Search Analytics for Fun and Profit Information architecture consultant to Fortune 500s
Publisher and founder, Rosenfeld
An Event Apart Media
Chicago, Illinois Blog at www.louisrosenfeld.com
August 27, 2007 Co-author, Information Architecture
for the World Wide Web (3rd ed.,
Lou Rosenfeld 2006; O’Reilly)
www.rosenfeldmedia.com New book: Search Analytics for Your Site:
Conversations with your customers (2008; Rosenfeld
Media): www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/searchanalytics
1
Where will you
Topical Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Capture Search Queries?
1. The search logs that your search engine
naturally captures and maintains as searches
take place
2. Search keywords or phrases that your users
execute, that you capture into your own local
database
3. Search keywords or phrases that your
commercial search solution captures,
records, and reports on (Mondosoft, Visual
Sciences, Ultraseek, Google Appliance, etc.)
2
User Research: User Research:
…what else do they want?… …who wants it?…
BBC provides
Specific segments needs as determined by:
reports to determine Security clearance
other terms IP address
searched within
Job function
same session
(tracked by cookies) Account information
Alternatively, you may be able to extrapolate
segments directly from SA
Pages they initiate searches from
3
Search Entry Interface Design: Search Results Interface Design:
“The Box” or something else? Which results where?
Identify “dead end” points (e.g., 0 hits, 2000 hits) #10 result is clicked through more often than #s 6, 7, 8, and
where assistance could be added 9 (ten results per page)
Query syntax helps you select search features to
expose (e.g., use of Boolean operators)
OR
Navigation: Navigation:
Any improvements? Where does it fail?
Michigan State University builds A-Z index Track and study pages (excluding main
automatically based on frequent queries page) where search is initiated
What do they search? (e.g., acronyms, jargon)
Are there other issues that would cause a
“dead end”? (e.g., tagging and titling
problems)
Are there user studies that could test/validate
problems on these pages? (e.g., “Where did
you want to go next?)
4
Metadata Development: Metadata Development:
How do searchers express their needs? Which values and attributes?
Tone and jargon (e.g., “cancer” vs. Uncover hierarchy and
“oncology,” “lorry” vs. “truck,” acronyms) identify
Metadata values (e.g., mobile vs.
Syntax (e.g., Boolean, natural language, cell)
keyword) Metadata attributes (e.g., genre,
region)
Length (e.g., number of terms/query; Long Content types (e.g., spec, price
Tail queries longer and more complex sheet)
than Short Head) SA combines with AI tools
Everything we know from analyzing for clustering, enabling
folksonomic tags applies here, and vice versa concept searching and
thesaurus development
5
SA Headaches: Please Share Your SA Knowledge:
What gets in the way? Visit our book in progress site
Problems* Search Analytics for Your Site:
Conversations with your
Lack of time Customers by Louis
Few useful tools for parsing logs, generating reports Rosenfeld and Richard
Tension between those who want to perform SA and Wiggins (Rosenfeld
those who “own” the data (chiefly IT) Media, 2008)
Ignorance of the method
Hard work and/or boredom of doing analysis
Most of these are going away…
* From summer 2006 survey (134 responses), available at book site.
Site URL: www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/searchanalytics/
Feed URL: feeds.rosenfeldmedia.com/searchanalytics/
Contact Information
Louis Rosenfeld
Rosenfeld Media, LLC
705 Carroll Street, #2L
Brooklyn, NY 11215 USA
+1.718.306.9396
lou@louisrosenfeld.com
www.louisrosenfeld.com
www.rosenfeldmedia.com