ReseaRch MethoD · synthesis / analysis techniqUe 78SiteSearchAnalytics Analyzing the words and phrases entered into a site search gives organizations insight into what people are looking for, which is an opportunity to evaluate how well site content meets those needs. Ifyouprovidesearchfunctionalityaspartofyourwebsiteordigitalapplication,youmaybesitting onagoldmineofsemanticallyrichdatathatrevealswhatyourusersaresearchingforonline.Site SearchAnalytics(SSA)istheprocessforreportingandanalyzingthequeriessubmittedassearch criteria.WhereastheindustriesconvergingaroundSearch Engine Optimization(SEO)orSearch Engine Marketing(SEM)areconcernedwithattractinganddrivingpotentialcustomerstoyoursite, sitesearchanalyticsisfocusedonunderstandingthepeoplewhoarealreadyonyoursite,andmak- ingsurethattheycanfindtheinformationtheyneed. 1 Whenaccomplished,sitesearchanalyticscan bolstercustomerretentionandconversionrates,nottomentioncustomersatisfactionlevels. Sitesearchanalyticsdatalendsitselftoqualitativeandquantitativeanalysis--whichmakesitaprime startingpointforqualitativeandquantitativeresearcherswithinanorganizationtoworktogether. Forqualitativeresearchers,understandinguserintentandwhatinformationpeoplewantfromyour sitecanhelpyouevaluateandimprovethequalityofthesitesearchresults.Forthosewhoprefer quantitativedata,mostsearchdatawillimmediatelyrevealaZipfdistribution--asmallnumberof searchtermsthatrepresenttheoverwhelmingstatisticalmajorityofallsearchactivitywithina giventimeframe. 2 AZipfdistributionpinpointsexactlywhichsearchtermsshouldbeoptimizedfor greatestimpact.Moreoftenthannot,thisdatacanbeactedonquickly,andboththequalitativeand 1.Rosenfeld,Louis.Search Analytics for Your Site: Conversations With Your Customers. Brooklyn,N.Y.:RosenfeldMedia,2011. 2.Seenote1above. 3.Seenote1above.