"I created a Manual and released it, but nobody seems to be looking at it…"
This is one of the most common concerns we hear from our customers.
You put in all that effort, and nobody looks at it… the sadness never ends. Say goodbye to that sadness.
Analyzing the Search log can give you hints about what Manuals are needed
When we say "nobody looks at the Manual," there can be many different reasons behind it.
Among the most common is the problem of
"Not finding what they need (unable to find the information they are looking for)"
For example, consider this type of user behavior.
Something came up that they didn't know how to handle, and they tried looking for a Manual.
There was no Manual covering what they wanted to know...
They searched hard but couldn't find the information they needed, and left feeling disappointed.
The problem went unsolved. They looked up at the sky and vowed never to come back here again...It may sound a bit dramatic, but it is entirely plausible.
(As a side note, we also often hear that the Manuals that have been created only cover things people already know, so there is no need to look at them.
However, those Manuals are valuable assets that exist to be viewed by the right people at the right time —
such as new employees handling a task for the first time, or even veterans performing a task they haven't done in a while.)In order to avoid such situations as much as possible, building out the Manuals that are actually needed is extremely important.
That is where the Teachme Biz feature called "Search log" comes in handy.
By learning about users' struggles through the "Search log," you can get a sense of what kind of Manuals are needed.
This helps you identify which Manuals to create next and makes it easier to take action.
What is the Search log?
When you look something up on the internet, you type what you want to find as "words" into Google or Yahoo! JAPAN, right?
Teachme Biz has a similar function that lets you search for Manuals.
The "Search log" is a Report (list) that lets you review the "Search keywords" that were used in those searches.
Where can you access it (Who can access it? What is the target period?)
First, log in to the web browser version of Teachme Biz. You can access it from the "Report" menu at the bottom of the left menu.
You can view either:
- Search data for the entire Group
- Search data for a specific "Folder"
depending on your needs.
- For Group-wide search data: Group Administrator or Sub-administrator
- For search data by specific "Folder": Folder Administrator or Sub-administrator
account permissions are required to view the data.
Since data can be retrieved for a maximum of 1 month, it is a good idea to check it regularly at the beginning or end of each month.
The data can be exported as a CSV file, which is recommended when performing detailed analysis.
What can you see?
First, you can see the "Search keywords" — the actual words entered into the search bar.
You can also see the "Type." Type is a classification into the following 3 categories based on whether a Manual containing the "Search keyword" exists and whether it was viewed.
| Search hits found | A Manual containing the search keyword existed and was viewed |
| No search hits/views | A Manual containing the search keyword existed but was not viewed |
| No hits in search | No Manual containing the search keyword existed |
In addition to the above, you can also view "Device" information (the device or application type used during the search), "Manual ID" (a 7-digit number assigned to each Manual), Manual Title, Folder name, Access time (yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss), Hits, and more.
What the data analysis reveals
From the "Search keywords," you can infer users' struggles (what they wanted to know).
From the "Type," you can see whether a Manual existed for that search keyword and whether the user actually went on to view it.
By categorizing and counting this data, two key facts become clear:
- Trends in users' struggles
- Whether the necessary Manuals to address those struggles are in place
An example flow for analyzing Search log data
For example, here is how you might go about reading the data.
Looking at the "Search keywords," you can see multiple search keywords related to "Folder," which suggests that users were experiencing issues related to "Folder."
Also, from the "Access time," you can see that similar searches were performed one after another.
This suggests that the same person was struggling because they could not access a Folder and kept searching.
Looking at the "Type" for those searches, you can see many entries of "No hits in search" and "No search hits/views."
Tracing the timeline, searches such as "Folder-cannot view" and "Folder-can't see" returned "No hits in search," so the user tried several different keywords.
At one point, a search did return hits, but the user did not go on to view any Manual.
This is likely because they could not find the Manual they were looking for, or because the Hits count was as high as 19, prompting them to add more keywords to narrow down the search.
Searches such as "Folder-can't see" returned "No hits in search," but ultimately the search "Folder - Add" resulted in a "Search hits found" result, and it can be seen that the user viewed a Manual titled "Add a Member to a Folder."
In other words, the user's problem was resolved.
"And they all lived happily ever after!"
— but we can't quite say that. Stopping there would defeat the purpose of the analysis.
After performing data analysis, it is important to also take improvement Actions.
Improvement Actions after data analysis
Point ①: No hits in search
This is a situation where no Manual containing the search keyword existed.
The issues occurring here are the following 2 points.
- There is no Manual suited to the user's problem
- A suitable Manual actually exists, but the search keyword was not included in it
For the subsequent improvement, if "there is no Manual suited to the user's problem," take the Action of creating a Manual.
On the other hand, as shown in the "Folder" search example above, there are also cases where a suitable Manual actually exists but the search keyword was not included in it, causing it not to appear in search results.
In that case, it is recommended that you add the search keyword by:
- Adding it to the Title
- Adding it to the description
- Adding it as a Search tag
so that it appears in search results.
In particular, for searches that can be anticipated to recur — such as "Folder - cannot view" or "Folder - can't see" — making use of Search tags is a good approach.
Point ②: No search hits/views (= Hits in search & no views)
This is a situation where a Manual containing the search keyword existed, but no individual Manual was viewed.
The Manual appeared in the search results, but based on the Manual Title or description, the user likely determined that those Manuals would not solve their problem.
The issues occurring here can be broken down into the following 3 points.
A. A suitable Manual actually exists, but the user could not determine this from the title
(The Manual did actually appear in the search results)
B. A suitable Manual actually exists, but the search keyword was not included in it (the Manual did not actually appear in the search results)
C. There was no Manual suited to the user's problem
Which of A-C applies can be inferred to a certain extent by considering the work related to the "Search keyword."
For example, for a search keyword like "Folder can't see," you can understand that a Manual should be provided for someone "struggling because a Folder that should exist cannot be viewed."
If you cannot infer the answer from the "Search keyword," conduct a hearing with the user and gather their feedback.
The following are typical examples of perspectives for receiving feedback.
- Did the search keywords return the information you were looking for?
- Was the Title easy to find?
- Was the content of the Manual easy to understand?
- Was the problem actually resolved? (= Is it reproducible?)
Based on the results gathered from data and interviews, take the following Actions.
- Create a new Manual
- Revise the Steps of an existing Manual to make them easier to understand
- Revise the Title of an existing Manual
- Add Search tags
Perspective ③: Search hits found (= Hits in search & views)
This is a situation where a Manual containing the search keywords exists and was actually viewed.
This tells us that at least one Manual that the user thought might solve their issue was displayed in the Search results and was actually viewed.
However, it is not possible to confirm from the Report whether the Manual actually resolved the issue.
If there is a possibility that the Manual being viewed cannot resolve the issue when compared against the Search keywords, it would be a good idea to interview users in the same way as "Perspective ②" and gather feedback.
You can also receive feedback directly within Teachme Biz on whether the content was actually helpful by enabling features such as the "Manual rating function" and the "Comment" feature in Teachme Biz.
The experience of "Teachme Biz saved me when I was in trouble!" leads to user retention
When a Manual related to what a user wants to know does not exist, it becomes a source of stress for the user — they searched but couldn't find anything and their issue went unresolved. This can also lead to them not seeing the value in using Teachme Biz.
If this situation continues, even when users encounter problems, they may think "Searching in Teachme Biz won't solve it, so I'll just ask someone..." — creating a barrier to making use of the tool.
To prevent this, it is necessary to understand user needs based on data and steadily create and improve related Manuals.
As is often said, it is extremely important not to consider a Manual finished once it is created, but to continuously improve and revise it.
By repeating the following improvement cycle, users will become regular users.
- Understand specific issues through data, interviews, and surveys
- Request the relevant departments to create or revise Manuals
- Actively share information when new Manuals are created or revised
In this article, we introduced step 1 of the improvement cycle. We hope you found it helpful!
Those in charge of creating Manuals, please try incorporating the improvement cycle into your regular routine.