Benefits of Search Part 1 - Learning from External Search

Benefits of Search Part 1 - Learning from External Search

Benjamin Christie | 19/09/2008

You might have noticed that the Wiliam website search is powered by the Google Mini Search Appliance. You are probably well aware of the importance of a good search feature for your website.  Statistics show that up to 80% of your users will leave a web site if the search is poor. However, have you ever considered the benefits that can be reaped from the data generated from your search tool?

Here are some of the ways we’ve used this data:

Create New Content and Blogs
By reviewing the keywords you enter, we can evaluate the content available on our site and our blog to ensure these topics are adequately covered. Not only does this data help drive the direction of new content but it ensures our efforts are producing the information you find most valuable.

Update and Reword Existing Content and Blogs
Sometimes we find that certain search keywords are not returning valuable content due to the wording. In these instances, we will modify the content or blog post to include the keywords you expect, ensuring they will rank higher in the search results.

Expand our Range of Service
Your searches help us understand what services you may need in the future. If we notice a growing interest with an emerging innovation we will ensure we understand the impact this technology could pose to our clients. This may lead us to offer a new service as well.

Create KeyMatch Entries
If we review which links are accessed most often from a specific set of search results, we can configure a KeyMatch.  Links configured as KeyMatches will jump to the top of the search results when their corresponding keywords are used.

Create Related Keywords or Synonyms
Often times, there are several related terms that have the same meaning and should display similar search results. Perhaps you have a project called “Project Blue Aardvark”.  To locate information on this topic someone may search “Project Blue Aardvark”, “Project BA” or “Arvark” (misspelled). Synonyms allow us to connect these terms so that all relevant information is returned in the search results. By reviewing recent searches we can see what variations or even misspellings are being used.

Join us for the Benefits of Search Part 2 where we will look at the benefits of internal search.

tags: Technology ,  Search ,  Web Strategy