track user behavior and search analytics in jekyll knowledge bases

Why Tracking Search Behavior Matters

Tracking user behavior on your knowledge base can provide insights into how users interact with your content. In particular, search analytics show what users are looking for, which can help you optimize content and improve search relevance over time. In a multilingual Jekyll setup hosted on GitHub Pages, understanding search queries, clicks, and trends helps you create a more effective knowledge base.

Step 1: Setting Up Google Analytics

To track user interactions with your Jekyll knowledge base, you can integrate Google Analytics. This provides detailed insights into user behavior, including search interactions. Begin by setting up Google Analytics for your site.

• Sign up for Google Analytics and create a property for your GitHub Pages site.
• Copy the tracking code provided by Google Analytics.
• Add the tracking code to your Jekyll site in _includes/head.html:

<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=YOUR_TRACKING_ID"></script>
<script>
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
  gtag('js', new Date());

  gtag('config', 'YOUR_TRACKING_ID');
</script>

Step 2: Track Search Queries

To track search queries, you need to listen for search actions. You can use JavaScript to send event data to Google Analytics whenever a user performs a search on your knowledge base.

const searchInput = document.getElementById('search-input');

searchInput.addEventListener('change', function() {
  const query = searchInput.value;
  gtag('event', 'search_query', {
    'event_category': 'Search',
    'event_label': query,
    'value': 1
  });
});

With this, each time a user searches for a query, it will be logged in Google Analytics under the "Search" category.

Step 3: Track Search Clicks

Next, you’ll want to track when users click on a search result. This gives insight into which results are being clicked most frequently, indicating their relevance to the user’s query.

const resultsContainer = document.getElementById('search-results');

resultsContainer.addEventListener('click', function(e) {
  if (e.target && e.target.matches('a')) {
    const resultTitle = e.target.innerText;
    gtag('event', 'search_click', {
      'event_category': 'Search Result',
      'event_label': resultTitle,
      'value': 1
    });
  }
});

Step 4: Analyze Trends in Search Behavior

Once you start collecting search event data, you can use Google Analytics to analyze trends:

• Top Search Queries: Identify the most common search terms to uncover user needs.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Compare which results are clicked the most after searching.
• Popular Articles: Track articles that are frequently searched and clicked.

Step 5: Use Google Tag Manager for Advanced Tracking

If you need more advanced tracking capabilities, consider using Google Tag Manager (GTM). GTM allows you to create and manage tags (like event tracking) without editing your site's code directly.

• Set up a GTM container for your GitHub Pages site.
• Create triggers for search queries and clicks, and define variables for each event.
• Publish the GTM container and track the events as described earlier.

Step 6: Monitor and Improve Based on Analytics

Once you have enough data, start making informed decisions:

• If users frequently search for a term but don’t click any results, consider improving content or SEO for that term.
• If users click on a specific search result often, optimize similar content to replicate that success.
• Track seasonal trends to adjust your content updates according to peak search times.

Step 7: Adding Custom Analytics for Multilingual Support

For multilingual knowledge bases, track searches separately by language:

const userLang = navigator.language.slice(0, 2);

gtag('event', 'search_query', {
  'event_category': 'Search',
  'event_label': query,
  'value': 1,
  'language': userLang
});

This allows you to understand search behavior in different languages and optimize content accordingly.

Step 8: Review Behavior with Jekyll Logs

In addition to Google Analytics, you can review server-side logs for more granular tracking. Jekyll logs can provide insights into page views, resource usage, and server-side errors. However, this method is more technical and might require additional configuration.

Conclusion

Integrating user behavior tracking into your Jekyll knowledge base not only provides insights into how users engage with your content but also helps you optimize your site’s search capabilities. By tracking search queries, clicks, and user trends, you can improve content relevance and usability over time, especially for multilingual audiences.

In the next article, we will explore how to integrate personalized search results based on user profiles or previous searches.