Searching
for priorities
On average, over 75% of traffic to CDC.gov comes from Google. During COVID, this data was invaluable as priorities changed daily, even hourly. I monitored web metrics to identify users needs and make sure we updated the site appropriately.
Refining search data | Determining intention | Following the vaccine
Refining search data
The volume of traffic to the COVID-19 site made it difficult to sift through everything. Over time we refined the search data to give us a macro view to look for topic trends and a micro view to help identify problems. We only viewed the top 25% of search terms and click through rates.
Grouping search terms
Analysis was increasingly difficult due to the variety of misspellings in searches queries. We began to develop buckets to account for the variations and simplify the search data.
Initially we were able to identify general groups. Ex: COVID - corona, cov-19. As we built up our groups we were able to more easily identify misspellings. Ex: Mask & PPE - gaitor, gator, gater, gaiter
Ultimately, we were able to glean intention from search terms. For instance, we saw an increase in specific locations. Ex: California, NYC, Jamaica, Bahamas, etc. Based on time of year and pages users were going to, we were able to determine people were interested in traveling again. Based on this information, we were able to start promoting travel related links across the site. It also helped us prioritize travel content for UX assessment.
A weekly view of grouped search terms and their definitions.
Determining intention
Ultimately, we were able to glean intention from search terms. For instance, we saw an increase in specific locations. Ex: California, NYC, Jamaica, Bahamas, etc. Based on time of year and most viewed pages, we were able to determine people were interested in traveling again. Note the uptick in selected travel related words in early 2021. Based on this information, we were able to start promoting travel related links across the site. It also helped us prioritize travel content for UX assessment.
Travel - planes, Florida, Bahamas, Europe
Assumption - Users wanted to know if it’s safe to travel and any requirements they needed to follow.
Problem - Users weren’t being directed to the appropriate content because multiple pages mentioned travel and the dedicated travel content was difficult to browse.
Action - There were three main actions we took based on this information:
Crosslinking strategy
On pages that mentioned travel we designed and added cross links to direct users to additional information. Such as directing users when it’s safe to travel if they are showing symptoms of COVID-19.UX content review
The search data helped us get approval to do a UX review of the travel content. Initially we offered quick fixes to make the pages more scannable. We recommended adding headers with keywords from the search terms. To catch users searching for specific locations, we used words like “travel,” “domestic,” “international,” “vacation.” We also made sure crosslinks went to clearly related travel content.
Prioritizing travel content
We started including travel content in high priority areas such as the COVID-19 and CDC.gov homepages.
See also: Button it up!
Google search trend data for 3 travel related terms. Traffic spike in early 2020 was mostly related to shutdowns.
Following the vaccine
The timeline of the COVID-19 vaccine was reflected in our search data.
Before the vaccine
Initially, we had no vaccine content but I saw users searching for vaccine information. We grouped vaccine searches into the Prevention group. To account for the vaccine content gap, I developed call out boxes to highlight the lack of a vaccine. We were liberal with the placement across pages as vaccine information was an Agency priority.
After the vaccine
Once a vaccine was released, the surge in traffic and importance meant we began targeted metrics analysis on vaccine content. This included grouped search terms specific to vaccine topics.
See also: FAQs about FAQs
Fun facts
“Zombie” would sporadically pop up as a term in our search data.
Bonus fact, the first season of The Walking Dead did not film at the actual CDC facility.
A weekly view of grouped vaccine search terms.