When search words are misleading
The words people use when searching are not always a true reflection of what they’re really looking for.
Millions of people search for cheap hotels but are they really looking for a cheap hotel? Or are many of them in search of a five star hotel at a cheap price? And even if they are looking […]
The economics of classification
Everything that is added to a classification subtracts from what is already there, prompting the question: Has more been added than subtracted?
I use a survey service called SurveyMonkey a lot. It’s a great service. Recently, they upgraded, adding lots of new features. The problem is that some of the older features that I regularly use […]
What search says about what people think
Bill Tancer, general manager of global research at Hitwise, writing for Time:
Perhaps Internet actions speak louder than survey answers. Take the cost of gasoline. Despite gasoline prices reaching an all-time high this month, searches for “gas prices” during September 2005, when gas prices breached the $3/gallon mark, were six times greater than last week when […]
How to professionally manage search
To manage search on your website, don’t manage the technology or the content. Manage the task. Success is about finding, not searching.
The following are the steps involved in professionally managing search:
Identify the top 200-400 search terms on your website. These top 200-400 terms will usually represent a very significant percentage of search volume.
Identify the correct […]
Google changes information management
The success of Google proves that if you manage content professionally, tremendous value is delivered.
Imagine you are very rich and you have a big house. One evening you have guests over. One of the guests asks you where the toilet (restroom) is. You give them instructions and off they go.
After a few turns they […]
