Bento Box First Year Assessment 2019

We looked at web analytics data to see how our new homepage search box and search results page were being used.

Background

In 2018, the Libraries launched a new universal search box on the homepage, and created a "bento box" layout for the search results. We looked at a year of data from Google Analytics and Search Plus (the previous default search box) to see how the new search box and search results page were being used.

Methods and Data Sources

• Google Analytics
• Summon (Search Plus) Analytics

What We Found

• 95% of users who clicked a link on the search results page selected either Articles (results from Search Plus) or Books and Media (results from the catalog)
• 99% of users who clicked "see more" on the search results page selected Articles or Books and Media results
• We found much lower use than we expected (3% or less of total clicks) for some page elements, such as:
  • the Databases, Guides, Our Website, and Other Resources result boxes;
  • the Jump To links that send users to the second row of result boxes; and
  • the Guides link below the search bar on the homepage.

Recommendations

• Do user testing to discover why the results in bento box sections for Databases, Guides, Our Website, and Other Resources are rarely used.
• On the search results page, consider changing the layout to give more space to Articles and Books & Media results, as those are the most frequently used resource types.
• On the search results page, consider removing the Jump To links.
• On the homepage, consider removing the Guides link below the search box.

Project Staff

• Hui Hua Chua
• Robin Dean

Project Dates

December 2018 to April 2019