Site Search Analytics eMetrics Madrid 2009

Search Analytics For Your Site: Una Conversación Con Tus Consumidores eMetrics Madrid, Espana 2009 Keynote: Marko Hurst

Me
Book: Search Analytics - Conversations With Your Customers
Anticipated release: December 2009
Book website: RosenfeldMedia . com/books/SearchAnalytics
Co-Author: Lou Rosenfeld
Consultant, Author, & Speaker
User Experience
Web Analytics
Behavioral Targeting: (Machine Learning & Neuroscience)
Blog: MarkoHurst .com “Insightful Analytics”
Twitter: MarkoHurst
Contact: [email_address]

Before We Begin Audience Survey & Search Info

Audience Survey
Question 1
Who currently has ‘search’ on your company website or on your intranet/extranet?

Audience Survey
Question 2
How would you rate your experience with your onsite search engine?
Criteria of success for a well performing search engine means that it delivers relevant results you expected on the first page without refining
Defies statistical probability
You are pleasantly delighted and use it often
Less dangerous, but about the same odds as Russian Roulette
There is a greater chance of finding a new continent than content
You’d rather contract an incurable disease than use it again

Finding Information Online
Three (3) ways to find information
Browse (navigation, links)
Ask (help - automated, live person)
Search (query input field/box)
SEARCH due to the popularity of search engines (Google, Yahoo!) is the #1 most used feature to find information online
BUT, once a visitor gets to your site, ‘browse’ is the #1 method ( with some exceptions)
About 1/3 of all visitors use search, but sites range from 5 - 70% *
Why does the information seeking behavior change onsite?
* Observations from client engagements

Over Promising and Under Delivering On Search Results
Onsite search ‘mildly’ sucks. Why?
I.T. only project
Implemented without consideration of the user
No optimization program in place
Lack of experience
Search is believed to be a ‘turnkey’ solution that is simply ‘plugged in’
<evil grin> admit it, you thought it was that easy <evil grin/>
Getting search right is hard work and ongoing
Be weary of anyone who says anything to the contrary, they are probably trying to sell you something

Unfortunately For You As A…
VISITOR that means you are….
left unsatisfied
annoyed
unfulfilled
sometimes feeling stupid
BUSINESS that means you…
didn’t think about your entire visitor/customer experience
lost a potential customer, perhaps forever
have reduced your customer satisfaction rate
your site isn’t a usable as you ‘think it is’
you are not listening to your what your customers are telling you

A Shining Light of Hope
Book Objective
Provide simple and effective Site Search analysis techniques for user experience & web analytic professionals of all levels to better understand their visitors in order to deliver a superior experience

Benefits & Expectations
SSA * produces actionable insights
Techniques used are about analysis, NOT reporting (and there was much rejoicing!)
For some, this like reaching Nirvana
For others, this is like opening Pandora’s Box
To achieve the benefits of SSA expect to:
Change site design/layout
Change keywords, copy, metadata, labels, navigation, taxonomy, etc.
Add &/or remove pages
Change your SEO & SEM
And much more!
* SSA = Site Search Analytics

Agenda What Is Site Search Analytics? How We Find Information Anatomy of Search SSA Techniques Q&A

What Is Site Search Analytics? And What It’s Not

SSA Is Not About Improving…

SSA Is About Improving… Public facing websites, intranets/extranets, mobile, etc.

A Few Onsite Search Engines You May Encounter

How We Find Information Information Foraging

Information Trail
Humans forge for information similar to how animals forage for food
Move outwards in a direction we think ( predict ) will provide the expected results
Continue on a path as long as we ‘smell’ signs that we are still on the correct path ( information scent )
When we no longer smell those signs we retrace our path or find a new path entirely where the ‘smell’ is stronger, which we remember for next time ( recursive learning ) to better predict where/where not to go
Flickr Photogrpher : a walk on the wild side

Information Scent
Information scent is how people evaluate options they encounter looking for information on a site
S trong information scents are good at guiding users to the content they want/need
W eak information scents cause visitors to spend more time evaluating options and increase the chance that they will select the wrong option and be forced to backtrack or leave entirely
Flickr Photogrpher : RaffertyEvans

How Humans Find Information Online
Three ways of finding information
Browse
Ask
Search

Browse (Navigate)

Search

Where To Begin Getting Started

The Basics
Analyzing data
Zipf Distribution
Excel (spreadsheet) skills
Low / no budget software
No need for code or higher mathematics
Where to get data
Log files
Search / Web Analytics
A mindset / desire to improve your site, increase ROI, and deliver a better user experience
Outside the scope of book :)
NOTE: everything I show you is 100% technology agnostic

Zipf Distribution (The Long Tail)
3 characteristics: head, torso, & tail
Thick head Middle Torso Long Tail Flickr Photogrpher : hjallig

Data: Search Logs (Google Search Appliance)
Critical elements in red
IP address, time/date stamp, query, and # of results
XXX.XXX.XX.130 - - [ 10/Jul/2006:10:24:38 -0800 ] "GET /search? access=p&entqr=0&output=xml_no_dtd&sort=date%3AD%3AL %3Ad1&ud=1&site=AllSites&ie=UTF-8&client=www&oe=UTF-8&proxystyleshe et=www&q= regional+transportation+governance +commission&ip=XXX.XXX.X.130 HTTP/1.1" 200 9718 62 0.17 XXX.XXX.X.104 - - [ 10/Jul/2006:10:25:46 -0800 ] "GET /search? access=p&entqr=0&output=xml_no_dtd&sort=date%3AD%3AL %3Ad1&ud=1&site=AllSites&ie=UTF-8&client=www&oe=UTF-8&proxystyleshe et=www&q= lincense+plate &ip=XXX.XXX.X.104 HTTP/1.1" 200 971 0 0.02 XXX.XXX.X.104 - - [ 10/Jul/2006:10:25:48 -0800 ] "GET /search? access=p&entqr=0&output=xml_no_dtd&sort=date%3AD%3AL %3Ad1&ie=UTF-8&client=www&q= license+plate &ud=1&site=AllSites&spell=1&oe=UTF-8&proxystylesheet=www&ip=XXX.XXX. X.104 HTTP/1.1" 200 8283 146 0.16

Data: Search Engine / Analytics
Data collection & options vary by vendor
Data collection is typically a separate step if you want to combine it with web analytics
Google & Omniture are the only major analytic vendors to have built-in search data capabilities
(NOTE: Omniture’s Search is an add-on product)

Improving Your Site Search SSA Techniques & Search Behavior

The Anatomy of Search: Search Components
Six (6) components comprise a single experience
Flickr Image : Peter Morville Based on original image from “In Defense of Search” by Peter Morville 1 2 3 4 5 6

Component 1: Visitor (User)
When / Where Do Visitors Search?
Most often when a visitor becomes frustrated with browsing (i.e. your design, navigation, information architecture, whatever)
eCommerce and Government websites search is often the first choice
This behavior also occurs when a visitor ‘knows’ what they are looking for
Some visitors use search as their first / main method
For more on this, see Peter Morville’s “ Search Patterns ” IA Summit 2008

Component 1: Visitor (User) Search Analysis
When /where did your visitors initiate search from?

Component 2: Query (Keywords)
When a visitor users onsite search they are speaking to you their Natural Language
They are confessing their needs & desires to you hoping you can help them
This is your chance to have “ Una Conversación Con Tus Consumidores ”
REMINDER: Conversation = Good . Monolog = BAD !

Component 2: Keyword Analysis
What are your visitors looking for?

Component 2: Keyword Analysis
Trends

Component 3: Search Interface
Minimum: search query box & search button
Sometimes a filter will also be used

Component 3: Search Interface Analysis
How many characters should your query box display?

Component 4: Search Engine
While the Search Engine is an essential component…
Options and details vary by vendor
Common features: Ranking, best bets, stemming, facets, weighting, most frequent, etc.
Opening the ‘black box’ is beyond scope of book -- and I promised you didn’t need to code & be a mathematician

Component 5: Content
Search is about getting visitors to CONTENT
What type of content can you improve? (Hint: all of it)
Metadata
Navigation
Labeling
Ontology
Taxonomy
SEO / SEM people LISTEN UP
SEO is NO LONGER about being #1. It’s about getting visitors to your content!
This is great place for UX & SEO to work together NOT against each other
Perceived differences should be fixed
Usability testing, copywriting, & SEO are about content bring them together

Component 5: Content Analysis
Power of CONVERSATION: Are you listening or ignoring your visitors?
What content / products your visitors are looking for?
Do you not have it? Or can’t they find it? Maybe you should add / remove products?
Your visitors may be speaking a language you don’t understand
Worse you may be trying to speak to them in a language they don’t understand
Labels, navigation, taxonomy, metadata, SEO, SEM
Surveys: tie attitudinal & behavioral data together
Look for relationships between content
Informs you ontology & metadata, as well as SEO / SEM
You can look at the data, but this is a GREAT place to explore and play with your data
http://4q.iperceptions.com

Component 6: Results (SERP)
SERP (Search Engine Result Page)
The (inferred) quality of your results can be determined by:
Refinement
Null results
Bounce Rate
Where did they go?

There are lots of great reports out there, here are a few I find critical for successful analysis…
Component 6: Results (SERP) Analysis

Single Greatest Piece of Advice I Can Give Today…
Reports & data are fantastic and essential for analysis. But if you REALLY REALLY want to find out how well or poor your search engine is working all you have to do is… “walk a mile in your visitors shoes”.
MEANING: Take your visitors’ keywords and manually input them YOURSELF and experience what they did

Internal Site Search KPIs
Top searches
Zero / null results
Search conversion
Search usage
Total Unique Searches
Results Pageviews / Search
# of Visits with Search
Search Exits (Bounce Rate)
Search Refinements
Time After Search
Search Depth

Summary Remember this…

Summary
Search is not a ‘turnkey’ solution, it takes ongoing effort to get it write
Improving search improves customer satisfaction, site usability, SEO, SEM, ROI, and & overall user experience
Combine & use both qualitative & quantitative data for your analysis
6 components to search
Visitor
Keywords
Search interface
Search engine
Content
SERP (results)
Site Search book will be out in December

Muchas Gracias!
Book: RosenfeldMedia . com/books/SearchAnalytics Blog: MarkoHurst .com Contact: [email_address] .com Twitter: MarkoHurst

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Site Search Analytics eMetrics Madrid 2009

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