Speak Your Users' Language
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Flip them over?
What do you use to
Other than strong and graceful wrist action.
Show of hands: What do you call that kitchen implement?
Show of hands: What do you call that kitchen implement?
Photo by sataylor pix
Sur La Table
Fancy cooking gear
For several years, I was the content strategist and UX team of one at Sur La Table.
If you're not familiar with Sur La table, they're the second-largest specialty cookware retailer in the US, after Williams-Sonoma.
So, not as big as Target or Bed Bath and Beyond or Amazon, but 100+ stores in cities across the US. Including Minneapolis!
If you're not familiar with Sur La table, they're the second-largest specialty cookware retailer in the US, after Williams-Sonoma.
So, not as big as Target or Bed Bath and Beyond or Amazon, but 100+ stores in cities across the US. Including Minneapolis!
Photo by Seattle Municipal Archives
WE CALL IT A TURNER. (INDUSTRY TERM.)
ANYWAY, when I started at Sur La Table, we called them (internally and externally) "turners."
Because the people who make them tend to call them "turners."
Because the people who make them tend to call them "turners."
Photo by Sam Felder
CUSTOMERS USE ALL THREE WORDS
- Spatula
- Turner
- Flipper
Note that "turner" is not the "correct" term. And, if you geek out about the history of the tool, a turner is just a specialized kind of spatula, which is why so many people call them spatulas.
Photo by kfergos
AND SO DO CUSTOMERS!
This and the pancake-flipping thingy are both spatulas, to a majority of customers.
Photo by sunshinelibrarian
we used to keep spatulas and turners separate
Two completely different sections on the website. Spatulas here, turners here.
(Though they all lived under cooks' tools.)
(Though they all lived under cooks' tools.)
Photo by jessamyn
Le Creuset: French Oven
Specifically, Le Creuset, who are famous for their enameled cookware and a Big Deal in the cookware biz, used to call this product a French oven.
(Though I've noticed on their own website that they bowed to convention and now use the term Dutch oven.)
(Though I've noticed on their own website that they bowed to convention and now use the term Dutch oven.)
Photo by Phil KP
Sur La Table uses their product name:
Le Creuset Signature
Round French Oven
When we're selling someone's product, who are we to change the actual product name?
Photo by lippert61
customers want dutch ovens.
THEY SEARCH FOR "DUTCH OVEN" 4X MORE THAN "FRENCH OVEN"
Photo by 24oranges.nl
Solution:
Make sure people find French ovens when they search for Dutch ovens.
Photo by Matthew Cachia
Note: Le Creuset now uses "Dutch Oven" on their site.
I'm not privy to why, but I'd guess that at least part of the reason is they want the search traffic and recognized what terms people are actually using.
Photo by lippert61
You want to serve salt at your table.
Not in a shaker.
What do you look for?
Kosher salt and sea salt don't fit through the holes in an ordinary shaker, after all.
Any ideas what product you'd look for?
Any ideas what product you'd look for?
Photo by Debs (ò‿ó)♪
MOST POPULAR?
Photo by Joe Shlabotnik
SALT CELLAR
Photo by Happy Krissy
MEANING:
WE HAD NO PRODUCTS WITH THE TERM "SALT CELLAR" IN THEIR NAME
Photo by Chiot's Run
Manufacturers don't agree.
Dictionaries don't agree.
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It's salty anarchy
(Salinarchy? Salarchy?)
One thing about English: Sometimes precise definitions don't exist, and it's not worth forcing distinctions for their own sake.
Photo by 24thcentury
Dictionaries & Thesauruses
Let's start low-tech: Dictionaries were great. Online dictionaries that allow you to search within definitions are even better.
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Slang dictionary
I love the Oxford English Dictionary, but when you want info on English as she is spoke, it's useful to look at more casual sources. Wiktionary, Wordnik, even Urban Dictionary. (Which gives you a whole different perspective on some culinary terms.)
Photo by crdotx
BOOKS ABOUT THE SUBJECT
For us: Cooking guides and cookbooks. Most of the how-to books like America's Test Kitchen's guides or Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything have discussions of kitchen equipment.
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Dictionary of American Regional English
This is a super fun resource. Cooking has a strong regional component to it, so it's not all that surprising that there are regionalisms involved in cooking words.
I used an online version through the Seattle Public Library's subscription, and once again used the definition search.
I used an online version through the Seattle Public Library's subscription, and once again used the definition search.
Photo by Kevin Hutchinson
harvard dialect survey
Related: Remember the amazing dialect test in the New York Times a couple of years ago? Based on the dialect survey.
Photo by Eric Fischer
Pop vs Soda
For example
Sure, it's fun to mock people for saying "pop," but you don't actually want to make things difficult for them.
Photo by Thomas Hawk
frosting vs icing
For example
You can use a spatula! Yet another kind of spatula!
Photo by StuartWebster
More specific?
Can we get
Those resources all gave suggestions for words and terminology that people in general use. Could we bring that around to be more specific, focusing on Sur La Table customers?
Photo by Kaysse
(This is where I got the "spatula" data.)
"Spatula" was one of the top 50 searched-for terms on the website.
"Turner" was not.
"Turner" was not.
Photo by indelicateink
User Surveys
We used a company that served random web visitors a survey where you can rank a bunch of questions from 1 to 10. (I know, I hate them too.)
I didn't love their quantification, but I was a big fan of the write-in fields. One of the many things you could find out: the words they used.
I didn't love their quantification, but I was a big fan of the write-in fields. One of the many things you could find out: the words they used.
Photo by Swamibu
Customer Reviews
We were lucky enough to get a steady stream of customer reviews on many products, and it was always interesting to dive in and read them.
Photo by DieselDemon
Photo by Calidenism
Customer Service
Online chat transcripts.
Direct feedback: "This customer said they couldn't find X."
Direct feedback: "This customer said they couldn't find X."
Photo by jeffdjevdet
Usability sessions
Photo by lucamascaro
Story time
Remember the whole spatula vs. flipper vs. turner thing?
Because we were re-taxonomizing the website, we got funding for actual live usability sessions. (Our first ever!)
One task we asked people to perform was to think of something they'd shop for for their kitchen, then see if they could find it on our site without using search.
One woman said she wanted to buy a new spatula.
Because we were testing taxonomy, people weren't allowed to search.
Because we were re-taxonomizing the website, we got funding for actual live usability sessions. (Our first ever!)
One task we asked people to perform was to think of something they'd shop for for their kitchen, then see if they could find it on our site without using search.
One woman said she wanted to buy a new spatula.
Because we were testing taxonomy, people weren't allowed to search.
Photo by Chris&Rhiannon
FIVE MINUTES OF FRUSTRATION!
At the time, we had a landing page for turners, and a landing page for spatulas, with completely different inventory. Turners had the pancake flippers, spatulas had the bowl scrapers and cupcake frosters.
This woman found her way to the Spatulas landing page, but she was looking for something to use to turn over hamburgers. Something we, unbeknownst to her, called a Turner.
She spent five minutes talking through how confused she was that we didn't carry many spatulas. (In a cruel irony, two turners had been included on the spatula page by accident, so there was just enough confirmation to really keep her fixated.)
This woman found her way to the Spatulas landing page, but she was looking for something to use to turn over hamburgers. Something we, unbeknownst to her, called a Turner.
She spent five minutes talking through how confused she was that we didn't carry many spatulas. (In a cruel irony, two turners had been included on the spatula page by accident, so there was just enough confirmation to really keep her fixated.)
Photo by porschelinn
Miserable customers
are a compelling argument.
I had made this point, verbally, many times. People even generally agreed with it, though they didn't care much.
But watching a customer — someone who knew and liked our brand — obsess for five minutes about why we didn't sell spatulas made things change.
But watching a customer — someone who knew and liked our brand — obsess for five minutes about why we didn't sell spatulas made things change.
Photo by horizontal.integration
Skillet or Frying Pan?
Maybe Fry pan!
Ideally, no matter what you call them officially (we went with skillet), searching for "skillet," "frying pan," or "fry pan" should turn up the same results.
Photo by KirkOls
Solution
IN OUR THESAURUS, THEY ARE ALL EQUAL
So should "bain-marie" and "double boiler," or "flapjack" and "pancake," or "immersion blender" and "stick blender" and "hand blender" and "wand blender."
Note: We used Endeca to run site searches at the time. I won't go into details, because they're not the only internal search engine out there. I can't promise that it's easy, but if you can roll up your sleeves and tinker with the search thesaurus, it's worth it.
Note: We used Endeca to run site searches at the time. I won't go into details, because they're not the only internal search engine out there. I can't promise that it's easy, but if you can roll up your sleeves and tinker with the search thesaurus, it's worth it.
Photo by bungy032
Solution
for spatulas and turners and flippers?
It's a little trickier when the search terms are not exact synonyms.
Photo by bungy032
Nuance:
spatula equals turner,
but turner doesn't
equal spatula.
So when someone searches for the word "spatula," they'll see both bowl scrapers and pancake flippers.
But when they search for the word "turner" (or "flipper"), they see pancake flippers but not bowl scrapers.
Why? "Spatula" is a broader word, so we couldn't know which spatula people meant. But "turner" and "flipper" are both more specific — people using those terms knew they didn't want the bowl scraper. They had stuff to turn over.
Figuring out the logic of synonyms is one of the fun parts of this detailed vocabulary work.
But when they search for the word "turner" (or "flipper"), they see pancake flippers but not bowl scrapers.
Why? "Spatula" is a broader word, so we couldn't know which spatula people meant. But "turner" and "flipper" are both more specific — people using those terms knew they didn't want the bowl scraper. They had stuff to turn over.
Figuring out the logic of synonyms is one of the fun parts of this detailed vocabulary work.
Photo by bungy032
a copy style guide?
WHO AMONG YOU HAS WORKED ON
As in creating or maintaining one, not just consulting one.
Photo by DaveCrosby
(Or how to spell things)
This is another thing to keep an eye on in internal search data, by the way — how forgiving is the built-in correction? Test it out! And if it sucks, see if you can tweak it (or get a better search function).
Photo by revbean
Pad Thai vs phad thai
A little secret: Our cooking program has a recipe for pad thai, but they spell it "phad thai" (with the H) because that's how it was spelled on the menu at the restaurant where they got it. No references pointing out the overwhelming popularity of "pad thai" without the H dissuaded them. So we made sure that searches for "pad thai" would turn up those classes and recipes.
Note that this kind of spelling behavior is something that Google does really well (surprise), and lots of internal search engines are pretty good at. But in this case, it didn't hurt to nudge it along.
Note that this kind of spelling behavior is something that Google does really well (surprise), and lots of internal search engines are pretty good at. But in this case, it didn't hurt to nudge it along.
Photo by hermitsmoores
Click to Edit
It's good to figure out your own voice.
This is another thing to keep an eye on in internal search data, by the way — how forgiving is the built-in correction? Test it out! And if it sucks, see if you can tweak it (or get a better search function).
Photo by Shrieking Tree
But you don't need to change your customer's voice
Photo by Shrieking Tree
Tip
Look for contested words or insider knowledge
Have you argued about whether to use "soda" or "pop"? "Comics" or "graphic novel" or "comic book"? "Drinking fountain" or "water fountain" or the correct term, "bubbler"?
Photo by Theen ...
attractions vs
trip ideas vs
see & do
Example:
When I worked on a web redesign for Travel Oregon, I noticed that the design team had distinct definitions for major parts of their site navigation: "See and Do," "Trip Ideas," and "Attractions."
When we asked actual Travel Oregon customers about these terms, though, many of them didn't see any difference between these terms. Maybe worse, the people who did think they were different didn't agree on what the definitions were. For example, some people thought of attractions as manmade, some as natural.
In the end we simplified the site taxonomy and got rid of many overlapping concepts as navigation elements.
When I worked on a web redesign for Travel Oregon, I noticed that the design team had distinct definitions for major parts of their site navigation: "See and Do," "Trip Ideas," and "Attractions."
When we asked actual Travel Oregon customers about these terms, though, many of them didn't see any difference between these terms. Maybe worse, the people who did think they were different didn't agree on what the definitions were. For example, some people thought of attractions as manmade, some as natural.
In the end we simplified the site taxonomy and got rid of many overlapping concepts as navigation elements.
Photo by Curtis Gregory Perry
Another story
A couple of months before I left Sur La Table, we had another round of full-on usability sessions.
This time, one woman said she wanted to find a hand mixer.
This time, one woman said she wanted to find a hand mixer.
Photo by libertygrace0
hand mixer
This is what she found. But it wasn't what she was looking for.
Immersion Blender
This is what she was looking for.
Everyone in the room was surprised — it never would've occurred to us to confuse the terms. But once we found out we were able to play with the search thesaurus.
(Content marketers take note: We wrote blog posts about "What's the difference between a spatula, a turner, and a flipper?" and "What's the difference between a hand mixer and an immersion blender?" and they've both proved wildly popular, especially with natural search. People are curious.)
Everyone in the room was surprised — it never would've occurred to us to confuse the terms. But once we found out we were able to play with the search thesaurus.
(Content marketers take note: We wrote blog posts about "What's the difference between a spatula, a turner, and a flipper?" and "What's the difference between a hand mixer and an immersion blender?" and they've both proved wildly popular, especially with natural search. People are curious.)
Learn your customer's language
Paying attention to the language your customers use — and what they expect from you — helps prioritize the stuff you don't need to do.
Here's what I mean.
Here's what I mean.
Photo by Marc Wathieu
That's good UX
(and good editors know this)
Editing is a user experience discipline. Or a reader experience discipline, if you want some more precise jargon.
Photo by Leo Reynolds
best practices
no match for a good blaster at your side
We all know how useful "best practices" are.
Better than nothing, but no match for a good blaster at your side. Or actual user data and experience.
But a lot of editing practices get handed down like old recipes, or the way "best practices" are passed around.
There's a famous bit of urban folklore. The story goes, a couple gets married, and the husband notices that whenever his new wife makes brisket, she cuts the ends off. When he asks why, she says it's because that's how she learned it from her mother. When she asks her mother, she finds out that she cut the ends off because otherwise her roasts wouldn't fit in the pan.
The habit made sense once, but could've been reexamined once the context shifted.
Better than nothing, but no match for a good blaster at your side. Or actual user data and experience.
But a lot of editing practices get handed down like old recipes, or the way "best practices" are passed around.
There's a famous bit of urban folklore. The story goes, a couple gets married, and the husband notices that whenever his new wife makes brisket, she cuts the ends off. When he asks why, she says it's because that's how she learned it from her mother. When she asks her mother, she finds out that she cut the ends off because otherwise her roasts wouldn't fit in the pan.
The habit made sense once, but could've been reexamined once the context shifted.
Photo by Lunchbox Photography
So ... why edit things
that aren't confusing?
We all know how precious editorial time is. Why spend that time on things that don't matter to your audience?
Photo by Horia Varlan
Wait. wrong kind.
Everyone know what widows and orphans are, from a typesetting perspective? Stray lines left dangling at the beginning or end of a paragraph.
Alex Cruden, a copyeditor for the Free Press in Detroit, tested copy featuring these and other bad breaks with readers — and the readers didn't notice.
Alex Cruden, a copyeditor for the Free Press in Detroit, tested copy featuring these and other bad breaks with readers — and the readers didn't notice.
Photo by lisby1
Eliminating widows & orphans wasted copyeditors' time.
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"No reader had any problem
with 'bad breaks.'
We had been laboring on
an imaginary improvement."
— John McIntyre
Of course, we work on the web, where fretting over widows and orphans is, or should be, a thing of the past, given how copy can look different on every browser and device.
Photo by mMathab
"New to the Stylebook:
over, as well as more than,
is acceptable to indicate
greater numerical value."
A similar story: The AP Stylebook decided, a couple of years ago, to change a rule they had about the use of "over". Previously, you could not conform to AP style and use "over" for numbers, and had to change it to "more than."
Photo by Lee Bennett
it's a bogus rule
But ...
Where did this come from? Not from linguists, or even grammarians. It was a pet peeve of a 19th Century newspaper editor, who just degreed that "over" or "above" should be used with numbers, rather than "more than."
Photo by Marc DUPUY
Why spend time making edits that don't matter to users?
Photo by Leo Reynolds
Spend time on details that matter.
Photo by Leo Reynolds
Spend time figuring out which details those are.
Photo by Leo Reynolds
OXFORD COMMA!
Most of us who write or edit for a living have an opinion about serial commas — it's a sign that you care, man!
But I have yet to see any proof that customers or other users notice which way you go, unless you blindly follow a style guide. Pick your style, break it when necessary for clarity, and move on.
But I have yet to see any proof that customers or other users notice which way you go, unless you blindly follow a style guide. Pick your style, break it when necessary for clarity, and move on.
Photo by Leo Reynolds
Ideally, both
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copyediting is a UX discipline
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QUESTIONS?
Photo by an untrained eye
