Title
Supporting orientation during search result examination
Abstract
Search engines help their users decide which results to visit using captions comprising titles, URLs, and snippets containing the query keywords and proximal text from landing pages (the search results linked from the result page). Although caption content can be a key factor in these decisions, snippets provide only basic support for orienting users with landing page content from the search-engine result page (SERP), and no support during the transition to landing pages or once users reach the page following a selection decision. As a result, many searchers must employ inefficient strategies such as skimming and scanning the content of the landing page. In this paper we propose a novel method, called clickable snippets, to address this shortcoming. Clickable snippets provide searchers with a direct and actionable link between SERP captions and landing-page content. We describe a user study comparing clickable snippets with extant methods of orientation support such as query-term highlighting on the landing page and thumbnail previews on the SERP. We show that clickable snippets are preferred by participants, and lead to more effective and efficient searching. Our findings have implications for the design of the user experience in search systems.
Year
DOI
Venue
2013
10.1145/2470654.2481416
CHI
Keywords
Field
DocType
orientation support,basic support,landing-page content,caption content,landing page content,landing page,search result examination,search-engine result page,serp caption,clickable snippet,result page,orientation
Thumbnail,World Wide Web,Landing page,User experience design,Search engine,Information retrieval,Computer science,Extant taxon,Clickable,Multimedia
Conference
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
2
0.35
21
Authors
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Henry A. Feild132918.08
Ryen White24546222.75
Xin Fu349139.70