If your employees treat your SharePoint intranet as a last resort rather than a first port of call, there's a good chance search is the culprit. It's not usually a technology problem...it's a configuration and content one. 😅
SharePoint search is genuinely capable. It can find documents, pages, news and people across your entire organisation. But like any sophisticated tool, it works best when you understand what it needs from you.
The fundamentals matter
Start with the basics. Most people never venture beyond a simple keyword search, but SharePoint supports advanced operators that make a real difference. Quotation marks find exact phrases. The minus sign excludes terms. You can filter by file type, date or author. A quick guide to these techniques—shared during onboarding or via your intranet—pays dividends in how effectively your teams can search.
But here's the thing: advanced search only helps if your content is organised properly in the first place.
Content is the foundation
If search isn't returning what you expect, look at your content, not the tool. Descriptive file names matter. "Document1.docx" tells search nothing; "2026-Q1-Marketing-Budget.xlsx" is immediately findable. Metadata does the work too. When you tag documents consistently with clear categories, you're creating multiple pathways to the same content. Search can find that budget spreadsheet whether someone searches by file name, department or time period.
Keep your content current as well. When employees find outdated information in search results, they stop trusting search. They start creating workarounds. Outdated documents should be archived, not buried in your site.
Configuration and training
Administrators can configure promoted results for common searches, set up acronyms and bookmarks, and define which properties get indexed. It requires some effort, but for frequently sought content (like your expense policy, benefits guide, org chart, etc.) it's worth the investment.
The real unlock comes from training. Most search frustration stems from not knowing what's possible. When your teams understand what SharePoint search can do, they actually use it.
That's when your intranet transforms from somewhere content sits, to somewhere it gets found! 🤓
