think it is important to have descriptions readily search-able. Now, I don’t know if that would mean that the items a seller has in their 10 preview items on each page would continue to get into the description search as they have in the past, but is it possible to delve only so deep into the description text only to avoid that?
Thanks for the opportunity to comment!
Okay, I have been trying out the new search some more, and I now see that the “Broaden search to show more items?” seems to work by searching descriptions.
I searched for something that had the information in the description, but not in the title. First results showed 0 results. Search done was “growing up girls blonde 1 box” for an Enesco Growing Up Girls Blonde figurine age 1 with box.
Clicking on the “Broaden search to show more items?” button brought up more stuff, including 3 Enesco blonde Growing Up Girls Age 1 figurines with box, the item that I was looking for, that had the words I searched for in the description.
So, Now I know, lol! I don’t feel so lost now, although I did like the “search title and description” check-off box that was there before.
Sure hope buyers who come to look for something hit the “Broaden search to show more items?” link if they can’t find what they are looking for with an initial search.
@EclecticStuff – thanks for the detailed feedback. We’re going to make some search and filter tweaks next week and we’ll take a look at this.
Congrats with all the updates BOYZ
I use the search all the time and I do have two concerns about it. One is the ever present question you have,of “Looking for something etc etc…..†to me this seems like over kill when to the left of it is, “narrow your choices†with the catogory’s under it ….I must admit I am already in the practice of scrolling my page up so that sentence isnt glaring at me …and out of my view ,it just makes me wonder if it can be a quirk that frustrates others as well.
I also don’t see a all catogories button when I do “narrow my search†and I decide to go back to the beginning to start another one. Besides clicking on find and getting all catogories back (which not every one knows about) I do miss the all catogory link….I will admit thou the search is more exact now which I do love about it thanks for always trying to improve on Bonanzle and thanks for reading my 2 cents
qwerty
after a week with the new look, i’m convinced that it is better. how IMO, can it be improoved upon. Just 2 ideas. 1. the questions part at the bottom is not important for shoppers to see and the space may be better used for more pictures to scroll through. 2. those featured photos to be used for the scrolled pictures need a better format that works with the ones we use to upload on the item for sale page. As of now it is two different sizes and causes the need to have a way to resize photos to have them eligible for the featured flickers. Please consider this. thank you
OK so now the place to put photos for consideration to be featured is gone. Does this mean that this is being worked on; as in resizing??that would be nice. If not where do we go to do this?
The expanded search is no where to be found – what happened to it? I can only search titles!?
Now that I know there were others who have been regular searchers and who also could not see where to expand the search to include descriptions, I am taking the liberty to copy and paste the “Official Response” to my other post asking what happened? …
:
On the left side of the search results page, look under REFINE YOUR SEARCH and check the “Search Descriptions†checkbox and then on the green REFINE SEARCH button.
At that point, the descriptions will be included in the search results.
Tom
The Bonanzle Team
-————————————Thank you, Tom
So I think maybe you need to address this directly by saying that there is no longer a category showcase submissions as a benefit to premier membership. Are there any benefits left to premier membership?
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