Search optimisation
Fixing a flawed search experience
Search is a key tool across our platforms for content discovery and retrieval. When search fails, customers disengage at the exact moment they're actively looking for something — eroding trust, retention and brand value.
Voice of the customer
The problems
"Just cancelled my subscription. Was fed up with the search mechanism never responding... I'm looking for muffin recipes and the 4th item is Yorkshire Puddings followed by Mushroom Burgers!"
01
Search fails to support users' missions
Across our platforms on web, failure rates reach as high as 61% — with app performance stronger but no brand reaching consistent success. 40% of users abandon search altogether after querying.
02
Engagement is critically low
Only 15% of users on Good Food web engage with search, and less on Radio Times.
03
AI is forming new habits
70–77% of users surveyed are already using AI tools to solve for the same missions our platforms serve. At the same time, SEO-driven traffic is declining as AI summaries intercept users before they reach us.
Research
Objectives
01
Understand the missions users are on across our platforms and the relative importance of each
02
Establish how users are solving for their mission and where search fits into that journey
03
Identify where and why search breaks down
04
Define what users expect from search, including AI capabilities
Insights
A shift in customer understanding
The assumption was that users arrived knowing what they were looking for — ready to type a query and retrieve a result. The data told a different story.
Mission type
GF
RT
Discovery (low-intent)
~70%
~74%
Retrieval (High-intent)
~30%
~26%
Analytic findings concluded the same: broad queries: 75-88% and narrow queries: 12-25%
A customers' journey to discovering content
Survey insights show users don't arrive ready to search.
Discovery missions start with browsing collections and categories — mechanism that best support low-intent constraints — and narrow down as their intent builds.
Keyword search only enters the picture once intent has crystallised enough to form a query. For the majority of users, that point is never reached.
Where search fails
The same problems emerge across app and web platform and brands.
Issue
GF
RT
Too many results to sort through
6.4 / 10
6.4 / 10
Difficulty deciding between options
5.6 / 10
5.7 / 10
No results matching intent
5.6 / 10
5.7 / 10
Search doesn't understand intent
4.7 / 10
5.4 / 10
Confidence in result ranking
4.9 / 10
5.1 / 10
Search Product Strategy
Insight synthesis informing key initiatives
The research then surfaced four clear areas that directly shaped the product strategy:
Impact
Product Strategy
I worked with the PM to translate findings into a prioritised roadmap built around 4 strategic areas.
Our analytics data showed poor engagement with the search feature overall, so increasing engagement became became a prerequisite for the other key initiatives.
