Linking external and internal search: Investigating the site searching patterns of referred searchers

Adan Ortiz-Cordova, Bernard J. Jansen

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this research, we investigate the relationship between external search on a major search engine and the subsequent internal search on an individual web site. Insights in the relationship can be a competitive advantage for websites. We use 295, 271 searching sessions of an online Spanish entertainment business collected over a five month period. We develop a classification scheme for external and internal search queries using the referral query as the starting point. Using an n-gram approach, we identify query patterns for 295, 271 searching episodes. We aggregate and identify six searching patterns. The three major searching strategies are Explorers (47%, a broad query for external search and then multiple broad queries during internal search), Navigators (16%, a navigational query for external search and then specific queries during internal search), and Acquirers (15%, transaction queries for both external and internal search). The remaining three patterns are Shifters (12%), Persisters (7%), and Orienteers (3%). Identification of searching patterns and related content can be a competitive advantage for websites dependent on providing relevant, fresh, and locatable information.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationCHI EA 2014
Subtitle of host publicationOne of a ChiNd - Extended Abstracts, 32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Pages1345-1350
Number of pages6
ISBN (Print)9781450324748
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014
Event32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA 2014 - Toronto, ON, Canada
Duration: Apr 26 2014May 1 2014

Publication series

NameConference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Other

Other32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA 2014
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityToronto, ON
Period4/26/145/1/14

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Software
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design

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