The seven deadly sins of site search according to Vivisimo

A Vivisimo white paper, available at searchdoneright.com lists the seven deadly sins of site search. It’s a basic, but useful introduction:

1. Omission - Make sure you offer search - some users prefer it and it’s an escape route when navigation fails.
2. Apathy - Make sure you check how search is functioning - relevancy, scent of information from titles an descriptions.
3. Complexity - Keep search interface simple - don’t offer >1 search box on a page.
4. Omnipotence - Beware the conceit that your engine will understand the user’s intent and respond with an ‘answer’ to a ‘question’.
5. Egoism - Don’t ask too much of a visitor - make it user-friendly.
6. Brand confusion - Ensure the search results has your brand and your URL.
7. Multiple personality - Ensure search pages have a consistent branding and look and feel to the rest of the site.