Search Analytics for Your Site
From the website:
Any organization that has a searchable web site or intranet is sitting on top of hugely valuable and usually under-exploited data: logs that capture what users are searching for, how often each query was searched, and how many results each query retrieved. Search queries are gold: they are real data that show us exactly what users are searching for in their own words. This book shows you how to use search analytics to carry on a conversation with your customers: listen to and understand their needs, and improve your content, navigation and search performance to meet those needs.
I haven’t read this book so don’t take this post as an endorsement or “buy” recommendation.
While watching the slide deck, it occurred to me that if search analytics could improve your website, why not use search analytics to develop the design and content of a topic map?
The design aspect in the sense that the most prominent, easiest to use/find content is what is popular with users. Could even be by time of the day if you have a topic map that is accessible 24 x 7.
The content aspect in the sense of what is included, what we say about it and perhaps how it is findable is based on search analysis.
If you were developing a topic map about Sarah Palin, perhaps searching for “dude” should return her husband as a topic. I can think of other nicknames but this isn’t a political blog.
Comments on this book or suggestions of other search analytics resources appreciated.