[Sigia-l] ROI/Value of Search Engine Design - Resources?

[Boniface Lau]

> From: sigia-l-admin at asis.org [mailto:sigia-l-admin at asis.org]On
> Behalf Of Richard Wiggins
>  
[...]
> 
> 2) Amazon is one of the most challenging examples you could choose
> to pick apart.

Since you are replying to my message, I interpret the "you" in your
message as referring to me. But I did NOT write the UIE articles.
Jared wrote them:

"Why Amazon Succeeds -- And Why It Won't Help You"
http://www.uie.com/Articles/why_amazon_succeeds.htm

"Why On-Site Searching Stinks" 
http://www.uie.com/searchar.htm


> If the thesis is that search engines can't deliver and that site
> designers should put all their energy into crafting links -- a
> thesis that is demonstrably wrong -- it's easy to find examples of
> failure from the world's most complicated online retailer.

Jared's opinions on search engine are extreme.

I expect professional consultants to clarify their published opinions
by providing reasonable explanations. Certainly not leaving a gaping
hole in their logic as Jared did in:

http://www.info-arch.org/lists/sigia-l/0302/0200print.html

JS> >Would you mind explaining the logic behind the statement "on-site
JS> >search engines are worse than nothing"?
JS> 
JS> The logic is simple: When users don't use on-site search, they are
JS> twice as likely to find their content than when they do.

If there was indeed an error, I expected a mature way of handling it,
instead of leaving it dangling.


[...]
> 
> So this says over half of your customers are going to depend on
> search in one way or another.  I don't care what a lab experiment
> purports to show; you can't ignore search.

While a site is free to decide whether to support search, I hope those
that blindly follow Jared' extremist opinions are among the rare
minority.


Boniface