About 1SecondSearch
1SecondSearch was created around a simple idea: shoppers should not have to work through long chains of categories, dropdowns, filters and menus just to reach a product that is already in a catalog.
Many retailers, distributors and affiliate publishers already have large product databases containing valuable information such as brands, model numbers, SKUs, part numbers, specifications, fitment, cross-references, images, availability and product links.
The challenge is often not the data itself. The challenge is helping a shopper reach the right product quickly.
We Do Not Replace Your Ecommerce Platform
1SecondSearch is designed to work with an existing ecommerce system rather than replace it.
We do not replace your ecommerce platform. We shorten the path into it.
The retailer keeps its existing product catalog, shopping cart, checkout, payment processing, inventory system, shipping process, fraud controls and customer relationships.
1SecondSearch focuses on the product-discovery layer between the shopper’s request and the retailer’s existing product or Add to Cart process.
A Faster Path From Search to Product
A traditional product search may require a shopper to move through several category levels before reaching a useful result.
1SecondSearch is being developed to let the shopper describe what they need in ordinary language and use that request to search structured product data directly.
For example, instead of navigating through multiple automotive categories, a shopper might enter:
2018 Ford F-150 5.0 alternator
If additional information is required to determine fitment, the search experience can ask only the questions that materially affect the result.
The goal is not to eliminate useful product information. The goal is to eliminate unnecessary steps between customer intent and the correct product options.
Search, Compare and Continue to the Existing Cart
Depending on the available product data, search results can be organized into clear comparison choices such as:
- OEM
- Refurbished or remanufactured
- New aftermarket
- Used or recycled
Product cards can display the information already supplied by the connected data source, including brand, model number, part number, specifications, fitment, dimensions, condition, availability, images and merchant information.
When a live retailer or affiliate source is connected, the shopper can continue through the retailer’s existing product, shopping cart or merchant-link process.
Built Around Structured Product Data
1SecondSearch can be developed around structured product information supplied through approved sources such as:
- REST APIs
- Other compatible APIs
- CSV product feeds
- XML or JSON feeds
- SFTP-delivered catalog files
- Affiliate-network product feeds
- Merchant-provided catalog exports
An API is not required in every case. A properly structured product feed can also be normalized and indexed for fast local searching.
Search Locally. Synchronize Remotely.
One of the core design principles behind 1SecondSearch is to avoid making the shopper wait on a remote data source whenever possible.
Product information can be synchronized from an approved API or feed into a local 1SecondSearch index. Shopper searches then run against that local indexed data.
This approach can also help protect the live search experience from temporary API failures or incomplete data updates.
New data can be validated before it replaces a working local index. If an incoming update appears incomplete or fails, previously valid local data can remain available.
Retailers and Distributors
For retailers and distributors, 1SecondSearch is intended to become an additional search layer on top of the catalog they already operate.
The retailer remains responsible for the transaction. 1SecondSearch does not need to become the retailer’s shopping cart, payment processor, inventory system or fraud-prevention platform.
The purpose is simpler:
Help the shopper reach the relevant product and the retailer’s existing purchase path with fewer unnecessary steps.
Affiliate Publishers
The same search technology can also be used by affiliate publishers working with large product feeds.
An affiliate site may already contain tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of products from one or more merchants. 1SecondSearch can provide a faster way for visitors to search that inventory and continue through the publisher’s existing approved affiliate links.
In that use case, 1SecondSearch does not replace the affiliate network or merchant relationship. It improves the search experience on top of the publisher’s existing product data.
Product Fitment and Cross-References
Some catalogs require more than simple keyword matching.
Automotive, appliance, industrial and equipment parts may depend on relationships such as:
- Vehicle or equipment fitment
- Model compatibility
- OEM part numbers
- Superseded part numbers
- Cross-reference numbers
- Aftermarket equivalents
- Condition and replacement type
1SecondSearch is being developed to use these relationships when they are available from the connected product source.
Image-Assisted Search
Image-assisted product search may also become part of the platform when an approved source or compatible image-search system is available.
A photo can help identify visually similar products or visible part numbers, but an image match alone does not confirm fitment or compatibility.
Where applicable, visual results should still be checked against part numbers, specifications and fitment data before purchase.
No Performance Promises
1SecondSearch does not promise that a retailer will increase sales, traffic, conversion rates or revenue.
Every website is different, and results can be affected by traffic, product selection, pricing, availability, website design and many other factors.
The purpose of a live test is to measure what actually happens with the retailer’s own catalog and users.
30-Day Demonstration
1SecondSearch plans to offer qualifying businesses a free 30-day demonstration using up to 20,000 products from an approved structured catalog source.
The demonstration is intended to show how the search experience works with real catalog data while leaving the retailer’s existing ecommerce platform in place.
Free demonstrations are generally scheduled outside major holiday and unusually high-traffic promotional periods. Peak-season testing may require a separate arrangement.
What We’re Building
1SecondSearch is currently in active development.
We are building a simple, professional product-search system focused on large and difficult catalogs where existing search tools require too many steps or do not make effective use of the structured information already available.
If you operate a large product catalog, affiliate inventory, parts database or ecommerce system and would like to discuss a 1SecondSearch demonstration, we’d be interested in hearing from you.