Learn how using your site search and the data collected from it can become a multiplier for your marketing.

1. SITE SEARCH AS A MARKETING FORCE
MULTIPLIER
JP SHERMAN
MANAGER OF SEARCH & FINDABILITY
@JPSHERMAN
A WEBINAR

2. A SHORT INTRO
I connect people
to the information
they’re looking for.
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
A global enterprise software company with an
open source development model.

3. EXISTENTIALIST
CONSIDERATIONS
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
I first got involved in search technology in 1997 for US Army Special Operations PSYOP
(Airborne)
I studied Biology & Anthropology with a focus in behavioral science.
I’ve worked for large agencies & small agencies
I’ve worked as an in-house SEO
I helped build a startup that was a search engine for video games
Now, I run search & findability for Red Hat

4. ONSITE SEARCH
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
HOW DO WE MEASURE IT?
WHAT DO WE DO WITH IT?

5. FINDABILITY
THE BEHAVIOR IS
THE SAME
THE PLATFORM
HAS SPLINTERED
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

6. @jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
ONSITE SEARCH
LESS THAN 18% OF ORGS
DEDICATE RESOURCES TO
ONSITE SEARCH

7. @jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
USER ABANDONMENT
55% of users
Will abandon your site if
they cannot find what
they’re looking for
immediately.

8. @jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
USER ABANDONMENT
LESS THAN A SECOND AWAY...

9. THINGS NOT FOUND
CANNOT CONVERT.
IF THEY CAN’T FIND IT,
THEY’RE GONE.
LOST REVENUE
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

10. WHEN IT WORKS
DO BALLOONS DROP?
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

11. @jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
THAT’S THE EXPECTATION.

12. THEY REMEMBER...
A good site-search
experience is what’s
expected.
A bad site-search
experience is remembered
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

13. @jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
THIS IS WHY

14. @jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Amplifies Multiplies Assists Informs
ONSITE SEARCH IS CRITICAL

15. @jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
MEASURING ONSITE SEARCH

16. KEY CONCEPTS
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
FINDABILITY
ACTIVE
BEHAVIORS
PASSIVE
BEHAVIORS
FEATURES
RESULT SET
QUALITY

17. FINDABILITY
How to Measure Findability
◆ What People Do
◆ How People Behave
◆ How People React
◆ Content Presented
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

18. BUT FIRST - SOME SCIENCE
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Search Behavior is Always On
Passive Search Active Search

19. BUT FIRST - SOME BEHAVIOR
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Users Scan Results with a Purpose & Intent
This Means: In the Second a User Sees Your Snippet,
Acceptance and Rejection Criteria are Applied.
The Perception of Value Must be Immediate to Entice a User to
Take an Action

20. BUT FIRST - SOME BEHAVIOR
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Great Results,
Right?

21. BUT FIRST - SOME BEHAVIOR
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

22. ACTIVE BEHAVIORS
The measurements are simple to understand, but it’s the nuance that tells the story
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
You’re Probably Familiar
● Keywords
● CTR
● Conversions
● No Results
● Zero Clicks
● Instances

23. DEFINING “KEYWORD”
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
KEYWORDS AREN’T JUST A BAG OF WORDS.
THEY’RE VEHICLES THROUGH WHICH A USER’S
INTENT IS EXPRESSED.

24. TYPES OF KEYWORDS
HIGH VOLUME, LOW INTENT KEYWORDS
Keywords High Freq/ Low Intent
Example Queries:
● Bikes
● Software
● Smart phones
● College
● Finland
● Books
● Laptops
● Elections
This is the top of the
funnel search behavior.
User Intent Isn’t Specific
● Information
● Ideas
● Knowledge
● Type Selection
● Familiarity
● Definitions
● Topic Review
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

25. Keywords Low Freq/ High Intent
Example Queries:
● Download latest iTunes
● Stream The Clash
● Pictures of cats in baskets
● Vietnamese food near me
● Spicy vegan taco recipes
● Supernatural monsters that
drink human blood
● Latin name for ring-tailed
lemur
● What does coulrophobia
mean?
There is no ambiguity in
the searchers’ intent.
User Intent Is Specific
● Take an action
● View specific thing
● Learn specific thing
● List based content
● Answers to a
specific question
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
TYPES OF KEYWORDS
LOW FREQUENCY, HIGH INTENT

26. PASSIVE BEHAVIORS
The measurements are simple to understand, but it’s the nuance that tells the story
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
These generally require a
bit of dev.
● Consumption
● Dwell Time
● Time from Query to
Conversion

27. SEARCH FEATURES
The measurements are simple to understand, but it’s the nuance that tells the story
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Things on a SERP
● More Like This
● Facets
● Knowledge Graphs
● Query Suggestion/
Completion

28. WHAT ARE SEARCH FEATURES?
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
AUTOCOMPLETE/
AUTOSUGGEST
FACETS
KEYMATCH
KNOWLEDGE
GRAPH
NATURAL RESULTS

29. FEATURE CTR & FINDABILITY
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
26%
32%
12%
68%
71%
53%
Feature
CTR
Weighted
Findability
Score

30. WHAT’S A GOOD CTR FOR ONSITE SEARCH?
Users have very high expectations… (thanks Google)
CTR < 75% CTR > 75%
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

31. RESULT SET QUALITY
The measurements are simple to understand, but it’s the nuance that tells the story
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Content Shown on a SERP
● Average Rank
● Content as Impression
● Keyword CTR
● Consumption/
Conversion from
Keyword

32. DEFINING FINDABILITY
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Findability
The ability of a person to find
what they’re looking for
quickly and with minimal effort
Relevance
The ability of an information
retrieval system to deliver the
content that matches the
user’s intent.

33. MEASURING FINDABILITY
The Likelihood a Human Will Find What They’re Looking For
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Findability
Active
Behaviors
Passive
Behaviors
Search
Features
Result Set
Quality

34. HOW TO IMPROVE SERP
The SERP is the first thing users see after a search & impressions are critical
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
SEARCH EXPERIENCE
OPTIMIZATION
● SERP Design
● Snippet Design
● Contextual Bias
● Search Features
● Respect Users’ Time

35. IMPROVEMENTS: AUTOSUGGEST
Autosuggest is recommending queries that the user may be looking for.
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Starting with the Search
Experience

36. IMPROVEMENTS: AUTOSUGGEST
Autosuggest is recommending queries that the user may be looking for.
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Searches w/out
autosuggest
CTR: 42%
CR: 3.9%
Searches w/
autosuggest
CTR: 57%
CR: 5.1%

37. IMPROVEMENTS: AUTOCOMPLETE
Reduce the steps between query and discovery
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

38. IMPROVEMENTS: AUTOCOMPLETE
Reduce the steps between query and discovery
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Searches w/out
autocomplete
6.3 seconds
to click
Searches w/
autocomplete
4.5 seconds
to click

39. IMPROVEMENTS: ALTERNATE
PATHS
Search will fail. Give users easily recognizable alternate paths
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Users will experience a search failure.
Giving users a way to refine, tips to search
again, a place for feedback will improve
the search experience.
Users w/out assistance re-searched 33%
Users w/ assistance re-searched 59%

40. IMPROVEMENTS: GEO CONTEXT
Location can influence the intent of the user for the same keyword
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Keyword: Bike Tires
Santa Monica Colorado Springs
Location Bias Can
Deliver Intent
Road Bike Tires Mountain Bike Tires

41. IMPROVEMENTS: KNOWLEDGE GRAPHS
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Knowledge Graphs
High Volume/ Low
Intent
Allows the user to
immediately focus on
what their intent is
when it’s not clear in
the query.

42. HOW TO IMPROVE RESULTS
The Good News… Most of this, you already know how to do
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
You Know This Stuff!
● Content
● Metadata
● Structured Markup
● Internal Links
● Relevant Titles
● UI/UX
But there’s more. So much more.

43. SEO, BUT FOR ONSITE SEARCH
The work you already do...
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
But… Keyword Meta Tags for Onsite Search.
It’s a Real Thing.

44. MEASURE CONTENT EFFICACY
Measure the end results, then trace it back.
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Attributes of Content in an Onsite Search Context
● Keyword Universe
● Conversions
● Consumption
● Impressions
● Average Rank
● Clicks
● CTR

45. MEASURE CONTENT EFFICACY
Measure the end results, then trace it back.
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Peach Pie Recipies
Peach Pies
Peach Pie Recipies
Peach Pie Gallery
Peach Pie Ideas
Page Impressions
Page Conversions
Page Consumptions
Average Rank
1000
6%
42%
6.5

46. MEASURE CONTENT EFFICACY
Measure the end results, then trace it back.
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Peach Pie Recipies
Peach Pies
Peach Pie Recipies
Peach Pie Gallery
Peach Pie Ideas
200
600
150
50
Keyword Stats
Impressions
1%
6%
0.05%
4%
Conversions
7.2
1.5
2.2
8
Avg Rank

47. MEASURE CONTENT EFFICACY
Measure the end results, then trace it back.
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Peach Pie Recipies
Peach Pies
Peach Pie Recipies
Peach Pie Gallery
Peach Pie Ideas
De-boost keyword for low performance
Keep page as is
Content revision pipeline “why does this rank?”
Work to increase rank in site search

48. TESTING… IS THIS THING ON?
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Me.
At work
I have an idea.
Because I know
things.
I run tests. Now I know
more things.
Yay?
TEST. ANALYZE. REPEAT.

49. TESTING… IS THIS THING ON?
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
I FAIL. A LOT.

50. DISAMBIGUATION FOR SIMILAR SEARCHES
Understand Where Your Customers Primarily Interact With You.
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

51. RIGHT... AGAIN WITH THE MOBILE.
Understand Where Your Customers Primarily Interact With You.
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

52. TEN BLUE LINKS MAY NOT EVEN WORK
Some products lend themselves to be more visual, or more comparative.
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

53. BLENDED SEARCH RESULTS
Just display all the things
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

54. GOOGLE’S EXPECTATION HEGEMONY
Look, it may seem that the ten blue links is what should happen
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
I mean, Google wouldn’t do it unless it works right? Going against what
Google does seems… wrong.
Google is changing its SERP constantly

55. GOOGLE’S EXPECTATION HEGEMONY
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar
Be a heretic. Be an apostate. Serve only your customers.

56. KEY TAKEAWAYS TO IMPROVE ONSITE
SEARCH
Make a plan, make a change every month, measure it & repeat.
It’s not that hard
Change the Snippet
Change the SERP design
Add Contextual Information
Measure, Measure, Measure
Don’t forget, mobile is unique
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

57. WHAT IF YOU DON’T HAVE A SEARCH DEV
TEAM?
Onsite Search is proving its value over & over - there are options
@jpsherman @deepcrawl #deepcrawlwebinar

58. THANK YOU
Find me on Twitter @jpsherman