SLI Systems has put out a report finding that most eCommerce sites are missing out on a big opportunity to use data from their internal site search tool to improve the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns.

The firm surveyed 160 global eCommerce professional, and found that 57% don’t use site search reports and data to enhance their marketing. 50% of them aren’t even using site search data or analytics to enhance any of their business offerings or processes.

Still, site search, according to the survey, is one of their top priorities for next year (along with eCommerce platform, SEO and mobile).

“These findings demonstrate a significant missed opportunity for retail marketers in improving brand visibility, customer engagement and ultimately sales,” SLI says in the report.

Only 25% of those that actually do utilize site search data in their marketing campaigns are integrating that data into email marketing to customize offers for customers.

On why they’re not doing more with site search data, half of those surveyed blamed limited resources, while about 30% said they don’t know how to use the data effectively, and 10% said their site search solution doesn’t allow for integration with marketing programs.

Some other interesting stats:

• 27% have created search engine-optimized landing pages populated with site search results and custom banners.
• 13% are taking advantage of site search to power mobile search
• 11% are integrating site search with social media channels to improve amplification of marketing programs

You can find the full report here.

[via MarketingCharts]

Image: SLI Systems