Search Analytics for your Site

Helping Children Find What They Need on the Internet

2009-12-28T17:00:18Z

In a recent article by Stefanie Olsen of the New York Times she describes some of the things that Search Engines do to make using them a little easier such as using the Arial typeface because its considered more legible than other typefaces or bolding keywords in the link and snippets of your results pages. And as we all know, "search" is not perfect at the best of times. Or what do you do if you get stuck? Now what if you are a kid?

As you might expect things get a little more difficult right from the start. Why? Think about how search works for a moment. Search is based upon entering a keyword(s), which requires the use semantics & language. A child's grasp of language is typically less than that of an adult, who also tend to be the ones creating much of the content that children are seeking. Children also tend to think about things as questions, not as a straight keyword entry. Now, what about the goals of a child might differ from an adult - for starters how about using search as a starting point for homework? Again, well, what can I say -- it sucks to be a kid of you are using a search engine.

So if children are already at a deficient when it comes to search what can be done to help them?

One simple method by showing related searches or other content like video, images or news at the bottom of the page. A search on the word dolphins, for example, shows a set of related searches, (sharks, bottlenose dolphins) and two YouTube videos of dolphins at play. Ms. Druin called the bottom of the screen "valuable territory" because children often focus on their hands and the keyboard when they search and see that space first when they glance up.

Stefan Weitz, director of Bing, said that for certain types of tasks, like finding a list of American presidents, people found answers 28 percent faster with a search of images rather than of text. He said that because Bing used more imagery than other search engines, it attracted more children. Microsoft says Bing's audience of 2- to 17-year-olds has grown 76 percent since May. "My daughter who's 5, her typing skills aren't great, but she can browse images of various dog breeds through visual search," Mr. Weitz said.

Future trends in search may also be helpful to children. The move toward voice-activated search like the Google voice search on iPhones and Android phones and audio and video search will prove beneficial to children with limited abilities, experts say.

(*may require registration)

New Google Analytics Features For the Holidays

2009-12-28T16:41:59Z

Just a quick update on some new features that Google Analytics is now providing - post

Be sure to check out the "Annotations" feature and video. It is what I consider one of those "Doh! Why didn't we have it this all along" features that would make a User Experience professional proud to have figured out the disconnect between an offline task and something that should be part of the system. Enjoy!

Google Analytics Adds 8 New Features

2009-12-04T14:52:04Z

As some of you may or may not know, Google Analytics is a free enterprise analytics tool that lets you track various actions that your visitors take on your site. Recently they've been adding some great new features that hep you not only track visitors better, but better data analysis to gain greater insights to help you make better decisions.

In my new post, www.markohurst.com, I break these features down one-by-one and included some videos in case you don't have Google Analytics or would like to see it in action.

A Google Prototype "Golden Search Ticket" Is Now Yours

2009-11-25T16:00:23Z

Just a quick note those interested in seeing some experimenting that Google is doing right now I have the code to grant you access. Just following the instructions http://bit.ly/7WgKjT

How you design your search results impacts what gets clicked

2009-11-24T04:00:31Z

When most of us think about search engine result pages (SERPs) we often think of and therefore often revert to designing "list results". We can thank Google & Yahoo for that. When it comes to displaying copy (articles, blogs, etc) based content that's all well and good for your SERPs need to be scannable and contain text, but what about when results that can be chosen visually, such as an image/video gallery or eCommerce products? Then a "grid view" becomes a great option, or does it? The answer is... "it depends".

It depends because in the wonderful world where UX and Web Analytics are woven together the experience that you are designing for is (should be) first rooted in a business goal (yes even before a user goal, trust me) and the decisions that you make along the way affect the outcome(s) of that goal(s). Do you want the majority of your clicks going to the first item or would you like them spread out? That decision alone could mean thousands or even millions of dollars to you or your client. How about how many to show on an entire page or in a single row? Will 4, 5, or 10 make the most impact? What questions should you ask your analytics people? The possibilities alone can be maddening to ponder, not to mention what KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that actually mean something useful (and I don't mean pageviews and bounce rates) that can be tied to your design so it can be optimized over time.

Fortunately along with best practices there is a great deal of things that we analytics folks can measure and inform you about. And when those measurements are tied to a Monetization Model (a business model that guides you on how you will make or save money) things quickly fall into place. Lou and I have talked quite a lot on this and is something I use on all of my projects, so we'll be including it in the book, as well as future posts, but in the mean time we found a lovely post to wet your appetite. Enjoy! Displaying Search Results: Grid View or List View?"

Input please? Draft chapter on integrating UX and WA

2009-10-28T11:17:19Z

Marko and I just wrapped up a draft of our book's third chapter; you can download the PDF here (703Kb). We'd love your feedback on it, ideally in comments shared in this blog entry.

So you have a little context: this is the book's third chapter. The first chapter is a case study, based on John Ferrara's wonderful work at Vanguard, that demonstrates the value of site search analytics. The second chapter is an introduction to the topic. So we've introduced the topic by both showing and explaining how it works, and making a case for its value to both web analytics (WA) and user experience (UX) people alike.

This third chapter steps back a bit to explore the connection between WA and UX, and how both of these areas are incomplete forms of user research. After reading it, we hope you walk away with a better and more concrete sense of how they can fit together, as well as a rationale for why they should. We wrap up the chapter by discussing how site search analytics (SSA) is a beachhead for bringing these practices together.

So this third chapter provides something of a Big Picture for where site search analytics might fit within an organization and, more importantly, how SSA's "parents"—web analytics and user experience design—could be improved through combining forces.

The remainder of the book are chapters that get into the nuts and bolts of actually analyzing site search data, and user experience "hacks" based on examples from many organizations that are using and benefiting from SSA.

OK, here you go; feedback please!

A List Apart issue on site search analytics

2009-10-13T17:04:03Z

I recently helped pull together (and write an article for) a special issue of A List Apart dedicated to site search analytics. ALA is a fantastic publication that's moving from covering web design to focusing on user experience, and I'm grateful that they were willing to devote an entire issue to SSA.

Avinash Kaushik of Web Analytics: An Hour a Day fame takes a Web Analytics-based approach to the topic in his article, "Internal Site Search Analysis: Simple, Effective, Life Altering!". My article, "Beyond Goals: Site Search Analytics from the Bottom Up," is written from a UX perspective. And tying these threads together is John Ferrara with an excellent case study, "Testing Search for Relevancy and Precision," based on his work at Vanguard.

Aligning web analytics and site search analytics

2009-10-06T12:17:34Z

Tony Byrne has a nice short piece in CMS Watch calling for better integration of WA and SSA. (You already know what big fans we are of shotgun marriages.) Great quote from Tony: "The bigger problem, I think, is that the people in your enterprise who are optimizing search and those optimizing site experience (a.k.a., "marketers") often work in two different worlds."

Site search analytics workshops: early regi deadline

2009-09-30T12:25:15Z

Just a reminder that the early registration deadline for the Seattle edition of my workshop on site search analytics is this Friday, October 2. The workshop takes place on Thursday October 29; Steve Krug's new workshop on do-it-yourself usability testing follows on the very next day.

Steve and I will also tag team in Washington, DC, November 9-10; the early registration deadline is October 9.

If you'd like to get a taste of what I'll cover, check out my slides on SlideShare or read my contribution to the recent special issue of A List Apart, which was devoted to site search analytics.

One more note worth mentioning: my workshops have been described as "wonderfully intimate". I've always assumed that's how workshops ought to be, but apparently that's not always the case. So, like it or not, you'll get a healthy dose of contact with moi if you attend.

OK, what are you waiting for; go and register! Hope to see you in Seattle or DC!

US E.P.A. Washington DC 9/21/09

2009-09-29T23:04:05Z

Special invite to speak to the US Environmental Protection Agency...

Typically for anyone who has ever tried to find, well, anything on a government website has found it is easier to find what they were looking for Goolge or Yahoo. But, every once in awhile someone understands that it takes more than just technology to serve good results. And with that I'm very excited to announce that I've been selected to speak at the EPA Search Summit and will be able to advise the on their EPA's future Search Strategy, www.epa.gov.

Background:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is gathering a small panel of experts for a Search Summit at the EPA's offices in Arlington, VA on September 21, 2009. The purpose of the summit is to discuss the vision, goals and technical alternatives for developing an EPA Search Strategy.

The EPA is currently analyzing the way it shares information with the public. In the Agency's opening round of research, a broad spectrum of participants identified their inability to find environmental information, particularly using the Agency's search engine, as a major source of dissatisfaction. As a result of these findings, SRA International is working with EPA to develop a Search Strategy that will address the entire ecosystem for finding Agency information, including content, metadata, processes, partnerships, technology and policy.

Search Analytics for Content Strategists

2009-09-29T22:43:37Z

Last Thursday I gave a talk to the NY Content Strategy Group on how to apply search analysis to content. This was actually the first time that I gave my talk on this topic to a non-web analytics (WA) crowd. While not nervous, I admit I was not sure how it would be perceived. I am glad to report that it was very successful and touted "as the best yet". (I do have the email to back that statement up!)

What stands out most in my mind about that talk is this...

After seeing and now knowing what data, metrics, & reports are available the audience was now able and comfortable with going to ask their SEO, Web Analytics, etc the right questions

For those that were relying on themselves (no WA person) that had the basic tools and knowledge of how to use data they had access to make decisions based on that data

And what struck me most, while it was a point I tried to drive home time and time again, was that a good amount of them came up after and said they now see the value in breaking down the walls and that UX & WA can work together

So, with that I'm very pleased to share with you the presentation I gave. I (we) really do appreciate any feedback that you can provide (positive & negative). Enjoy!

Search Analytics For Content Strategists @CSofNYC

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Null results reporting in Google Analytics

2009-09-22T13:53:14Z

Justin Cutroni of EpikOne shows us how to hack Google Analytics to track search queries with zero results. Thanks Justin!

Knocking down some barriers

2009-07-27T13:05:49Z

Loving Avinash Kaushik's advice on how to get around Barriers To An Effective Web Measurement Strategy. Personal favorite quip: "Be an Analysis Ninja, not a Reporting Squirrel".

Upcoming site search analytics workshops

2009-07-16T11:39:54Z

Hi all; I have two of my day-long workshops on site search analytics planned for later this year: Seattle, October 29, and Washington DC, November 9. These are very hands-on sessions, where we roll up our sleeves and analyze some real live data. The last one, in London, drew excellent reviews, and I'm really looking forward to teaching these again. Hope you can join me!

Brand Websites Must Die

2009-06-11T21:00:42Z

How do you apply web analytics to design & prove ROI when you don't sell anything? Brand & most company websites are the perfect examples of sites where 'gut feelings' or the attitude 'we're not selling anything', so we don't need analytics. But you are running a business, aren't you? You do want to make you bonus, don't you?

Thinking of a site as just a 'brand site' is harmful to your company &/or you clients. If you have the attitude of 'if we're not selling something, we can't show ROI', well, first of all you'd be wrong. Secondly I can prove you wrong. But what I'd rather do is have you learn how to apply what in analytics we call "online business models" and apply KPIs (key performance indicators) to all your designs and experiences. The real change is simply not thinking of a site as a 'brand site, but instead as a Lead Generation site. What that term might mean something to most people, it means something very specific in analytics. I also show you some screen shots of a few analytics reports such as Funnel Analysis & Multivariate testing, as well as what to do with them. I use Tide.com as my example, to show how a brand/CPG website can benefit from web analytics, including KPIs for Lead Generation websites.

All my notes are included in my slides, I encourage you to read them along with the slides. This is a very short presentation and the first is series I'm doing on each of the business models.

Brand Websites Must Die!

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