Internal Search Overview
Most websites & web applications have an in-site search function. Angelfish has a set of Internal Search reports that show you how users interact with this search function.
The Internal Search reports are available in all Profiles & Tracking Methods, and use query parameters to identify user behavior within the search function.
Here's an example of query parameters in a Search Results Page:
- Hostname: www.yoursite.com
- Page Stem: /search/results.html
- Query Parameters: q=angelfish&num=10&cat=all
- Search Term Parameter: q
- Number of Results Parameter: num
- Search Vertical Parameter: cat
Internal Search report settings are configured by Angelfish Admins: in the Internal Search section of the Settings tab, in each Profile's config.
REPORT NOTES
- A Unique Search is defined by a unique combo of Search Term & Vertical during a Visit
- Multiple searches for the same Search Term in the same Vertical during the same Visit equals one Unique Search
- If the Search Vertical isn't defined, all Searches are assigned a Vertical of a dash: -
- If your Search Vertical uses an ID instead of a name, you can use a Lookup Table Filter to replace the ID with a name during processing
- If search function has a feature where you can suggest searches for a particular phrase, use the Refinement Terms segment to identify words to suggest
- Search Terms with zero results can indicate issues with the search index, mispelled search terms, or simply a bad search.
Internal Search Terms
DIMENSIONS
Search Results Page
A Page containing a list of results in response to a search query. Angelfish uses the Page Stem of the Search Results Page to detect search activity.
Search Term
The search terms typed into the embedded search function on the website | web application.
Number of Results
The number of search results returned for any Search Term. Angelfish parses this from a query parameter (if available).
Search Exit Term
Search terms from Search Results Pages that are also Exit Pages. A Search Exit Term can indicate a click on an outbound link on the results page, irrelevant search results, or a handful or other causes.
Low Results Term
Search terms where the Number of Results is less than or equal to the value of the "Low Results Limit" field from the Profile's config settings.
Refinement Term
The Search Term used as a refinement for a previous search. The Search Origin for a Refinement Term is always a Search Results Page.
Search Vertical
A Search Vertical is sometimes called a search category: it represents a search index focused on a specific topic, like People, Files, or News.
Search Origin
The Page viewed directly before the first Search Results Page of a Unique Search: i.e. the Page from which the search originated.
Search Destination
The Page(s) viewed by clicking a link on a Search Results Page. Each Unique Search can have zero or more Search Destinations, and each unique Destination Page is only counted once per Unique Search.
METRICS
Unique Search
Represents a unique combination of Search Term, Search Vertical, and Visit ID. You can only have 1 Unique Search for a Search Term in the same Vertical in the same Visit.
Results Pageviews
The number of Search Results Pages viewed for all Unique Searches in the dataset. Each Unique Search has one or more Results Pageviews.
Search Destinations
Shows the number of Search Destination Pages viewed for any Unique Search. Each Unique Search has zero or more Search Destinations.
Search Refinements
Shows the number of Unique Searches where the Search Origin is a Results Page for a different Unique Search.
Avg Results Pageviews per Search | Visit (ARPPS | ARPPV)
The average number of results pages viewed per Unique Search (ARPPS), or per Visits that use Search (ARPPV).
Avg # Results
The average number of search results returned for a Search Term.
Searches per Visit
Shows the average number of Unique Searches performed for Visits that use Search
Destinations per Search | Visit
Shows the average number of Destinations per (Unique Search | Visits that use Search)
Refinements per Search|Visit
Shows the average number of Refinements for (Unique Searches | Visits that use Search)