Early-stage researchers couldn’t find Perlego

At first, we were not sure how to achieve the goal. Then analysing the analytics revealed that our user acquisition from search engines predominantly stemmed from searches using the format "book title + pdf." While we successfully attracted users with specific book titles in mind, we struggled to reach researchers exploring broader terms within their academic fields. This gap highlighted that many researchers were unable to discover Perlego and access its extensive content library, resulting in the loss of valuable resources.

As a result, Perlego missed an opportunity to engage a significant segment of "early-stage researchers" who are just beginning their academic search and seeking various books related to their research topics.

See the previous research insights below

Optimise content discovery to drive growth

Targeting early-stage researchers and meeting their goals by optimising the content discovery for broader searched terms will help Perlego engage a wider audience, facilitate content discovery for researchers, and drive sustainable growth.

Book relevancy to searched terms matters to researchers

Create new key-term pages to surface matched books

I led a brainstorming workshop with the team. We discussed numerous ideas for "...How might we improve discoverability for broader research and guide users toward relevant content based on their search intent?"

Map new content discovery journey

I mapped the user journey, incorporating insights from interviews to help me understand the existing perception and mindset when researchers landed on the new pages.

Start with a keyword search on a search engine and end with researchers finding relevant books on Perlego matching their search key terms. 

New key-term pages 

These new pages will

• Target broader search terms to improve discoverability

• Surface relevant books based on user search intent. 

• Display excerpts from relevant books for each key term. 

See below the first design when I was exploring various layouts and components...

See below the design I created to test with researchers

Add second CTA (button) and publisher name

I also asked follow-up questions to address key assumptions.

Assumptions:

• Sufficient Information: Are book details and excerpts on the result page enough for researchers to determine relevance?

• CTA Placement: Should we include a second CTA for each book on the result page, allowing researchers to access additional information (like the table of contents), or maintain a single CTA for optimal click-through rates?

Design before test

I added a second CTA "Learn more" and publisher name to provide enough information following survey insights.

Design after test

Design for various sales rights

I adapted my skills to meet the unique challenge of how we could deliver key term pages globally that display multiple book extracts when we have different sales rights restrictions in different regions. 

I initially considered removing unavailable books from the page. However, to address the challenge of localisation and sales rights restrictions for key term searches, after discussing with the team, I decided to keep them for several key reasons:

• SEO performance: Pages with fewer than three books hurt SEO, and the project is still in its early stages.

• Changing sales rights: Books currently unavailable may become accessible as sales rights often change.

• Value for unpaid learners: Even if they can't access the books, unpaid learners can still discover which titles are highly relevant to their search terms.

New pages received rankings/impressions

Change strategy to adapt to sales challenges

During this project, I gained invaluable experience collaborating closely with the SEO team. I learned how to align UX and SEO priorities and adapt my skills and strategies to address unique challenges, such as navigating different sales rights and guiding the decision-making process.