Choosing Between a Search Solution and a Managed Service
Table of Contents
Overview
Choosing between a search solution and a managed service. Search is a fundamental layer of contemporary digital experiences-but no two search needs are exactly alike. One team may want to simply better optimize the way users find content on their website, while another relies on a heavy backend dependable search engine that can support custom applications at scale.
At Expertrec, these needs are addressed through two distinct offerings:
- Expertrec Site Search
- Expertrec Managed Search
While both involve search, they solve disparate problems and are designed for different teams. This guide explains what each product does, who it is built for, and how to choose the right option for your organization.
What Is Expertrec Site Search?
Expertrec Site Search is an AI-powered website search solution designed to improve how visitors discover content, products and information on public facing websites. It is built for marketing, growth, and product teams that want to deliver a fast, intuitive, and conversion-focused search experience – without heavy engineering effort.
If you have used any modern website which gives instant suggestions, is typo tolerant, lets results be filtered, and delivers highly relevant results- you know what a good site search is. Expertrec Site Search delivers this same experience out of the box by following best practices in search UX and relevance.
Users type queries in natural language and expect results for vague or irrelevant searches. Expertrec addresses this requirement through AI-driven relevance, semantic understanding, and smart ranking features that minimize zero-result searches to foster engagement eventually.
What Does Expertrec Site Search Include?
Expertrec Site search provides all the components required to create and fine-tune a high-performing website search experience:
- AI powered Relevance & Semantic Search
- Auto suggest (Instant) with typo tolerance and synonyms
- Facet navigation means faster content and product discovery
- Results pinning and promotion Highlight important pages or offers
- Multi-site search Manage searches for multiple sites from one dashboard
- Search analytics Analyse what users are searching for to optimize content
- Easy setup through a JavaScript snippet, CMS plugins, APIs
It works best for organizations of the engaged, converted, experiential type where site search visibly brings about business results.
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What Is Expertrec Managed Search?
Expertrec Managed Search is a SaaS search infrastructure offering for teams looking to place a dependable and scalable search engine behind their custom applications.
Managed Search provisions:
- Cluster provisioning
- Scaling
- Monitoring performance metrics and uptime management
- Upgrades, security patching, and maintenance
We built this offering with engineering/platform/DevOps teams in mind who want the power of a search engine but do not fancy taking up its operational responsibilities.
Expertrec Managed Search is an infrastructure product.
What Managed Search Is and Is Not
It:
- Powers backend search for custom applications
- Provides scalability, reliability, and security
- Allows teams to interact directly with search APIs and configurations
It does not:
- Provide a ready-made website search UI
- Optimize search for conversions or content discovery
- Include marketing-friendly tools like promotions or analytics dashboards
Search behavior, ranking logic, and user experience remain the responsibility of the application layer.
Key Differences: Site Search vs. Managed Search
| Feature | Expertrec Site Search | Expertrec Managed Search |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Public websites | Custom or internal applications |
| Primary Users | Marketing, growth and product teams | Engineering and DevOps teams |
| Focus | UX, relevance and conversions | Stability, scale and control |
| Infrastructure | Fully managed | Managed backend infrastructure |
| UI & Relevance | Included out of the box | Requires custom development |
| Best For | Fast setup, immediate impact | Specialized or backend use cases |
Do You Need Both?
Some organizations use both offerings across different parts of their stack.
- Expertrec Site Search indexes and delivers results on any public website users want to search.
- Expertrec Managed Search indexes internal tools, dashboards and custom applications.
Site Search is what happens on the front end for users, while managed search stays dependable in the back-end infrastructure where someone wants full control-right behind their firewall.
Expertrec Site Search is for those who want to tweak website usability, engagement and conversions without breaking much of a sweat.
Expertrec Managed Search works best if you are on the lookout for a scalable and dependable search engine meant for custom applications, minus managing the infrastructure internally.
The choice boils down to who owns the search experience, where it lives in your architecture-and what outcome matters most to your team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Expertrec Site Search require Managed Search?
No. This is a fully managed offering, inclusive of all that is required to operate website search.
Who should use Expertrec Site Search?
Marketing and growth teams, product managers, or website owners who are keen on improving on-site discovery and conversions.
Who should use Expertrec Managed Search?
Engineering/DevOps/platform teams building custom or internal search-driven applications.
