Web site User Search behavior research: User Natural search process

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Some basic questions about this process are less easily discovered after the common search process is used to the core hints. So, sometimes you have to step back and look at the search product design from the essential needs.

We often use search, long time is accustomed to the current search process:

Search--Filter (narrow range)--Find a satisfactory product--click on the Details page, if you do not find a satisfactory product to change the word to continue the search.

Once you get used to it, some basic questions about the process are not easily discovered. So, sometimes you have to step back and review the search product design from the essential requirements to find the hidden problems behind the design. Let's take a look at the current Taobao search standard use process:

Taobao Search Standard user process

We think that users will use Taobao search, Taobao search is also in accordance with this process design.

Points：

Every time a user searches for a baby.

In the search process to constantly narrow the scope of the find, and finally find the baby you want.

Is the user's actual search process really like this?

User Natural Search Process

The standard search process has a basic assumption that the user's search intent is static, and the search process is to constantly try to modify the query words, using a variety of filter conditions to narrow the search results, until the end to find products that meet the needs of users. However, from the user survey results combined with their own search experience, in the user multiple search process, by the previous search results, the impact of the user's search needs will change. In this way, users want to find more than the product in the process, but also may be used to improve the next search experience recommendations, such as the recommendation of a new related query (not simple query words). and users in the search process will also find that the scope of their own search a little bit smaller, should be expanded under the scope of the search, rather than the usual sense of narrowing the scope of the lookup.

Points：

Users in the search process will continue to learn to explore, according to their own query words and search results, and constantly deepen their desire to understand the search results, in the process of the user's search intention will continue to be clearly determined.

When the intention is not so clear, the user may not want the product, but hope that they can get some advice to help themselves understand their intentions.

The user search process is a divergent process, the initial goal will inspire a new target, so there are different search direction.

The search process is not always from fuzzy to clear, from a large range to a small scope of the search process, there will be small range can not find the need to expand the scope of the situation.

After the user has defined and identified the search intent, the next step is to use the standard search process, using sorting, filtering to narrow the result range, and finally find a satisfactory product.

It's all theoretical analysis, so let's look at how the actual product is done. Search for "mobile phones" under Amazon's "All categories" and the results are as follows:

For a more general search term for mobile phones, Amazon's important location in the results area gives more specific referral recommendations: Related search and category recommendations, which make it easier for users to explore the process, and thus quickly find the products they want on Amazon. When a user chooses a specific class, keyword area will appear a bread crumbs, from the above for the user's natural search process analysis, this crumb is to broaden the scope of the search for, the mouse can quickly jump to any of the above class level, but also can clear out the constraints of query words, into pure class purpose browsing. Once the user has identified the category, it is more efficient to use the left side of the screening function to narrow the range of goods, find the product you want.

Not only Amazon, the general search domain of Google also has some examples, such as the new version of the search results page, I found that some site search results have crumbs, these green crumbs are clickable, users can directly into the corresponding classification.

and Google knowledge Graph can also greatly help users explore other results related to this search from a search result. Blue is the recommended search query, users can be very convenient to explore.

To sum up

This article compares Taobao's search for current standard user processes with the user's natural search process, which is reflected in:

Taobao search standard process focus on allowing users to find goods, assuming that the user's search intention is static, and the search process is to constantly modify the query word, use filter/sorting functions such as narrowing the scope, and ultimately help users find favorite products.

The user's natural process, assuming that the user's search intention is dynamic, throughout the process based on query words and search results to deepen the understanding of what you want, so that in the process of the user's intention will gradually from blurred to clear, never determined to determine.

In this search process is not always from a large range to a small scope of the process, the middle will have a small range to a large range of situations. After the user has identified the search intent, the next step is to use the standard process to quickly navigate to the desired results.

From the standard search user flow to the user natural search process is the general trend, unfortunately, I Taobao/a Amoy search product design above found in order to facilitate the user to explore the search for examples, if you must tell me, I really hope I was wrong.