Search boxes on the main home page
The basic questions being asked regarding the location of the search boxes on the home page is the order of the two main components, “Search for: XYZ” and “Search Within: Section A, Section B, or Section C”, and how they should be positioned. Consider the following industry examples: Amazon.com stacks these components:
Landsend.com stacks the other direction:
CircuitCity.com displays them adjacent to one another:
Dell.com displays them adjacent in the reverse:
In our experience, the best method is typically to provide the “Search Within” first to improve the odds of seeing the option (similar to the Dell or Amazon examples above). Typically users that prefer “Search” get complete tunnel vision looking for the box. Once they find it, they type the text and hit ENTER without noticing the “Search Within” box. The ideal followup idea is to present the “Search Within” options on the Results Page as well. This will help train the users that this filtering functionality is available and may improve the chances of using it in the future.