Bottom Up Menus: Using Data To Determine Web Site Navigation

It's worth pointing out that observable behavior is far more useful than demographics.

November 26, 2007
Found in: Articles : Editorial : Usability :

Before the Internet, advertisers used to say, "Half my advertising works, but the trouble is I don't know which half."

Now you can track the results of every headline in every campaign and know exactly which half works. But when you do that you're still missing an important element.

The analytics from your web site can also show you which pages are being viewed, and in which sequence and from which links. This data about how users navigate their way around your site gives you clues to general user behavior.

User behavior is the Holy Grail for web site design and navigation. If you can predict what most of your users want, and where they'll look for it, you can do a better job at directing them to fulfill both their goals and yours.

It's worth pointing out that observable behavior is far more useful than demographics. If you have a page and a campaign designed for baby boomers, but the 20-year-olds like it more than MySpace, you can't just tell them to go away. You have to work with reality.

The right navigation for your site, based on knowledge of your users' behavior, is an instant key to problem-solving and innovation.

To better understand this, consider a parent picking up their child after school. He or she will drive to a spot agreed upon with the child, stop the car for a short time, and possibly pull up to the curb. Several other parents will follow the same pattern, leading to an anticipated, and hopefully acceptable, traffic jam.

Meanwhile, teachers and staff may be trying to leave. If they are using the same driveways as the parents, this could make the end of the school day extremely frustrating for both parents and teachers.

But any plant manager could anticipate this, and find a solution. For example, create a faculty parking lot on the side of the school opposite student pickup.

In this analogy, we're making predictions, based on a lot of known data (the approximate number of parents and teachers, the flow of traffic, and the peak time). The object is to design the movement of vehicles around campus (the navigation) based on predictable and observable behavior.

The goal for your web site is similar. Your users have a few general behaviors that are eventually easy to observe and predict. Then you can use this data to plan your site navigation so it helps everyone involved.

Sample: Navigation from our Default (home) Page
The school analogy is an oversimplification, because your visitors will probably have more diverse needs. But you should still know as much as you can about your users and their behavior, and modify your navigation accordingly so it's easy for them to find their way, opt in, request an appointment or make a purchase.

Watch the actual behavioral patterns of your customers, and the outcomes. Are many people reading your blog but not signing up for your newsletter? Maybe your blog needs a prominent link to the newsletter subscription page.

As you look at the data, see if you can correlate it to more "soft" data, such as the attitudes of your customers.

Even better, try and correlate it to "hard" data. Do you tend to get positive feedback from users who follow a certain navigation pattern? Do buyers from a specific channel or referral source request a disproportionate amount of refunds? Do certain navigation paths lead to higher conversions on your landing page?

This kind of insight can lead to actionable ideas that boost your competitiveness. The experience that users have on your web site can improve client loyalty and retention, raise awareness of your brand, and ultimately bring you more referrals and higher revenue.

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