3 ways to improve searchability

3 Ways to Improve SearchabilityTheresa PutkeyInformation Architect & Taxonomisttputkey@keypointe.ca@tputkeywww.keypointe.ca

Search is an afterthought, even though we say users can use it to find everything*.

*the kitchen sink, my missing sock, my sunglasses that I took on vacation and were “lost” in my suitcase for 2 months

Why Do I Care About Searchability?

● Search is one of the two main ways users find information

● Search is easy to implement but hard to make effective● Users are typically untrained searchers and need help

Users change search strategy only 1% of the time; 99% of the time they plod along a single unwavering path.

Whether the true number is 2% or 0.5%, the big-picture conclusion is the same: users have extraordinarily inadequate research skills when it comes to solving problems on the Web.

Jakob Nielsen www.nngroup.com/articles/incompetent-search-skills/

What Is Searchability?

Definition: The ease with which users can search for information on your site. Users start with the search box, enter a term, and then continue to refine their results either with filters or more search terms.

What Is Searchability?

In this context, I am talking about on-site search, or internal search, and not external search from a search engine.

3 Steps to Identify Searchability Problems

Look at Site Search Analytics

● Site search analytics essentially keep track of everything that users have searched for on your site

● What are the most frequently searched terms?

Look at Metadata and Taxonomy

● Are you using metadata and taxonomy? ● Are you using them consistently? ● Can users filter search results by metadata and

taxonomy?● Does your taxonomy support synonyms and

keywords?

Test It!

● Doing user testing helps find more problems● Plan and conduct user testing that focuses on search

and search results refinement● Problems can include unclear use of filters, badly laid

out filters, or a badly designed search results page

Fixing Searchability Problems

Site Search Analytics

● Go on! Search for those frequently searched terms. See what comes up. Are these results appropriate?

● Can the site search be adjusted to show promoted results?

● Why aren’t the right pages showing up? Could it have something to do with metadata and taxonomy?

Metadata and Taxonomy

● Improve the metadata and taxonomy ● Improve the synonyms and keywords in the taxonomy● Use metadata and taxonomy consistently● Improve the search engine results page to show filters

User Testing Results

● Prioritize the findings from the user testing● Plan how to resolve these issues either on the web

team, with the content creators, or the website/IT team

What’s Next?

Learn More

● Follow the Key Pointe Newsletter at http://bit.ly/2atccXl

● Read Ambient Findability by Peter Morville● Read Search Analytics for Your Site by Louis

Rosenfeld● Read Designing the Search Experience by Tony

Russell-Rose

Theresa Putkeytputkey@keypointe.cawww.keypointe.ca@tputkeyca.linkedin.com/in/tputkey604 563 6317