188体育

Looking at popular search terms can help you:

• identify user needs
• use popular terms in the titles, headings and first paragraphs of your content to make it easier to find 鈥� this is called search engine optimisation (SEO)

You鈥檒l need to use different tools to find out search terms used on:

• external search sites, like Google
• the internal 188体育 site search tool

Find search terms used on external search sites

Access a free trial of a 鈥榢eyword planner鈥�. You can select a term and see how it鈥檚 used in searches. For example, you can see what information users want to know about a 鈥榙riving licence鈥�.

Some examples include:

If you want to compare the relative popularity of search terms used over time, use . This can help you decide which term to use in your content to make it easier to find, like 鈥榟eavy goods vehicle鈥� or 鈥榣orry鈥�.

Find search terms used on the 188体育 search tool

To find the search terms used on the 188体育 search tool:

1. Go to the .
2. Select 鈥楳ake a copy鈥�.

You鈥檒l see the top 50 search terms used over the last 28 days.

If you want to change the time period, select 鈥楲ast 28 days鈥� in the 鈥榁ariables鈥� column. Looking at short date ranges will give you a greater chance of seeing full, unsampled data.

If you want to see how often a certain word or term is used:

1. Select 鈥�+ Drop or select dimension or metric鈥� under 鈥楩ilters鈥� in the 鈥楽ettings鈥� column.
2. Select 鈥楽earch term鈥�.
3. Under the 鈥楽elect match type鈥� dropdown, select either 鈥榚xactly matches鈥� or 鈥榗ontains鈥�, depending on if you鈥檙e looking for an exact match or just the presence of a word.
4. In the 鈥楨nter expression鈥� text box, type in the term you want to look for. Use lowercase only 鈥� if you use capital letters you will not get the results you鈥檙e looking for. For example, use 鈥榚visa鈥� and not 鈥榚Visa鈥�.
5. Select 鈥楢pply鈥�.

You can also use the . This shows search terms that are currently 鈥榯rending鈥� on the 188体育 search tool (being searched for more than usual).

Check where users are coming from

This can help you figure out:

• how users are finding your content
• what users may have already read

1. Go to the .
2. Select 鈥楳ake a copy鈥�.
3. Select 鈥�+ Drop or select dimension or metric鈥� under 鈥楩ilters鈥� in the 鈥楽ettings鈥� column.
4. Select 鈥楶age path and screen class鈥�.
5. Under the 鈥楽elect match type鈥� dropdown, select either 鈥榚xactly matches鈥� or 鈥榖egins with鈥�. Using 鈥榖egins with鈥� will also show results for HTML attachments and chapters in a guide.
6. In the 鈥楨nter expression鈥� text box, copy in the URL slug. That鈥檚 everything after 鈥榞ov.uk鈥� in the URL.
7. Select 鈥楢pply鈥�.
8. If you want to change the time period, select 鈥楲ast 28 days鈥� in the 鈥榁ariables鈥� column and choose the new time period. Looking at short date ranges will give you a greater chance of seeing full, unsampled data

You will now see a table that shows:

• all referrers (the places people came from) to your page, including other pages of 188体育, other websites, Google or social media
• how many views of the page there were from each referrer

Unknown referrers (such as URLs typed into the browser, clicks on bookmarks and links in emails) will appear as a blank entry.

Check if users have used URLs with UTM parameters

If you鈥檝e created as part of a communications campaign, you can find out how many times each of these have been used:

1. Go to the .
2. Set the time period you鈥檙e interested in using the dropdown in the top right hand corner. You can also turn on an option to compare date ranges.
3. Select the 鈥�+鈥� under the search bar and search for 鈥榮ession鈥�.听
4. Select 鈥楽ession campaign鈥�.
5. You can then use the search bar to look for the 鈥榗ampaign name鈥� part of your UTM parameters. You鈥檒l see how many sessions (periods of interaction on the site by a user) were started from those UTM parameters and details about how many users engaged with the content.
6. You can also select 鈥楽ession source鈥� or 鈥楽ession medium鈥� if you want to search for the 鈥榗ampaign source鈥� and 鈥榗ampaign medium鈥� parts of your UTM parameters.

Check which search terms are used in the 188体育 site search to find your content

This can help you find out:

• what terms in your content are being searched for
• what users are hoping to see when they find your content

1. Go to the .
2. Select 鈥楳ake a copy鈥�.
3. Select 鈥�+ Drop or select dimension or metric鈥� under 鈥楩ilters鈥� in the 鈥楽ettings鈥� column.
4. Select 鈥楲ink URL鈥�.
5. Under the 鈥楽elect match type鈥� dropdown, select either 鈥榚xactly matches鈥� or 鈥榖egins with鈥�. Using 鈥榖egins with鈥� will also show results for HTML attachments and chapters in a guide.
6. In the 鈥楨nter expression鈥� text box, copy in the URL slug. That鈥檚 everything after 鈥榞ov.uk鈥� in the URL.
7. Select 鈥楢pply鈥�.
8. If you want to change the time period, select 鈥楲ast 28 days鈥� in the 鈥榁ariables鈥� column and choose the new time period. Looking at short date ranges will give you a greater chance of seeing full, unsampled data.

You will now see a table that shows:

• the search terms used to find your page
• how many views of the page there were from each search term

Check how many users have viewed your content

This can help you find out:

• how many users could be reading your content
• how many times users come back to your content in one visit to 188体育

Use .听

This shows you a page鈥檚:

• 鈥楿nique page views鈥� - the number of visits in which the page was viewed at least once
• 鈥楶age views鈥� - a count of every time the page was viewed, including if someone goes back to view a page several times during a single visit
• 鈥楶age views per visit鈥� - an average of how many times a page was viewed during a user鈥檚 visit, with a high average (above 1.4) suggesting users have to come back to the same page several times during one visit

If you鈥檙e not expecting users to come back to the same page several times in one visit, this could suggest that they are having trouble finding information.

You can use the if you want to:

• compare view counts between different time periods 鈥� looking at short date ranges will give you a greater chance of seeing full, unsampled data
• see a breakdown of views based on what device is being used (like mobile phones, desktop computers or tablets)

You need to:

1. Enter the page slug you want to look at in the central search box, below the graph. That鈥檚 everything after 鈥榞ov.uk鈥� in the URL.
2. Set the time period you鈥檙e interested in using the dropdown in the top right hand corner. You can also turn on an option to compare date ranges.
3. If you want to see the data broken down by what device is being used, click the 鈥�+鈥� under the search bar. Search and select 鈥楧evice category鈥� in the pop-up.

This will show you a page鈥檚:

• 鈥楽essions鈥� 鈥� the number of sessions (periods of interaction on the site by a user) that include a visit to your page, not including any repeat views
• 鈥榁iews鈥� 鈥� the number of times your page was viewed, including when the same user views a page more than once

See where viewers go next

This can help you figure out:

• what users want to do after reading your content
• which links users think are relevant to them

Find out what page on 188体育 users go to next from your content:

1. Go to the .
2. Select 鈥楳ake a copy鈥�.
3. Select 鈥�+ Drop or select dimension or metric鈥� under 鈥楩ilters鈥� in the 鈥楽ettings鈥� column.
4. Select 鈥楶age referrer鈥�.
5. Under the 鈥楽elect match type鈥� dropdown, select 鈥榚xactly matches鈥� or 鈥榖egins with鈥�. Using 鈥榖egins with鈥� will also show results for HTML attachments and chapters in a guide.
6. In the 鈥楨nter expression鈥� text box, copy in the full URL.
7. Select 鈥楢pply鈥�.
8. If you want to change the time period, select 鈥楲ast 28 days鈥� in the 鈥榁ariables鈥� column and choose the new time period. Looking at short date ranges will give you a greater chance of seeing full, unsampled data.

You can also find out how many users are clicking on an external link in your content:

1. Go to the .
2. Select 鈥楳ake a copy鈥�.
3. Select 鈥�+ Drop or select dimension or metric鈥� under 鈥楩ilters鈥� in the 鈥楽ettings鈥� column.
4. Select 鈥楶age path and screen class鈥�.
5. Under the 鈥楽elect match type鈥� dropdown, select 鈥榚xactly matches鈥� or 鈥榖egins with鈥�. Using 鈥榖egins with鈥� will also show results for HTML attachments and chapters in a guide.
6. In the 鈥楨nter expression鈥� text box, copy in the URL slug. That鈥檚 everything after 鈥榞ov.uk鈥� in the URL.
7. Select 鈥楢pply鈥�.
8. If you want to change the time period, select 鈥楲ast 28 days鈥� in the 鈥榁ariables鈥� column and choose the new time period. Looking at short date ranges will give you a greater chance of seeing full, unsampled data.

You can also see how many users leave 188体育 completely after finding your content:

1. Go to the .
2. Select 鈥楳ake a copy鈥�.
3. Select 鈥�+ Drop or select dimension or metric鈥� under 鈥楩ilters鈥� in the 鈥楽ettings鈥� column.
4. Select 鈥楶age path and screen class鈥�.
5. Under the 鈥楽elect match type鈥� dropdown, select 鈥榚xactly matches鈥� or 鈥榖egins with鈥�. Using 鈥榖egins with鈥� will also show results for HTML attachments and chapters in a guide.
6. In the 鈥楨nter expression鈥� text box, copy in the URL slug. That鈥檚 everything after 鈥榞ov.uk鈥� in the URL.
7. Select 鈥楢pply鈥�.
8. If you want to change the time period, select 鈥楲ast 28 days鈥� in the 鈥榁ariables鈥� column and choose the new time period. Looking at short date ranges will give you a greater chance of seeing full, unsampled data.

This exploration shows you:

• 鈥榁iews鈥� 鈥� the number of times your page was viewed
• 鈥楨xits鈥� 鈥� the number of sessions that ended on your page, meaning they left 188体育 completely
• 鈥楤ounce rate鈥� 鈥� the percentage of sessions where only 1 page was viewed, the session lasted for fewer than 10 seconds and the user did not engage with the content (like by clicking links)

You can compare views to exits to see how many users decide they do not need to read any more information on 188体育. That might be because they鈥檝e found content that meets their needs, or they might have given up on finding relevant content.

A high bounce rate on navigation pages reveals a problem, as it indicates users are not engaging with the page. Changes should be made and the page measured again.

However, a high bounce rate on content pages is not necessarily a bad thing as users could have found the information they came for and did not need to go any further.

See what files users are downloading

This can help you find out which attached files users think might be helpful for them.

1. Go to the .
2. Select 鈥楳ake a copy鈥�.
3. Select 鈥�+ Drop or select dimension or metric鈥� under 鈥楩ilters鈥� in the 鈥楽ettings鈥� column.
4. Select 鈥楶age path and screen class鈥�.
5. Under the 鈥楽elect match type鈥� dropdown, select 鈥榚xactly matches鈥� or 鈥榖egins with鈥�. Using 鈥榖egins with鈥� will also show results for HTML attachments and chapters in a guide.
6. In the 鈥楨nter expression鈥� text box, copy in the URL slug. That鈥檚 everything after 鈥榞ov.uk鈥� in the URL.
7. Select 鈥楢pply鈥�.
8. If you want to change the time period, select 鈥楲ast 28 days鈥� in the 鈥榁ariables鈥� column and choose the new time period. Looking at short date ranges will give you a greater chance of seeing full, unsampled data.

This exploration shows you:

• how many files were downloaded
• which files were downloaded 鈥� you can see the link URLs of each file

It will not count clicks on HTML attachments.

See what users are searching for after looking at the content

Users might do a search using the 188体育 search tool after they鈥檝e found your content. This could be because:

• there鈥檚 essential information missing
• the title鈥檚 misleading and people are expecting to find something else
• the page does not contain the words a user uses or recognises

Take a look at the search terms they鈥檙e using when they鈥檙e on your content.

1. Go to the .
2. Select 鈥楳ake a copy鈥�.
3. Select 鈥�+ Drop or select dimension or metric鈥� under 鈥楩ilters鈥� in the 鈥楽ettings鈥� column.
4. Select 鈥楶age path and screen class鈥�.
5. Under the 鈥楽elect match type鈥� dropdown, select 鈥榚xactly matches鈥� or 鈥榖egins with鈥�. Using 鈥榖egins with鈥� will also show results for HTML attachments and chapters in a guide.
6. In the 鈥楨nter expression鈥� text box, copy in the URL slug. That鈥檚 everything after 鈥榞ov.uk鈥� in the URL.
7. Select 鈥楢pply鈥�.
8. If you want to change the time period, select 鈥楲ast 28 days鈥� in the 鈥榁ariables鈥� column and choose the new time period. Looking at short date ranges will give you a greater chance of seeing full, unsampled data.

You can also use if you just want to see how many users are searching when on your content.

Look at feedback comments

Feedback comments can show if users:

• are having technical difficulties (like broken links)
• cannot find the information they need
• are struggling to navigate content
• do not understand something

Use (also known as 鈥楩eedex鈥�) to find out what users are saying about your content.

Users submit this feedback:

• via the 鈥業s there anything wrong with this page?鈥� form at the bottom of 188体育 pages
• by filling out the satisfaction survey at the end of a transaction that started on 188体育

You can also use to see how many users answered 鈥榊es鈥� to the 鈥業s this page useful?鈥� survey linked to from the footer of every 188体育 page.

The more users who responded, the more reliable the score is. For a more reliable score on a page that does not have many responses, choose a longer time period.

If a lot of users say they did not find the page useful, it could indicate a problem with the content. However, keep in mind that users may say they did not find the page useful if they:

• did not like the answer it gave them
• are reacting to an unpopular government policy

If you want to see comments left by users who selected 鈥楴o鈥� to the 鈥業s this page useful?鈥� survey, to get access.

Conduct user research

This can help you get a more in-depth understanding of how users are engaging with your content and whether it meets their needs.

Read the resources for user researchers for guidance on how to conduct user research.

The guidance is mostly aimed at creating new services, but a lot of it can be used when designing other types of content.