When we talk about search, what do you think about? Algorithms? Databases? Search is one of the most commonly used tools on the web, yet we treat it like a math problem. If we start with human behavior, expectations and patterns, we can design a search that is easier and more satisfying to use. We'll cover how users think of search, how they behave in information environments, common mistakes in testing and designing search, and how to make a better finding experience.

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Understanding Search
Christina Wodtke

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Search is a Tardis
• Search lets you go everywhere in time and
space
• Search is there when you need it, where
ever you are
• Search is bigger on the inside

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This is not search

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This is not search

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This is search

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Search is a system, not a page
• It underlies all activities on the web.
• It is an environment people are learning to
live in: ambient search
• It must be accessed everywhere the user
may need it, from desktop to ipad to kiosk

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Is search so different?
• User behave differently when searching
• Much faster
• Requires articulation rather than recognition
• Expectations high
• Tunnel vision

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Interface
Precision
Recall
User Psychology

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Speed of People Searching
is a Challenge
• People take only a
second to search
• People want to take
only a second

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Researching Search
• Traditional research
mars results
• Requires different
research methods
– Eyetracking
– Bucket testing
– Ethnography

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Search must be Easy
• Help overcome “query block”
• Offer tools for articulation
• Use disambiguation tools
• Give answers, not just links

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Query block?

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Articulation Problems
• The vast number of searches are under 3 words
• IN the US, 42% are single-word queries
http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/keyword-stats.html

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Search must be Easy
Help overcome “query block”

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Query helpers
Popular searches

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Use disambiguation tools

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Vertical Search
Vertical search

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Vertical Search
• As part of the system, how does vertical
search help?
– Disambiguation tool
– Allows for greater precision
– Some searches highly consumable
– Raises awareness of offering

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Vertical Search- Challenges
User tunnel vision

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Don’t overwhelm
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• 13 tabs– no one
saw them. Six tabs,
everyone saw them

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Embed.

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No one uses filters

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Except when they do

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Or they really really do

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ANSWERS

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What do you know?
• Search is a question whose answer is not
always a website (or an article)
• What ANSWERS are possible?

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Search must be Easy
Give answers, not just links

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Best Bets (human intervention)
• Analyze the
head
• Analyze
content
• Maximize
the
knowledge

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Human disambiguation
How do you use
editorial to best
effect?
Humans don’t scale.

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Zipf curve (for search)
Most common searches (head)
Least common searches
(tail)

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Logs FTW

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How people search

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Answers

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What unique answers do you
possess?
• Your product knowledge
• Your teams
• Common issues

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Search must be Fast
• Must retrieve results quickly
• Must load results quickly
• Must be read quickly
Scan time is as important as load time.
Every pixel has a job to do.

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Every pixel has a job to do.

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Comprehensive
Users expect you to look everywhere
From Peter Morville’s Search Patterns

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Federated

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Findable
Tag it!
 Images don’t have descriptive metadata
 Many documents don’t have the words users use
 Metadata can also let you give the user more options for
searching and displaying results
 Search Analytics hint: Search Logs can provide insight into
the attributes users care most about

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Simple Complex
Synonym
Rings
Authority
Files
Thesauri
Classification
Schemes
Equivalence Hierarchical Associative
(Vocabularies)
(Relationships)
Controlled Vocabulary Types

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Controlled vocabularies
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A=B A
B
A B
Equivalence
Christmas=
Xmas
Hierarchal
Winter
Holidays >
Christmas
Associative
Christmas
Tree | Santa
Claus

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Synonym rings
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• Simplest type
• Helps with search, indexing
• Simplifies maintenance

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Synonym rings include
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• Acronyms: BBC, British Broadcasting
Company; MPG, miles per gallon
• Variant spellings: cancelled, canceled;
honor, honour
• Scientific terms versus popular use
terms: acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin;
lilioceris, lily beetle
– From Synonym Rings and Authority Files
by Karl Fast, Fred Leise and Mike Steckel

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Why Bother?
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• Sometimes on
intranets, CV’s are
skipped
• You think you can
force people to use
proper terms
• But people are
lazy/busy/distracted
I’m tired of typing “Controlled
Vocabulary--- CV is shorter.

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Precision
• Usually left to the engineers (don’t do that)
• Users give up rather than check the
second page of results
• The first answer must be the right answer

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SME testing

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Mind-reading expected
And increasingly delivered

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Jakob Nielsen:
“Poor search was the
greatest single cause of
reduced usability across
intranets we have
seen, aside from the general
lack of executive support
and budget. Search usability
accounted for an estimated
43% of the difference in
employee productivity
between intranets with high
and low usability.”

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Let’s Get Doctorin’ the TARDIS
Christina Wodtke
@cwodtke
cwodtke@eleganthack.com
Information Architecture:
Blueprints for the Web
www.boxesandarrows.com

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LET’S DISCUSS
What is search for you?