Empty query searches show up in your Analytics dashboard as <empty search>. It is normal for empty searches to account for the majority of your searches due to their two origins, which are outlined below:
1. An initial search request with an empty query to instantly show results before users start typing
If using one of our InstantSearch libraries, by default Algolia shows search results as soon as users land on a page. This avoids empty pages and also establishes a connection with our servers, making future requests faster. We achieve this by performing a search with an empty query.
If you however don’t want to display initial results, we provide this guide on how to prevent an initial request on an empty query.
2. Category pages are built with an empty query and an applied filter
If you have implemented category pages using Algolia, when a user navigates to a category page, an API request with an empty query and a filters parameter based on a category page identifier is sent. Therefore, Analytics will record this as an empty search.
Any filters applied on an empty search will appear under the Popular filters for this search section, when clicking on "empty search" to see further details.
You can also exclude empty searches from your analytics using this guide, but be aware that this can affect any analytical value for your app.