Search results should be ... just no. What?

June 18, 2008
Published by Krzysztof P.

I remember in college classes today with Search information. Taking repeated to us several times:

A good search engine should never return an empty list of results

And something in it. It's not widely known that the job search is finding correlated with the dependent position of a phrase's search and display results in the form of structured according to the degree of relevance of these results (from the best fit to least fit).

And the world of designers such engines would be nice if it had not once again stubbornness and unusual behavior of Internet users, constantly wypisujących in the search box or completely empty phrases, separated from any accepted norms and forms of language. What then?

Then my friends started an interesting discussion on "What to display when a user enters a blank password?". Solutions is, of course, as always, so many of them discussing the most popular are those presented below.

Empty page or message: No results
This is probably the most commonly used solution. From a programming point of view it is quite natural: nothing matches the given query, we display an empty list, and that is usually empty list can not be wise to throw the message is present. And the job's done. And what do you? She wonders what went wrong again ...

I will be stubborn and I will go, that nothing typed
It's more subtle technique, which uses even the biggest giant in the market to find information - Google. Beautifully, the matter at a low cost solution, but I will ask once again: What does a user? She wonders what went wrong again ...

If this form is validated say
This solution I can no longer swallow by the already bitter bottleneck. Somewhat reasonable solution - if we took care of it, that within the search engine found a place for this message. But what about the basic functionality that should satisfy a good search engine? Where the results? And what do you? He thinks that I broke again ... because most messages are written in language inhuman.

My 0.03 zł to topic
I believe that if the search should display the results let it do it. And if the user has already asked the trouble to click (use) in the Search button is no doubt we should treat him as the best form of matching the search for his behavior.

let us give you a clear and written in their native language - including tips on your Miodek correct Polish - a message to him (you) informed about the committed GAFI
ensure the possibility of changes in search engine queries, by filling in the fields for entering the phrases already given fragment of characters and for heaven's sake - let this form does not occupy the entire visible area in 1024 as is the case here
and finally submission display the results most relevant to a given phrase, and if it is a blank query submission display a list of the most searched and clicked on the results - keeping such statistics pays
at the end let's conscience and consider why people enter on our website such phrases - can they reason?

It is enough to loose my discussion caused reflection on the website IxDA.

Update:
Below I present two interesting presentations. Separated from the above topic is driven, but the same themes ordinates information retrieval and presentation of results:

The second presentation:

If the above article you like, subscribe to the RSS feed and stay up to date with the latest on the blog!