diff --git a/app/controllers/searches_controller.rb b/app/controllers/searches_controller.rb
index 2fba80b35..6441b7592 100644
--- a/app/controllers/searches_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/searches_controller.rb
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 class SearchesController < ApplicationController
+  before_action :set_query_terms
+
   def show
-    @search_results = Current.user.search(query_param).limit(50)
+    @search_results = Current.user.search(@query_terms).limit(50)
     @recent_search_queries = Current.user.search_queries.order(created_at: :desc).limit(10)
   end
 
   private
-    def query_param
-      params[:q]
+    def set_query_terms
+      @query_terms = params[:q]
     end
 end
diff --git a/app/views/searches/_form.html.erb b/app/views/searches/_form.html.erb
index 69797e99a..8653aa1df 100644
--- a/app/views/searches/_form.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/searches/_form.html.erb
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 
 <%= form_with url: search_path, method: :get, class: "search__form" do |form| %>
   <div class="search__field">
-    <%= text_field_tag :q, params[:q], class: "input", type: "search", placeholder: "What are you looking for?" %>
+    <%= text_field_tag :q, query_terms, class: "input", type: "search", placeholder: "What are you looking for?" %>
     <span class="search__field-icon btn btn--circle borderless">
       <%= icon_tag "search" %>
     </span>
diff --git a/app/views/searches/show.html.erb b/app/views/searches/show.html.erb
index df58583be..e9b2f3890 100644
--- a/app/views/searches/show.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/searches/show.html.erb
@@ -12,12 +12,12 @@
   </nav>
 <% end %>
 
-<%= auto_submit_form_with url: searches_queries_path(terms: params[:q]), method: :post %>
+<%= auto_submit_form_with url: searches_queries_path(terms: @query_terms), method: :post %>
 
 <section class="search">
-  <%= render "searches/form" %>
+  <%= render "searches/form", query_terms: @query_terms %>
 
-  <% if params[:q].present? && @search_results.none? %>
+  <% if @query_terms.present? && @search_results.none? %>
     <p>No search results</p>/
   <% end %>