I think I was in the fifth grade when I first heard the word “keyword.” I was just starting to get the hang of AOL and relied heavily on the Keyword feature box to help me navigate to the “Edit Profile” section or to the “Buddy List Help” section. It was like magic to me - I’d type in what I was looking for and within seconds it was right there. And since I was new to the software, I didn’t want to waste time clicking around.

In the same way, Internet users today go to search engines, type a keyword in the search box, click on a listing on the results page, and hopefully go on their merry way, having found what they needed. However, effective marketing - and the better understanding of customers - doesn’t end with external search data; internal search is extremely important too.

Internal site search refers to when someone uses the search feature within your site (usually located on the top right of your page) to find what they’re looking for. It often gets overlooked, as most people spend their fussing over the search phrases that brought traffic to the site in the first place.

But ignoring internal search would be a mistake. Why? Here are the five top reasons why you should pay attention:

1. To Understand Your Customer’s Intent: Internal search phrases can help decode the intent of your visitors. Take a close look at what people are searching for on your site: If 40% of your internal searches conducted from the homepage result in case study-related terms, then it might be a good idea to put a case study link or a case study resources box on the homepage. Give your visitors what they want, and make sure they can navigate to relevant areas quickly.
   
   
2. To Better Speak the Language of Your Visitor: Just like external search, internal search reveals the language of the customer. Analyzing what keywords visitors user to express their needs and wants can help you develop on-page messaging and offers that resonate with them.
   
   
3. To Improve User Experience: I often use the internal search box when trying to locate difficult-to-find content. For example, last week I was on the Apple website trying to find the Top 100 itunes downloads. I clicked on the Downloads navigation tab, only to be brought to a page for applications, widgets and browsers. I then clicked on iPod + iTunes. No luck. I eventually gave up and went straight to the internal search box.
   
   
4. To Complete the Picture: As mentioned earlier, external and internal search phrases are similar in that the keywords used reveal some sort of customer intent. However, these intents are not one and the same: the fact that one search was conducted on an engine and the other search on the website itself reveals two different sets of keywords and two fundamentally different sets of intentions..
   
   
5. To Discover Merchandising Opportunities: Internal search terms can clue you in on what visitors want in terms of product offerings. For instance, internal searches might reveal items largely unrelated to what you’re currently selling. If visitors are consistently searching for the term “chocolate” on a site that sells only flowers, this might suggest a consumer demand for chocolate or candy to accompany their flower purchase.
   
   

Although internal search doesn’t have the reputation or receive as much attention as external search engine search phrases, it still has lots of valuable information to offer. My advice? Don’t ignore the little guy.