Onsite Search is Critical for Users and Business

JP Sherman
@jpsherman
MANAGER OF SEARCH & FINDABILITY
RED HAT
Onsite Search - A Critical
Multiplier to Users &
Business
http://www.slideshare.net/jpsherman

A SHORT INTRO
I connect people
to the information
they’re looking for.
@jpsherman @BrightonSEO #BrightonSEO
A global enterprise software company with an
open source development model.

ONSITE SEARCH
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
HOW DO WE MEASURE IT?
WHAT DO WE DO WITH IT?

ONSITE SEARCH
LESS THAN 18% OF ORGS
DEDICATE RESOURCES TO
ONSITE SEARCH

USER ABANDONMENT
55% of users
Will abandon your site if
they cannot find what
they’re looking for
immediately.

USER ABANDONMENT
LESS THAN A SECOND AWAY...

THINGS NOT FOUND
CANNOT CONVERT.
IF THEY CAN’T FIND IT,
THEY’RE GONE.
LOST REVENUE

WHEN IT WORKS
DO BALLOONS DROP?

THAT’S THE EXPECTATION.

THEY REMEMBER...
A good site-search
experience is what’s
expected.
A bad site-search
experience is remembered

THIS IS WHY

Amplifies Multiplies Assists Informs
ONSITE SEARCH IS CRITICAL

MEASURING ONSITE SEARCH

KEY CONCEPTS
FINDABILITY
ACTIVE
BEHAVIORS
PASSIVE
BEHAVIORS
FEATURES
RESULT SET
QUALITY

FINDABILITY
How to Measure Findability
◆ What People Do
◆ How People Behave
◆ How People React
◆ Content Presented

BUT FIRST - SOME SCIENCE
Search Behavior is Always On
Passive Search Active Search

BUT FIRST - SOME BEHAVIOR
Users Scan Results with a Purpose
Keywords are Vehicles, Through Which, Intent is Expressed
This Means: In the Second a User Sees Your Snippet,
Acceptance and Rejection Criteria are Applied.
The Perception of Value Must be Immediate to Entice a User to
Take an Action

ACTIVE BEHAVIORS
The measurements are simple to understand, but it’s the nuance that tells the story
You’re Probably Familiar
● Keywords
● CTR
● Conversions
● No Results
● Zero Clicks
● Instances

DEFINING “KEYWORD”
KEYWORDS AREN’T JUST A BAG OF WORDS.
THEY’RE VEHICLES THROUGH WHICH A USER’S
INTENT IS EXPRESSED.

TYPES OF KEYWORDS
HIGH VOLUME, LOW INTENT KEYWORDS
Keywords High Freq/ Low Intent
Example Queries:
● Bikes
● Software
● Smart phones
● College
● Finland
● Books
● Laptops
● Elections
This is the top of the
funnel search behavior.
User Intent Isn’t Specific
● Information
● Ideas
● Knowledge
● Type Selection
● Familiarity
● Definitions
● Topic Review

Keywords Low Freq/ High Intent
Example Queries:
● Download latest iTunes
● Stream The Clash
● Pictures of cats in baskets
● Vietnamese food near me
● Spicy vegan taco recipes
● Supernatural monsters that
drink human blood
● Latin name for ring-tailed
lemur
● What does coulrophobia
mean?
There is no ambiguity in
the searchers’ intent.
User Intent Is Specific
● Take an action
● View specific thing
● Learn specific thing
● List based content
● Answers to a
specific question
TYPES OF KEYWORDS
LOW FREQUENCY, HIGH INTENT

PASSIVE BEHAVIORS
These generally require a
bit of dev.
● Consumption
● Dwell Time
● Time from Query to
Conversion

SEARCH FEATURES
Things on a SERP
● More Like This
● Facets
● Knowledge Graphs
● Query Suggestion/
Completion

WHAT ARE SEARCH FEATURES?
AUTOCOMPLETE/
AUTOSUGGEST
FACETS
KEYMATCH
KNOWLEDGE
GRAPH
NATURAL RESULTS

FEATURE CTR & FINDABILITY
26%
32%
12%
68%
71%
53%
Feature
CTR
Weighted
Findability
Score

WHAT’S A GOOD CTR FOR ONSITE SEARCH?
Users have very high expectations… (thanks Google)
CTR < 75% CTR > 75%

RESULT SET QUALITY
Content Shown on a SERP
● Average Rank
● Content as Impression
● Keyword CTR
● Consumption/
Conversion from
Keyword

MEASURING FINDABILITY
The Likelihood a Human Will Find What They’re Looking For
Findability
Active
Behaviors
Passive
Behaviors
Search
Features
Result Set
Quality

HOW TO IMPROVE SERP
The SERP is the first thing users see after a search & impressions are critical
SEARCH EXPERIENCE
OPTIMIZATION
● SERP Design
● Snippet Design
● Contextual Bias
● Search Features
● Respect Users’ Time

IMPROVEMENTS: AUTOSUGGEST
Autosuggest is recommending queries that the user may be looking for.
Starting with the Search
Experience

IMPROVEMENTS: AUTOSUGGEST
Autosuggest is recommending queries that the user may be looking for.
Searches w/out
autosuggest
CTR: 42%
CR: 3.9%
Searches w/
autosuggest
CTR: 57%
CR: 5.1%

IMPROVEMENTS: AUTOCOMPLETE
Reduce the steps between query and discovery

IMPROVEMENTS: AUTOCOMPLETE
Reduce the steps between query and discovery
Searches w/out
autocomplete
6.3 seconds
to click
Searches w/
autocomplete
4.5 seconds
to click

IMPROVEMENTS: ALTERNATE
PATHS
Search will fail. Give users easily recognizable alternate paths
Users will experience a search failure.
Giving users a way to refine, tips to search
again, a place for feedback will improve
the search experience.
Users w/out assistance re-searched 33%
Users w/ assistance re-searched 59%

IMPROVEMENTS: GEO CONTEXT
Location can influence the intent of the user for the same keyword
Keyword: Bike Tires
Santa Monica Colorado Springs
Location Bias Can
Deliver Intent
Road Bike Tires Mountain Bike Tires

IMPROVEMENTS: KNOWLEDGE GRAPHS
Knowledge Graphs
High Volume/ Low
Intent
Allows the user to
immediately focus on
what their intent is
when it’s not clear in
the query.

HOW TO IMPROVE RESULTS
The Good News… Most of this, you already know how to do
You Know This Stuff!
● Content
● Metadata
● Structured Markup
● Internal Links
● Relevant Titles
● UI/UX
But there’s more. So much more.

SEO, BUT FOR ONSITE SEARCH
The work you already do...
But… Keyword Meta Tags for Onsite Search.
It’s a Real Thing.

MEASURE CONTENT EFFICACY
Measure the end results, then trace it back.
Attributes of Content in an Onsite Search Context
● Keyword Universe
● Conversions
● Consumption
● Impressions
● Average Rank
● Clicks
● CTR

Peach Pie Recipies
Peach Pies
Peach Pie Recipies
Peach Pie Gallery
Peach Pie Ideas
Page Impressions
Page Conversions
Page Consumptions
Average Rank
1000
6%
42%
6.5

Peach Pie Recipies
Peach Pies
Peach Pie Recipies
Peach Pie Gallery
Peach Pie Ideas
200
600
150
50
Keyword Stats
Impressions
1%
6%
0.05%
4%
Conversions
7.2
1.5
2.2
8
Avg Rank

Peach Pie Recipies
Peach Pies
Peach Pie Recipies
Peach Pie Gallery
Peach Pie Ideas
De-boost keyword for low performance
Keep page as is
Content revision pipeline “why does this rank?”
Work to increase rank in site search

TESTING… IS THIS THING ON?
Me.
At work
I have an idea.
Because I know
things.
I run tests. Now I know
more things.
Yay?
TEST. ANALYZE. REPEAT.

DISAMBIGUATION FOR SIMILAR SEARCHES
Understand Where Your Customers Primarily Interact With You.

RIGHT... AGAIN WITH THE MOBILE.
Understand Where Your Customers Primarily Interact With You.

TEN BLUE LINKS MAY NOT EVEN WORK
Some products lend themselves to be more visual, or more comparative.

BLENDED SEARCH RESULTS
Just display all the things

KEY TAKEAWAYS TO IMPROVE ONSITE
SEARCH
Make a plan, make a change every month, measure it & repeat.
It’s not that hard
Change the Snippet
Change the SERP design
Add Contextual Information
Measure, Measure, Measure
Don’t forget, mobile is unique

WHAT IF YOU DON’T HAVE A SEARCH DEV
TEAM?
Onsite Search is proving its value over & over - there are options

THANK YOU
Please feel free to talk to me if you happen to run into me.
Find me on Twitter @jpsherman

Onsite Search is Critical for Users and Business

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