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10 WAYS TO IMPROVE
FINDABILITY
CONVERSION CONFERENCE
MAY 2015
Scott Gunter - Usability Sciences@usabilitydotcom
sgunter@usabilitysciences.com
#convcon
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
I want you to think about the last time you visited a website where you were
intending to buy something.
Now, I’d like you to raise your hand if you found exactly what you were
looking for.
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Over 50% of website
visitors are unable to find
what they are looking for
Source: Usability Sciences 10 million+ site intercept survey responses across
500+ websites
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Why is findability a big issue?
Every website in the world has one thing in common.
It’s a place where people go to find something whether it be a
product, service, what your friends is doing, etc.
So it shouldn't shock you that visitors not being able to find what
they were looking for is the top reason for visit failure.
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Findability
Site Search
On-site keyword search
Navigation
Visual and interactive
presentation of the taxonomy
Taxonomy
Hierarchical structure of a
website’s content
Major influencers of poor findability
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
(1) Align category labels to
how your customers think
not how your business thinks
Taxonomy
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Lamp
Waste Containers
Internal jargon not matching customers way of thinking
Overly wordy labels for SEO purposes
Trash
Cans
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Incorrectly located within “Scary” Costumes
Incorrectly located within “TV & Movie” Costumes
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Kitchen & Tableware
We recently conducted taxonomy research for
a discount variety store’s website.
The goal was to develop a user-driven
taxonomy. We did that by conducting several
rounds of card sorting exercises with target
customers.
One key learning that came out of this research
was related to where food products should be
located within their taxonomy.
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Food Household
What we learned is that customers preferred to
group food items separate from kitchen-related
items.
Providing a separate Food category as well as
changing the original category to Household
made it easier for customers to locate items on
the website.
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
A taxonomy is like your garage. After years
and years of adding stuff to it, it might be
time to take everything out and reorganize
it.
At least once a year, evaluate your
taxonomy to ensure it is meeting your
customer’s needs.
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
(4) Always provide an option
to ‘browse by category’ on
mobile channels
Navigation
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
(5) Don’t rely on
manufacturer information
alone for product filtering
Navigation
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Because this apparel site is only using
manufacturer supplied sizes they ended
up with multiple attributes that mean the
same thing to participants: X-Large and
1X, XXL and 2X, and XXXL and 3X.
This creates confusion and makes the list
of attributes unnecessarily long.
In this example, like sizes should be
consolidated making it easier for
costumers to find the right product.
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Always provide pre-defined price ranges in
addition to a user-definable price range
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Notice the number of columns as well as the redundant use of category labels like Baby
Shower, Wedding, Bridal Shower, Carnival, and Graduation. This makes it difficult for
visitors to find the right category.
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Page
fold
Not only do you have an overwhelming number
of columns and vertical groupings, but you also
have graphical elements that, in our experience,
will be viewed as ads.
Additionally, the menu completely covers up the
contents of the page and that’s at a pretty high
monitor resolution (1920 x 1080).
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
While this next example is light on the number of categories displayed, the use of
graphics along with the a mixture of font sizes and colors makes it difficult for visitors to
quickly decide which category to select. So again, be careful to not over use your mega
menu.
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Clothing
Website
(1) Link to assumed term(s) (2) Assumes what you meant
Handling Misspellings
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Either the site doesn’t allow me to search by SKU # or the shirt is
longer available. Either way I’m not happy because I had money in
hand and couldn’t buy what I wanted.
So if you are the site owner, how do you handle a situation like
this?
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
First off, you should always visitors to search by SKU #.
Here’s why…
We conducted research for a jeans brand several years ago that, at the time, did not
offer visitors the ability to search by SKU #. The research uncovered that searching by
SKU # was a highly desired feature. After adding this capability to their search
engine, they experienced a lift in overall sales that the client tied directly to the
addition of this capability.
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Unfortunately, the item “T32670” is no longer available.
However, here are some similar products to choose from.
Now, if you offer searching by SKU #, but the product is no longer available then a
different approach is needed.
Our recommendation is to leverage your database of discontinued SKU #’s so that
when a search is conducted on one of those SKU #’s you can return a list of similar
products along with a statement indicating that “Unfortunately, the item you searched
for is no longer available. However, here are some similar products to choose from.”
This could potentially help “save the sell” for your website.
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
…one consistent and seamless
experience across channels…
…wherever, whenever.
In Store
Desktop
Mobile
Social Media
TabletDesktop
Mobile
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Button
“Find item in store” link overlooked on mobile
device.
This was because a link was used on mobile
rather than the more easily noticed button on
desktop and tablet versions of the site.
This inconsistency directly impacted the visitors
ability to purchase and is why consistency is
important for the omni-channel shopper.
Techniques for exposing the root cause of
findability issues
Do You Have A Findability Issue?
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
The fastest, most productive route to identifying findability
issues is to deploy a site intercept survey.
How successful were you in
finding your desired product?
What’s the purpose
of your visit?
If you were not
successful, why?
What product are
you looking for?
Beginning of visit… …end of visitTailor questions
Conduct deeper analysis
If your taxonomy is at fault…
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Stakeholder Interviews
Card Sort or Tree Test
Competitive Taxonomy Assessment
Focus Groups
Tree Test
Stakeholder Interviews provide the necessary background for a successful
research project.
Card Sorting helps you find out how people think your content should be
organized.
Tree Testing helps you evaluate an existing taxonomy.
Expert Review of a competitor’s taxonomy targets understanding how your
competitors approach their online taxonomy.
Focus Groups provide perspective from target audiences on their preferences
for locating information.
Tree Testing is an effective method for validating whether a proposed
taxonomy will make it easier for visitors to find what they are looking for.
Discovery &
Recommendation
Development
Background
Validation
Card Sorting
Card Sorting is a process where participants are asked to arrange products from your website into groups that make sense to them.
Then they are asked to name each group
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Tree Testing
Tree Testing is a process where participants are asked to identify the location of content within a simplified text version of your site structure (the tree).
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
This ensures that the structure is evaluated in isolation, nullifying the effects of navigational aids, visual design, and other factors.
If your navigation is at fault…
Lab-based usability test
8 one-on-one sessions
Perform series of designed tasks focusing on navigation
“Think out loud” while working
Areas of difficulty are tracked
Appropriate questioning to probe on experience
Provide insights for improving the navigation
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
If your site search is at fault…
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
How relevant were
the search results?
What search terms
were used?
Which products
were selected?
What order were
the products listed?
Tips for Addressing Poor Findability
1. Be careful of using internally-driven category labels; align to how customer’s think
2. Make sure products are in the right category; resist urge to list products in multiple places
3. Taxonomy structure should match how customers think; reevaluate yearly
4. Browsing by category should be readily available regardless of device
5. Don’t rely on manufacturer information alone for product filtering
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Tips for Addressing Poor Findability
6. Provide both pre-defined and user definable
price filters
7. Resist the urge to overuse mega menus
8. Handle search misspellings gracefully
9. Make SKU #s searchable; recommend similar
products if SKU is unavailable
10. Provide a consistent and seamless shopping
experience across all channels
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Research Techniques for Exposing
Findability Issues
#convcon @usabilitydotcom
Site Intercept Survey
Taxonomy
Stakeholder Interviews
Card Sorting
Tree TestingCompetitive Assessment
Focus Groups
Navigation
Usability Test
Site Search
Search Optimization
Survey
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