How Tencent Maps 9.0 Boosted Search Efficiency with Smart Design

Introduction

In daily travel, map products have become essential tools. With a rapid increase in users, Tencent Map continuously improves its functions and services. To provide a more efficient and refined experience, the search function was systematically optimized alongside the launch of Tencent Map 9.0.

Design Analysis

Through user feedback, interviews, and questionnaires, we mapped the search process and identified pain points in three behavioral stages: initiating a search, comparing choices, and accessing location services. This analysis revealed opportunities for design improvements.

Design Goals

Based on the analysis and the business goal of increasing search conversion, we distilled the core objective to “Find the destination faster.” The goal is broken down into three aspects:

Faster : Accelerate the initiation of a search, reducing user input.

Find : Strengthen result comparison, improve browsing efficiency, and provide richer, ordered location information.

Destination : Enhance the delivery of location information and services, ensuring stable operation and quick access.

1. Accelerate Search Initiation

Stabilize Search Box

We refined the search box style to make it more prominent on the homepage, increased its size and click area, and kept it fixed at the top for easy modification during repeated searches.

Adjust Visual Focus

Data review showed many users clicked history records directly, but the keyboard occupied half the screen, limiting visible history items. We removed the graphic hot‑search bar, reduced its height, and moved it below the search box, expanding the space for history records.

Improve Display Efficiency

By eliminating redundant information, strengthening visual guidance, clarifying operability, and increasing information density, we allowed more items to be shown within the same space, boosting scanning efficiency.

These adjustments raised the click rate on history records by nearly 30%, meeting the “faster” design goal.

2. Optimize Information Presentation

Map View – Clear Result Display

We standardized map pins to a unified droplet shape, enhanced color contrast, increased size, and added shadows, making pins more recognizable across different states.

Text – Structured Information Hierarchy

We reorganized the result list into three visual levels, adjusting font color, size, and weight to create a clear hierarchy, improving readability and reducing visual fatigue.

Tags – Refined Visual Weight

Using a matrix analysis, we evaluated tags by user need and product value, then grouped them into a visual hierarchy from heavy to light, establishing a consistent tag design specification.

Filtering – Remove Irrelevant Results

We added quick filters for brand‑preferred POIs (e.g., gas stations, charging piles) and rebuilt hotel filter components, enabling users to select preferred brands or price ranges, which doubled booking conversion for hotels.

3. Enhance Service Reachability

After users select a destination, they enter the “location service” stage, where navigation, ticketing, and reviews must be readily accessible.

Custom vs. Generic Service Cards

We created custom cards for head‑category locations and generic cards for long‑tail locations, then assembled pages using a modular “building‑block” approach.

Stable Layout – Immediate Conversion

We fixed core actions (routing, navigation, favorites) at the bottom of the page, separating them from scrolling content, allowing users to act at any time.

One‑Level Dual‑State – Shorten Flow

We merged the small page card and detail page into the same hierarchy, naming them “Map State” and “Text State.” Users can switch freely, reducing steps for high‑traffic locations and improving service perception.

Conclusion

Through end‑to‑end design optimization of the search process, we improved display efficiency, organized information hierarchy, unified visual language, strengthened filtering, and shortened workflow steps, resulting in an 8% increase in overall conversion and achieving the goal of helping users find destinations faster.