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Casual Articles - How to Improve Your Site Search
Give information – In contrast th the empty hype which we find in many mass-media commercials, website are expected to provide information. Design your website for the visitors you are looking to attract.Solve a problem, satisfy a “want” - There is a difference between “features” and “benefits”. Features are facts regarding a service or product. Benefits are the way in which those features will directly improve people's lives. Examples: saving time, saving money, improving appearance. Note: You must be very descriptive in naming the benefits to be effective. How many times have you seen an ad boasting 'Save time and Money!”. People ignore it nowadays because it's too general and commonplace.Focus on your customer, not on
This means that your search engine has to account for people making basic knowledge-based spelling mistakes.
Your search engine should also account for people who know how to spell what they are looking for, but make typing errors. The main categories of typing error are:
- Characters close to one another on the keyboard being entered erroneously (either in place of - or in addition to - the correct letter). For example: wrong/wring ; for/dfor.
- Characters being omitted. For example: missing/missng ; oliver's/olivers.
- Characters being entered too many times. For example: impossible/imposssible.
- Characters being entered in the wrong order. For example: disaply/display ; being/ebing.
Your search engine should allow people to make these
If you are running a small business and have ever felt at your wits end when things seem to be going wrong one after the other, then you could probably take great comfort from having a business mentor. A business mentor is someone who is there to listen to ideas and your thoughts and give you some insight from personal experience in business.However a business mentor is so much more than just a sounding board and someone who gives advice, over time trust will build up between the two of you along with friendship if you allow it. The course will depend on the ground rules which you set out at the beginning of the partnership and this should be clearly outlined.Having a business mentor around can help in so many ways, perhap
As an example: on Monday 12th December 2005, I wanted to buy a copy of Jamie Oliver's new cook book Jamie's Italy from amazon.co.uk. So, I went to the "Books" section of their website and searched for "olivers italy" and these 9 items appeared on the results page:
1. "The American Tractor" by Patrick W. Ertel
2. "A Garden in Lucca: Finding Paradise in Tuscany" by Paul Gervais
3. "History in Exile: Memory and Identity at the Borders of the Balkans" by Pamela Ballinger
4. "Oliver Tractors" by Jeff Hackett, Mike Schaefer
5. "Wyoming (Moon Handbooks S.)" by Don Pitcher
6. "Wines of Australia (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides)" by James Halliday
7. "All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide to Jazz Music" by Ron Wynn (Editor), et al.
8. "Larousse Gastronomique: The World's Greatest Cookery Encyclopedia" by Prosper Montagne
9. "The Teacher's Calendar: The Day-By-Day Directory to Holidays, Historical Events, Birthdays and Special Days, Weeks and Months" by Holly McGuire (Compiler), et al.
Jamie Oliver's book didn't appear anywhere on the results page, even though it had been Amazon's 3rd best-selling book in the previous 24 hours.
The problem was that I had typed "olivers italy", instead of "oliver's italy" (which would have returned Jamie Oliver's at the top of the search results list). That single missing apostrophe was all that it took for Amazon's expensive search engine to splutter, fall over and fail.
So - if Amazon can't do it, it must be impossible, right?
Wrong - here are some things the boys & girls at Amazon could - and should - have thought about.
Two types of problems
There are two basic types of problems that a user can experience when they are searching for something:
- User-error - the correct search term is entered incorrectly (i.e. the user intends to enter a search term that would cause the search engine to return results that are relevant to their needs, but they enter it incorrectly).
- Search engine error - the wrong search term is entered (i.e. the user enters a search term that the search engine does not relate to their needs).
User error
People generally enter the correct search term incorrectly because they either:
- Don't know how to spell it.
- Have made a typing error
It's important to realise that there are millions of potential customers who can't spell very well. For example, a 2003 survey of the literacy (i.e. reading and writing) estimated that there were 16% of English adults (aged 16 to 65-year-olds) had literacy levels no higher than those expected of an 11 year-old (source: The Skills for Life Survey).
Also, let's not forget that according to the British Dyslexia Association around 4% of the population are severely dyslexic and a further 6% have mild to moderate dyslexia problems.
This means that your search engine has to account for people making basic knowledge-based spelling mistakes.
Your search engine should also account for people who know how to spell what they are looking for, but make typing errors. The main categories of typing error are:
- Characters close to one another on the keyboard being entered erroneously (either in place of - or in addition to - the correct letter). For example: wrong/wring ; for/dfor.
- Characters being omitted. For example: missing/missng ; oliver's/olivers.
- Characters being entered too many times. For example: impossible/imposssible.
- Characters being entered in the wrong order. For example: disaply/display ; being/ebing.
Your search engine should allow people to make these
One of the most tedious, yet most important tasks that exist for an eBay business is packing and shipping product to buyers. One of the keys to make money on eBay is to package products safely so they arrive in exactly the condition that the buyer expects and in a timely manner as is well.To make money on eBay requires that a businessperson recognize when it is time to add employees. One of the first employees to consider adding is a packer-shipper. Before you make this decision however, be sure to check the local, state and federal laws and regulations regarding conducting a business from your home. There are also rules and regulations regarding employees. Be sure that you understand and adhere to all of them.It doesn’t m
5. "Wyoming (Moon Handbooks S.)" by Don Pitcher
6. "Wines of Australia (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides)" by James Halliday
7. "All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide to Jazz Music" by Ron Wynn (Editor), et al.
8. "Larousse Gastronomique: The World's Greatest Cookery Encyclopedia" by Prosper Montagne
9. "The Teacher's Calendar: The Day-By-Day Directory to Holidays, Historical Events, Birthdays and Special Days, Weeks and Months" by Holly McGuire (Compiler), et al.
Jamie Oliver's book didn't appear anywhere on the results page, even though it had been Amazon's 3rd best-selling book in the previous 24 hours.
The problem was that I had typed "olivers italy", instead of "oliver's italy" (which would have returned Jamie Oliver's at the top of the search results list). That single missing apostrophe was all that it took for Amazon's expensive search engine to splutter, fall over and fail.
So - if Amazon can't do it, it must be impossible, right?
Wrong - here are some things the boys & girls at Amazon could - and should - have thought about.
Two types of problems
There are two basic types of problems that a user can experience when they are searching for something:
- User-error - the correct search term is entered incorrectly (i.e. the user intends to enter a search term that would cause the search engine to return results that are relevant to their needs, but they enter it incorrectly).
- Search engine error - the wrong search term is entered (i.e. the user enters a search term that the search engine does not relate to their needs).
User error
People generally enter the correct search term incorrectly because they either:
- Don't know how to spell it.
- Have made a typing error
It's important to realise that there are millions of potential customers who can't spell very well. For example, a 2003 survey of the literacy (i.e. reading and writing) estimated that there were 16% of English adults (aged 16 to 65-year-olds) had literacy levels no higher than those expected of an 11 year-old (source: The Skills for Life Survey).
Also, let's not forget that according to the British Dyslexia Association around 4% of the population are severely dyslexic and a further 6% have mild to moderate dyslexia problems.
This means that your search engine has to account for people making basic knowledge-based spelling mistakes.
Your search engine should also account for people who know how to spell what they are looking for, but make typing errors. The main categories of typing error are:
- Characters close to one another on the keyboard being entered erroneously (either in place of - or in addition to - the correct letter). For example: wrong/wring ; for/dfor.
- Characters being omitted. For example: missing/missng ; oliver's/olivers.
- Characters being entered too many times. For example: impossible/imposssible.
- Characters being entered in the wrong order. For example: disaply/display ; being/ebing.
Your search engine should allow people to make these
Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work? The first place to start is acquiring knowledge. You need to know all you can about business in general and your product or service specifically. And there are many ways to find this information, some of which will only cost you your time and energy. But before you invest any money in your new business you need to invest in information.So what do you need to know? First and foremost is whether your product/service is unique or if not can your company provide a better, more reliable and/or less costly version of your competition’s version. Know who your competition is, the market area they cover, their price points, warranty coverage, marketing campaigns, etc. And then ask “ca
So - if Amazon can't do it, it must be impossible, right?
Wrong - here are some things the boys & girls at Amazon could - and should - have thought about.
Two types of problems
There are two basic types of problems that a user can experience when they are searching for something:
- User-error - the correct search term is entered incorrectly (i.e. the user intends to enter a search term that would cause the search engine to return results that are relevant to their needs, but they enter it incorrectly).
- Search engine error - the wrong search term is entered (i.e. the user enters a search term that the search engine does not relate to their needs).
User error
People generally enter the correct search term incorrectly because they either:
- Don't know how to spell it.
- Have made a typing error
It's important to realise that there are millions of potential customers who can't spell very well. For example, a 2003 survey of the literacy (i.e. reading and writing) estimated that there were 16% of English adults (aged 16 to 65-year-olds) had literacy levels no higher than those expected of an 11 year-old (source: The Skills for Life Survey).
Also, let's not forget that according to the British Dyslexia Association around 4% of the population are severely dyslexic and a further 6% have mild to moderate dyslexia problems.
This means that your search engine has to account for people making basic knowledge-based spelling mistakes.
Your search engine should also account for people who know how to spell what they are looking for, but make typing errors. The main categories of typing error are:
- Characters close to one another on the keyboard being entered erroneously (either in place of - or in addition to - the correct letter). For example: wrong/wring ; for/dfor.
- Characters being omitted. For example: missing/missng ; oliver's/olivers.
- Characters being entered too many times. For example: impossible/imposssible.
- Characters being entered in the wrong order. For example: disaply/display ; being/ebing.
Your search engine should allow people to make these
Most successful employers have similar traits when it comes to being driven to succeed. They are perfectionist to the point of almost being obsessive compulsive; happen to be extremely motivated, and stubborn to a fault, and at times extremely difficult to deal with. Nothing gets in their way; they do not dwell on problems, but seek solutions. Their vision is to do whatever it takes to get from point A to Point B while avoiding as many bumps on the road as possible. To accomplish what they have set out to do has been carefully planned, and they try to leave very little to chance.Most employees who are working at a job or had in the past might have felt their employers are unreasonable. Maybe in certain cases that would be true. H
User error
People generally enter the correct search term incorrectly because they either:
- Don't know how to spell it.
- Have made a typing error
It's important to realise that there are millions of potential customers who can't spell very well. For example, a 2003 survey of the literacy (i.e. reading and writing) estimated that there were 16% of English adults (aged 16 to 65-year-olds) had literacy levels no higher than those expected of an 11 year-old (source: The Skills for Life Survey).
Also, let's not forget that according to the British Dyslexia Association around 4% of the population are severely dyslexic and a further 6% have mild to moderate dyslexia problems.
This means that your search engine has to account for people making basic knowledge-based spelling mistakes.
Your search engine should also account for people who know how to spell what they are looking for, but make typing errors. The main categories of typing error are:
- Characters close to one another on the keyboard being entered erroneously (either in place of - or in addition to - the correct letter). For example: wrong/wring ; for/dfor.
- Characters being omitted. For example: missing/missng ; oliver's/olivers.
- Characters being entered too many times. For example: impossible/imposssible.
- Characters being entered in the wrong order. For example: disaply/display ; being/ebing.
Your search engine should allow people to make these
More and more corporate workers are leaving their jobs to start new ventures. When taking this leap, it is important that the goals of these entrepreneurs are solid, as these goals may ultimately determine the success of the new venture.Unfortunately, many new entrepreneurs have goals that don’t naturally lead to long-term success. Some of these goals include 1) being sick and tired of the same old corporate routine, 2) dissatisfaction with the way their corporation is run (think bureaucracy), and 3) feeling they are underpaid or underappreciated in their current jobs.While these goals will be fulfilled when launching a new venture, they should not be the core reason to start one. Core goals should deeply engrained ambitio
This means that your search engine has to account for people making basic knowledge-based spelling mistakes.
Your search engine should also account for people who know how to spell what they are looking for, but make typing errors. The main categories of typing error are:
- Characters close to one another on the keyboard being entered erroneously (either in place of - or in addition to - the correct letter). For example: wrong/wring ; for/dfor.
- Characters being omitted. For example: missing/missng ; oliver's/olivers.
- Characters being entered too many times. For example: impossible/imposssible.
- Characters being entered in the wrong order. For example: disaply/display ; being/ebing.
Your search engine should allow people to make these mistakes and still return useful and relevant results.
Even though we have named these types of issues ‘User error', if your search engine fails to return information that that the user is looking for it is, of course, your fault and not theirs!
Search engine error
When people enter the wrong term into a search engine, it is only wrong because you have not anticipated it. You should aim to cover as many bases and anticipate as many different search terms as possible.
What to do
The next steps for making your search engine perform better are really simple:
- Sit down and make a list of all the spelling errors, typing errors and alternative search terms that you think could possibly be relevant to your site (e.g. actually look at your keyboard and think about what letters are close to one another).
- Ask other people in your organisation to make similar lists.
- Do some research into what search terms people are using on your site (e.g. interviews, questionnaires, check your search engine logs, etc.)
- Apply everything you learn to your search engine.
And that's it. You now have the knowledge you need to begin improving your site's search engine.
Other thoughts
- Improvements in word processing software have made people lazy typists. Software that auto-corrects many spelling and typing errors means that people are no longer forced to review and correct their work to the same extent as in the past. This means that many people are getting out of the habit of precise spelling/typing. So, when they move out of an auto-correcting environment (and onto a website, for example) they are more likely to make - and less likely to notice/correct - mistakes!
- Search results pages should display the search term the user entered in large text (e.g. 28pt). This would help people spot any inadvertent errors.Results pages should also provide the telephone numbers for customer enquiries/assistance.
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