When you click a search vertical in SharePoint such as People, Conversations, or Videos, you may see a blank page or a message that says no results were found. This problem occurs when the search vertical is misconfigured, the content source is missing, or the search schema does not map to the expected managed properties. This article explains the technical causes of empty search verticals and gives site owners a step-by-step process to diagnose and fix each layer of the search pipeline.
Key Takeaways: Diagnosing Empty Search Verticals in SharePoint
- Search verticals in SharePoint admin center > Search > Vertical: Controls which result sources and query rules apply to each vertical.
- Result source definition in Search Administration: Determines whether the vertical uses the local SharePoint index, a remote index, or a hybrid connector.
- Managed property mapping in Search Schema: Ensures that crawled properties used by the vertical exist and are set to Searchable.
Why SharePoint Search Verticals Show Empty Results
A search vertical is a prefiltered view of the search index. When you click People, SharePoint adds a query rule that restricts results to content where the ContentClass property equals “Person”. If that property is missing from the index, the vertical returns zero items. The root cause is almost always one of three things: the result source is not picking up the correct content, the query rule is filtering on a property that does not exist, or the crawl has not indexed the content yet.
SharePoint Online uses a unified search index that serves all verticals. The search schema defines which crawled properties become managed properties. If a property is not set to Searchable, the search vertical cannot filter on it. Site owners often assume that because content exists in the site, it will appear in the search vertical. That assumption is wrong. The vertical must be explicitly configured to query a managed property that is both Searchable and Queryable.
The Role of Result Sources
Each search vertical is linked to a result source. The result source tells SharePoint where to look for results. The default result sources are Local SharePoint Results, People Results, and Video Results. If a vertical points to a custom result source that has a broken connection or an invalid URL, the vertical returns empty results. Site owners should verify that the result source is active and that its protocol matches the environment.
The Role of Query Rules
Query rules apply additional filters to the search query. A query rule can add a condition that requires a specific managed property to contain a value. If the managed property is not populated, the rule removes all results. Site owners should check whether a query rule is blocking the vertical by reviewing the rule’s condition and action blocks.
Steps to Check and Fix Empty Search Verticals
- Open the search administration pages
Go to the SharePoint admin center. Under Search, select Search Administration. This page lists all result sources, query rules, and search schemas for the tenant. You must be a SharePoint admin or a site collection admin to see these settings. - Select the vertical that shows empty results
In the Search Administration page, click Verticals. Find the vertical that is broken. Click the vertical name to open its properties. Write down the result source and query rule names associated with this vertical. - Test the result source manually
Go to Result Sources in the left navigation. Find the result source you noted. Click the result source and then click Test. In the query text box, enter a simple keyword that exists in your site. If the test returns no results, the result source is misconfigured. Check the connection URL, the protocol, and the authentication method. For a custom result source, ensure the URL points to a valid search endpoint. - Check the query rule conditions
Go to Query Rules in the left navigation. Find the rule associated with the vertical. Click the rule name. Look at the Conditions section. If the rule requires a managed property value, verify that the property exists in the search schema and that it is populated in the index. If the condition cannot be satisfied, the rule will suppress all results. Remove or disable the condition if it is unnecessary. - Verify the managed property mapping
Go to Search Schema. Search for the managed property that the vertical uses. For example, the People vertical uses ContentClass. Click the property. Confirm that the property is set to Searchable and Queryable. If it is not, change the setting and click OK. A full crawl will be triggered automatically. - Force a re-index of the site
In the site collection, go to Site Settings > Search and Offline Availability. Click Reindex site. This action requests a full crawl of the site content. Wait for the crawl to complete, which may take several hours depending on the content volume. - Clear the browser cache and retest
After the crawl completes, press Ctrl+F5 to force a full page reload. Navigate to the search vertical and enter a query. If results appear, the fix is complete.
If SharePoint Search Verticals Still Show Empty Results
Search Vertical Returns Empty Results for Only One User
When a single user sees empty results but other users see content, the cause is likely a security trimming issue. The user does not have read access to the items that should appear. Check the user’s permissions on the site or library that contains the content. If the user is missing access, grant the appropriate permission level.
Search Vertical Returns Empty Results After a Site Migration
After a site migration, the search index may not reflect the new location. The result source may still point to the old site URL. Go to Result Sources and update the connection URL to the new site. Then trigger a full crawl from the Search Administration page.
Search Vertical Returns Empty Results for Custom Content Types
If the vertical uses a managed property derived from a custom content type, the property must be mapped to a crawled property. In Search Schema, click the managed property. Under Mappings, add a mapping to the crawled property that corresponds to the custom column. Set the property to Searchable and Queryable, then re-index the site.
| Item | Local SharePoint Results | People Results |
|---|---|---|
| Result source type | SharePoint search service | SharePoint search service |
| Query transformation | None | ContentClass=Person |
| Managed property used | Title, Content | ContentClass |
| Common failure | Result source URL is wrong | ContentClass not Searchable |
After reviewing the result source, query rule, and search schema, you can identify the exact point of failure. Start with the result source test because it isolates the connection issue. Then check the query rule to see if a condition is filtering out all items. Finally, verify the managed property mapping to ensure the property is available for filtering. Most empty verticals are fixed by making a single property Searchable or by removing a broken condition from a query rule.