280 likes | 373 Vues
Explore successful and failed search engine interfaces for various sites. Learn to design engaging query and result interfaces catering to diverse user needs. Enhance site usability and boost user satisfaction.
E N D
Turning Search into Find Peter Merholz peterme 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. peterme
Search engines are woefully under-designed, usually simply tacked on to an existing mess peterme
Search engine interfaces must be considered in the context of your visitors' tasks--often one-size does not fit all peterme
In this talk we'll study successful and unsuccessful search engine interfaces across a variety of different site types. peterme
Search engine interfaces are typically broken down into two components: • The query interface • 2. The results peterme
The query interface peterme
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
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
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
The query interface • I have no idea what I want • Offer inspiration • Violet.com • Recommend based on previous likes • Reel.com movie matches peterme
The results interface peterme
The results interface • The information • Necessary • The item in questionAn important identifying attribute • If e-commerce, price peterme
The results interface • The information • Nice to have • Ratings – amazon.com • Context – latimes.com vs nytimes.com • Pictures – pets.com vs petopia.com peterme
The results interface • The information • Unnecessary URLs – 3com.com SKUs – outpost.com peterme
The results interface • The information - miscellany • Don't grid for the sake of it. – outpost.com • Abject hideousness – ibm.com support search peterme
The results interface • Emphasize "top" results – borders.com • Single best result IBM.com, Apple.com • Prepared by people peterme
The results interface • Number of results • Dreaded 0 • 1 result – go straight to product (garden.com v reel.com) • Too many peterme
The results interface • Sorting • Default and user determined • Relevance – how? • Popularity – bestselling, most page views • Price • Date • Distance peterme
The results interface • Filtering • Amazon.com's age filter • Keyword filter • "within these results” - eBay • Adjusting on the fly – Yahoo! Classifieds peterme
The results interface • More info • Images/no images, a la Staples.com • "zoom" a la Garden.com peterme
The results interface • Paging through results • Users don't • Depends on sort • Alphabetical--letters along bottom (not citysearch.com) peterme
The results interface • Acting • Buying • Saving for later • More like this peterme
The results interface • Helping people • Correcting typos Amazon.com – “Mount Everist” • Search in another place Bn.com title search for ‘intuit’ peterme
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
Sparks.com Query interface • Keyword searchCard finder • Sentences more understandable than boolean operators peterme
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
Results throughout the experience • Browse through list • Return to results • "zoom" mental model peterme