knowledge-management

How to Make Your Knowledge Base Search Work Great

7 min read
Feb 8, 2023
people sitting in front of computers

Are you looking to make customer interactions smoother by ensuring that they can quickly find what they need in your knowledge base? Wondering how you can maximize the search results generated in your customer support portal and provide an outstanding experience all around? It’s time to break down exactly what goes into creating a great knowledge base search and give you the tools you need to get it done. Get ready for actionable tips, tricks, and strategies that will help your customers get their interests satisfied faster than ever!

Why is search important?

The knowledge base search function is a crucial aspect of any knowledge base design. It can make the difference between information being easily accessible or buried among hundreds of articles, making it difficult to find the right answers quickly. With the knowledge base search, users can type in relevant keywords and get fast and accurate results from an extensive database of knowledge without spending time on manual searching. As knowledge bases become more popular as a source for customer self-service, having an efficient search function becomes even more essential for providing support quickly and efficiently.

How to optimize knowledge base search?

Knowledge base searches exist to answer customer inquiries quickly and efficiently. Without an effective knowledge base search, however, customers would have their questions left unanswered or receive incorrect answers. This would cause customer dissatisfaction leading to loss of time and revenue. A correctly optimized knowledge base search can also increase knowledge retention among team members, allow them to answer inquiries faster and generally make customer service more effective. Investing time and energy into optimizing knowledge base search can be rewarding in the long run by having a more knowledgeable team and less frustrated customers.

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Use analytics

With knowledge base search, an organization can make sure that their customers are quickly able to find the answers they need. Leveraging search analytics helps to achieve this goal because it provides clear insight on what customers are searching for and what content is most popular, so knowledge base search can be continually optimized. By utilizing this information, companies can quickly adjust their knowledge bases so that customers no longer have difficulty finding the answers they are seeking. In all, search analytics are a great way to ensure knowledge base search is working best for both customers and organizations.

Keywords

Improving knowledge base search functionality can be a complex process. Optimizing knowledge base search using keywords in titles is an effective way to make sure the right content is easily accessible when needed. This can include optimizing and updating knowledge base material that has been used in the past, refining and introducing new keyword combinations, as well as ensuring article titles effectively encompass the main topic of discussion. Doing so helps knowledge base users find what they’re looking for quickly with reduced effort, reducing time spent searching and increasing productivity.

Paying attention to keywords is an important step when preparing knowledge base articles. When you add them, make sure they are relevant and related to the topic—that way your article won't be buried deep in search engine results. Keywords can improve knowledge base search accuracy and help users find the information they need.

Including keywords in the keyword section of an article can be very beneficial, especially when knowledge base search is being employed. This process helps of increase the searchability of your article, meaning it will come up more frequently for readers who engage in knowledge base searches. You’ll want to make sure the keywords are relevant and related to the topic you are writing on and that they reflect the content of the article.

Content optimization

Writing knowledge base articles that can be quickly found in searches is not just about the title and keywords. You need to optimize the content within your knowledge base Article for best search results – using keywords but also applying some knowledge base search optimization tactics. It’s not just about what words you use; it's also how you structure and arrange them within the article. Considering these factors will help consumers find what they're looking for quicker, allowing your knowledge base to really shine!

Knowledge base search optimization doesn't have to be overwhelming. There are a few key steps you can take for your knowledge base articles that can help optimize them for better search results. First, make sure your article titles and headings are clear and descriptive. If a reader is unsure what the article is about from looking at the title, they may quickly shift to a different knowledge base article instead. Keep your keywords front-and-center and use synonyms to help capture all related searches a customer might use. Additionally, provide helpful links throughout the document so users can quickly move around between topics if needed. Following these simple steps can make knowledge base searches much more effective for both customers and knowledge base authors alike.

Design

Optimizing knowledge base search through design can be a powerful way to help customers quickly and effectively find the information they need. There are various design techniques you can use to improve knowledge base searches, such as making sure your search bar is easy to find and meets user needs; incorporating visual design elements such as icons or illustrations to help customers select the right category for their query; setting up categories that clearly identify different topics; sorting knowledge base articles by popularity or date created; and adding an auto-complete feature in case users need some assistance. All of these will keep customers informed and give them the knowledge they need quickly, transforming knowledge bases into go-to information sources.

Knowledge management

You know that feeling when you can't find what you're looking for, even though you're sure it's there somewhere? It's frustrating, and it wastes time. Good knowledge management can help alleviate those problems by improving search in a knowledge base.

When knowledge is properly managed and organized, it becomes easier to search for and find the information you need. This is because knowledge management provides a structure and framework for knowledge that makes it more accessible. In addition, good knowledge management includes making sure that knowledge is regularly updated and accurate. This also helps improve search results, since outdated or inaccurate information can lead to bad searches.

So if you're looking to improve your knowledge base search, good knowledge management is a great place to start. By making your knowledge more accessible and accurate, you can help make finding the information you need a breeze.

QuickAnswer

Another way of making knowledge base search even faster and effective is using QuickAnswer. It's a feature of KnowledgeBase – a knowledge base software.

The feature makes finding answers super easy. QuickAnswer generates immediate and custom answers to an exact query. In other words, customer get exactly what they ask for.

Another great thing about it is that the answer shows right inside the search bar, so there's no need to view an article and scroll through it.

Here you can try it out.

Conclusion

In conclusion, improving knowledge base search is important for a variety of reasons. It will help decrease the amount of time it takes to find the answers customers are looking for, reduce error costs and workload, and meets customer’s satisfaction levels by providing answers quickly. People also prefer self-service so it can help increase brand loyalty. Overall, keeping your knowledge base organized is important to not only ensure you’re offering customers a more efficient experience but also avoid lines in other support channels due to a lack of timely response. So if you want to take these efforts one step further and quickly build a knowledge base, make sure you try KnowledgeBase — they offer comprehensive solutions that allow you to do just that. Thanks for reading!