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Turning Search into Find

Turning Search into Find. Peter Merholz p eter m e Creative Director, Epinions.com http://peterme.com/webnyc peterme@peterme.com. As taxonomies grow unwieldy, search engines are perhaps the primary way users navigate a site.

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Turning Search into Find

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  1. Turning Search into Find Peter Merholz peterme Creative Director, Epinions.com http://peterme.com/webnyc peterme@peterme.com

  2. As taxonomies grow unwieldy, search engines are perhaps the primary way users navigate a site. peterme

  3. Search engines are woefully under-designed, usually simply tacked on to an existing mess peterme

  4. Search engine interfaces must be considered in the context of your visitors' tasks--often one-size does not fit all peterme

  5. In this talk we'll study successful and unsuccessful search engine interfaces across a variety of different site types. peterme

  6. Search engine interfaces are typically broken down into two components: • The query interface • 2. The results peterme

  7. The query interface peterme

  8. The query interface • I know exactly what I want. • The least interesting challenge. Just stay out of the user's way. • ‘Kodak DC290’ - Outpost.com, Egghead.com, Buy.com, peterme

  9. The query interface • I have a good idea of what I want. • Sparks.com sentence constructionZagat.com sentence construction.Filtering mechanisms w/in a hierarchy.¶ • Computers.com Immediate feedback. • compare.net peterme

  10. The query interface • I'm researching a general topic--most common • Categories – ‘digital camera’ • Egghead.com, cnet, amazon.com • Browsing through results • Nobody does this well • Remember previous queries • Microsoft knowledge base peterme

  11. The query interface • I have no idea what I want • Offer inspiration • Violet.com • Recommend based on previous likes • Reel.com movie matches peterme

  12. The results interface peterme

  13. The results interface • The information • Necessary • The item in questionAn important identifying attribute • If e-commerce, price peterme

  14. The results interface • The information • Nice to have • Ratings – amazon.com • Context – latimes.com vs nytimes.com • Pictures – pets.com vs petopia.com peterme

  15. The results interface • The information • Unnecessary URLs – 3com.com SKUs – outpost.com peterme

  16. The results interface • The information - miscellany • Don't grid for the sake of it. – outpost.com • Abject hideousness – ibm.com support search peterme

  17. The results interface • Emphasize "top" results – borders.com • Single best result IBM.com, Apple.com • Prepared by people peterme

  18. The results interface • Number of results • Dreaded 0 • 1 result – go straight to product (garden.com v reel.com) • Too many peterme

  19. The results interface • Sorting • Default and user determined • Relevance – how? • Popularity – bestselling, most page views • Price • Date • Distance peterme

  20. The results interface • Filtering • Amazon.com's age filter • Keyword filter • "within these results” - eBay • Adjusting on the fly – Yahoo! Classifieds peterme

  21. The results interface • More info • Images/no images, a la Staples.com • "zoom" a la Garden.com peterme

  22. The results interface • Paging through results • Users don't • Depends on sort • Alphabetical--letters along bottom (not citysearch.com) peterme

  23. The results interface • Acting • Buying • Saving for later • More like this peterme

  24. The results interface • Helping people • Correcting typos Amazon.com – “Mount Everist” • Search in another place Bn.com title search for ‘intuit’ peterme

  25. A case study--Sparks.com • Goal: lead people to the perfect greeting card • Understood: with rare exception, people don't know the exact card they want; just the occasion it is for. peterme

  26. Sparks.com Query interface • Keyword searchCard finder • Sentences more understandable than boolean operators peterme

  27. Sparks.com Results interface • Look like a card rack at the store • Quick scan for appeal • Clever: rollover for text • Buy or get more info peterme

  28. Results throughout the experience • Browse through list • Return to results • "zoom" mental model peterme

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