Internet Marketing - Matt Bailey [131]
The card sort test is simple. Take all the subject matter you have on your website—each page, along with the specific content of that page—and write each bit of information on a different card. Now, organize those cards into a hierarchy of information. What is a major category? What is a minor category? Should this information stand alone? The primary question is, how can this information be grouped logically?
By organizing your content through a visual method, you can grasp the importance of how content should flow. You may also see how visitors could become confused when subject matter is closely related but not relevant or, if it is relevant, easily found. Card sorting helps you find logical categories, establish relationships between the content, and develop a better strategy for organizing the content. In addition to finding consistencies, the card sort will also expose areas of your navigation that are not clear or have no logical placement.
Card-Sorting Tools
For online card-sorting tests, I recommend two primary options. There are a few others, but they don’t compare in terms of features and flexibility. Optimal Sort from Optimal Workshop (www.optimalworkshop.com) and WebSort (www.websort.net) are the two leaders in this area, but expect more to join them in the coming years!
For in-person card sorting, I have been using an application for the iPad called iCardSort. It is a very clean drag-and-drop interface, and because it is on the iPad, I have no problem getting people to perform the card sort—simply because it is alluring by being on the iPad. iCardSort can then email each respondent’s results with all of the categories defined and an image of the final sort. It’s perfect for later analysis!
If you don’t have an iPad or just want to save money, then the old-fashioned method of sticky notes or index cards is still the most reliable standby. People are familiar with them and seem to respond better to the tactile sense of holding and organizing cards.
Careful, though! Most people will organize the content differently each time it is performed. And of course, not everyone will have the same opinions on that organization! The best method for card sorting is to build a level of consensus based on enough tests that consistencies arise. My preference is to have 12 to 20 customers or nonemployees. That number should provide enough trends to develop a plan of information development.
Card sorting is a good method to help include customers and get their opinions on content organization; however, it is critical to keep customer tests apart from internal or employee tests. It is surprising how different the tests can be from the internal view of a company when compared to a customer’s input. Employees tend to spend much more time and be much more careful about classifying information compared to customers who may be taking the test.
Enticement and Rewards for Customer Participation
For getting customers to participate in a card sort, especially an online card-sorting exercise, I like to provide incentives or drawings for those who complete the task. When sending an invitation to customers or others to be part of the card sort (or any type of survey), I recommend to ask them for less than 10 minutes of their time. In doing so, I try to make the test require less than five minutes. The worst thing you can do is create an extremely long test that does not reward people for their assistance.
Remember that this is customers helping you, and you need to provide an incentive and show gratitude for their willingness to provide their time and effort in these tests and surveys. Gift cards, gift certificates, branded logo clothing, and future discounts can work well as incentives.
To get a good sample of responses, you need to be gracious, accommodating, concise, and generous. Keep in mind you may also have to perform the card sort a few more times during a development process, so make sure you have a good pool of willing