How many times have you walked back and forth across a grocery store in search of that one item that you can’t seem to find? How many times have you asked for help or (worse) left without finding it? Now think about your web visitors. What if they are looking for an item that they can’t find? You might be surprised to know that a top reason for site visit failure is that visitors are unable to find what they were looking for. Our research indicates that more than 50% of failed online visits revolve around “findability”. And all your CRO efforts are wasted if your visitors can’t find what they’re looking for. In this session, you will learn 10 ways to help your site visitor locate their desired product. These best practices will cover aspects of the site experience that have the greatest impact on findability – taxonomy, filters, navigation, and keyword search. Come see how you can improve the findability of your products and increase your chances of converting the sale.

1. 10 Ways to Improve
Findability
Scott Gunter, Usability Sciences

2. 10 WAYS TO IMPROVE
FINDABILITY
CONVERSION CONFERENCE
MAY 2015
Scott Gunter - Usability Sciences
@usabilitydotcom
sgunter@usabilitysciences.com
#convcon

3. #convcon @usabilitydotcom

4. #convcon @usabilitydotcom
Over 50% of website
visitors were unable to find
what they were looking for
Source: 10 million+ site intercept survey responses across 500+ websites

5. #convcon @usabilitydotcom
Why is findability a big issue?

6. #convcon @usabilitydotcom
Findability
Site Search
On-site
keyword search
Navigation
Visual and
interactive
presentation of
the taxonomy
Taxonomy
Hierarchical
structure of a
website’s
content

7. 10 Ways To Improve Findability
#convcon @usabilitydotcom

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(1) Align category labels to
how your customer’s think
not how your business thinks
Taxonomy

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! Lamp
! Waste Containers
Internal jargon not matching
customers way of thinking
Overly wordy labels for SEO
purposes
Trash
Cans

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(2) Correctly categorize
products
Taxonomy

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Incorrectly located within “Scary” Costumes
Incorrectly located within “TV & Movie” Costumes

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(3) Taxonomy structure
should match how
customers think
Taxonomy

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Kitchen & Tableware

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Food Household

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(4) Always provide an option
to ‘browse by category’ on
mobile channels
Navigation

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Mobile Website Mobile App
Where is the
‘browse by
category’ option?

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(5) Don’t rely on
manufacturer information
alone for product filtering
Navigation

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(6) Provide a user
definable price filter
Navigation

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(7) Don’t overuse mega
menus
Navigation

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Page
fold

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(8) Handle search
misspellings gracefully
Site Search

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Party Supply
Website
Appliance
Website

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Clothing
Website
(1) Link to assumed term(s) (2) Assumes what you meant
Handling Misspellings

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(9) Make SKU #s
searchable
Site Search

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Unfortunately, the item “T32670” is no longer available.
However, here are some similar products to choose from.

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(10) Provide a consistent
and seamless experience
across channels

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…one consistent and seamless
experience across channels…
…wherever, whenever.
In Store
Desktop
Mobile
Email
Social Media

35. Tablet
Desktop
Mobile
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Button

36. Techniques for exposing the root cause of
findability issues
Do You Have A Findability Issue?
#convcon @usabilitydotcom

37. #convcon @usabilitydotcom
The fastest, most productive route to identifying findability
issues is to deploy a site intercept survey.
How successful were you in
finding your desired product?
What’s the purpose
of your visit?
If you were not
successful, why?
What product are
you looking for?
Beginning of visit… …end of visit
Tailor questions
Conduct deeper analysis

38. If your taxonomy is at fault…
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Stakeholder
Interviews
Card Sort or Tree
Test
Competitive
Taxonomy Assessment
Focus Groups
Tree Test
Stakeholder Interviews provide the necessary background for a successful
research project.
Card Sorting helps you find out how people think your content should be
organized.
Tree Testing helps you evaluate an existing taxonomy.
Expert Review of a competitor’s taxonomy targets understanding how your
competitors approach their online taxonomy.
Focus Groups provide perspective from target audiences on their preferences
for locating information.
Tree Testing is an effective method for validating whether a proposed
taxonomy will make it easier for visitors to find what they are looking for.
Discovery &
Recommendation
Development
Background
Validation

39. Card Sorting
! Card%Sor(ng%is%a%process%where%par(cipants%are%
asked%to%arrange%products%from%your%website%
into%groups%that%make%sense%to%them.%
! Then%they%are%asked%to%name%each%group%
#convcon @usabilitydotcom

40. Tree Testing
! Tree%Tes(ng%is%a%process%where%par(cipants%are%asked%
to%iden(fy%the%loca(on%of%content%within%a%simplified%
text%version%of%your%site%structure%(the%tree).%
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
! This%ensures%that%the%structure%is%evaluated%in%
isola(on,%nullifying%the%effects%of%naviga(onal%aids,%
visual%design,%and%other%factors.

41. If your navigation is at fault…
! Lab-based usability test
! 8 one-on-one sessions
! Perform series of designed tasks
focusing on navigation
! “Think out loud” while working
! Areas of difficulty are tracked
! Appropriate questioning to probe on
experience
! Provide insights for improving the
navigation
#convcon @usabilitydotcom

42. If your site search is at fault…
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
How relevant were
the search results?
What search terms
were used?
Which products
were selected?
What order were
the products listed?

43. If your site search is at fault…
#convcon @usabilitydotcom

44. Tips for Addressing Poor Findability
1. Be careful of using internally-driven category
labels; align to how customer’s think
2. Make sure products are in the right category; resist
urge to list products in multiple places
3. Taxonomy structure should match how customers
think; reevaluate yearly
4. Browsing by category should be readily available
regardless of device
5. Don’t rely on manufacturer information alone for
product filtering
#convcon @usabilitydotcom

45. Tips for Addressing Poor Findability
6. Provide both pre-defined and user definable price
filters
7. Resist the urge to overuse mega menus
8. Handle search misspellings gracefully
9. Make SKU #s searchable; recommend similar
products if SKU is unavailable
10. Provide a consistent and seamless shopping
experience across all channels
#convcon @usabilitydotcom

46. Research Techniques for Exposing
Findability Issues
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Site Intercept
Survey
Taxonomy
Stakeholder
Interviews
Card Sorting
Tree Testing
Competitive
Assessment
Focus Groups
Navigation
Usability Test
Site Search
Search
Optimization
Survey

47. 10 WAYS TO IMPROVE
FINDABILITY
CONVERSION CONFERENCE
MAY 2015
Scott Gunter - Usability Sciences
@usabilitydotcom
sgunter@usabilitysciences.com
#convcon