# Previous Searches vs Empty Search Box A/B Test

Page: https://alidemirbas.com.tr/en/lab/ab-test-library/tests/previous-searches-vs-empty-search-box-ab-test

## Hypothesis

If previous searches appear as soon as the search box opens, returning visitors can pick up where they left off without typing the same query again. That could put the history arm ahead on purchase conversion, but if old queries pull them toward interests they have moved on from, the empty box may do better.

## When to run this test

This comparison is worth planning when search logs show returning visitors typing the same queries over and over, or session recordings show people opening the box and pausing over what to type. If history suggestions help, those visitors select an earlier query in one tap, reach results faster and go on to view products. If you have not yet settled who owns the history, how long it is kept and how it is cleared, define those rules first, and account for what a shared device could expose.

## Primary metric

**Purchase conversion rate (CR)**: Compare purchases per eligible assigned visitor with search history available, including those who do not submit a new query.

## Other metrics

- **Search start rate**: Compare search starts between the history-suggestion and empty-field arms.
- **Time to search result**: Measure time among visitors who start a search; report non-searchers separately.
- **Zero-result search rate**: Measure the share of submitted queries that return no results.
- **Product page visit after search**: Report product-page visits among search users as a diagnostic measure.

## What to check before and during the test

- **History suggestions**: Show previous queries when search opens or leave the initial suggestion area empty.
- **Input**: Keep the input field blank until the visitor types or explicitly selects a query.
- **Other suggestions**: Keep suggestions for typed queries unchanged.
- **History controls**: Provide the same separate access and delete controls in both arms.
- **Privacy**: Do not show history from private sessions or entries the user deleted; apply the same storage and deletion rules in both arms.

## What to watch when reading the result

- A higher search start rate is not decisive on its own, since old queries can send visitors to products they will not buy. Purchase conversion among all eligible visitors, including those who never submit a new query, picks the winner; zero-result search rate and product page visits after search help explain where any gap comes from.
- What you learn covers returning visitors with search history and this search box only. Keep the placeholder copy, category and filter names, and the suggestion source the same for the whole test; if any of them changes midway, you can no longer separate its effect from the history suggestions.
- Check that suggestions for typed queries still work in the empty-field arm; if visitors get no guidance at all, the gap comes from the setup. Visitors with history may be a narrow group, so do not stop before the planned end just because the gap looks unclear. Once it ends, the [A/B test significance calculator](https://alidemirbas.com.tr/en/calculators/ab-test) can tell you from each arm's visitors and purchases whether the conversion gap could be chance, and separately check that the arms split in the planned ratio.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What privacy checks are needed for search history?

Define ownership, retention and clearing controls. Do not restore deleted searches. Consider shared-device exposure, respect browser storage and deletion behavior, and do not rely on detecting private browsing. Keep storage rules identical across groups.

### Is a higher search-start rate enough?

No. Old queries may redirect people without improving purchases. Zero-result rates and product views after search help explain the effect. Use purchase conversion as the primary outcome.

### What else should stay fixed in the search box?

Keep placeholder text, suggestion sources, categories and filter names unchanged. Preserve a separate route to history in the empty-state version.