Mapping Users' Expectations
The Expectation Map gives an overview of how your users expect your site to work. It is based on an analysis of how focused your users are during each session and of how similar the various sessions are to one another.
By analyzing what your users seem to expect and comparing this to how you intend the site to be used, you can make intelligent decisions about how to fine-tune the organization of your site, your site’s profile on the Internet (e.g., in banners and at the various global site engines and indexes) and the way your search functionality works.
The Expectation Map measures how users of your site behave according to Top 100 Terms Frequency and New Terms per User Session. The frequency of which the same terms are being used indicates whether all users tend to be looking for the same few things, or if they have very diversified information needs that they expect to find an answer for on your site. The New Terms per User Session measures how many new search terms are introduced to during an average session.
The graph is divided into four sections. When analyzing the Expectation Map, you should compare the way you intend your site to be used to the way your actual visitors seem to be using it. Although the Expectation Map gives only an approximate guideline, it is often useful as a starting point for deciding what to look for in other BehaviorTracking reports and of how to target and improve your site content, search engine configuration and promotional activities.
Mondosoft offers advice on how to include your users expectations into your search engine strategy, based on your site's position in the Expectation Map.