Brian Lyall — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:53:29 GMT

Nice.

Having researched search in some depth over the past year and a half I have to add that search, and the experience of performing a search, is so very dependant on how the content owner approaches the challenges of:

a) Organising their content (their collection, or collections)

b) Indexing their collection

c) Presenting search results

d) Adding value to the entire experience in regards to pre- and post-search functionality and usability

Fundamentally these elements contribute to how effective a site search is, as opposed to the wider public search engines effectiveness.

A simple example of c) and d) is “pre-canned” results. Set by a site admin team these can add incredible weight to how users find the right result first time. This in itself points to just how all the primary skills of IA lend themselves to a better site search tool.

These pre-set results are triggered by query patterns and can cover misspellings, adapt to varying approaches to locating similar answers and also provide a gentle nudge to user so that they can build a better picture of what a site structure really does contain.

Additionally, if there was any one overriding lesson I’ve learnt it’s that search functionality needs constant (and consistent) review in order to remain a great tool for any site. Constantly reviewing search logs and relating them to media or national events, marketing initiatives or site changes must be folded in to regular cycles of content reviews and usage tracking.

Skipping this essential work means that not only do you miss identifying badly returned result sets, ill judged ranking weights and (frankly) badly indexed content – but you also miss a chance to understand and adapt to the user experience.

Cheers

Brian

Boxes and Arrows: Comments by Brian Lyall