🔍 Search Report

Search intent, uncovered for admins: Discover what your users are searching for in Confluence.

Overview

The Search Report lets Confluence administrators track their users' search activity. It helps uncover important keywords, missing content, and popular searches in your intranet.

Since January 2021, the data from the app Search Analytics is included in Viewtracker.

The report tracks searches performed in the main Confluence search field. It does not track searches/filters in the Space or People Directory.

Since the summer of 2022, searches carried out via Brikit Targeted Search are included in Viewtracker’s Search Report.

Search Report

The Search Report consists of

• a graph showing the overall number of searches over the selected timeframe (default: last 30 days)

• a table listing

  • search terms: what your users inserted into the search field.

  • the number of results: how many results Confluence found for that particular search term.

  • the number of searches: how often users carried out this particular search.
    

    

What is tracked?

The app considers everything a user types into the main Confluence search field a separate search term (unless stated differently in the app settings, see below ↓).

• If a user starts typing something and clicks on one of the suggested search results, the app will only register the string that the user typed before clicking something.

• If a user starts typing something and leaves it unchanged for longer than three seconds, the app will register the (incomplete) string as a search term.

• If the search contains words like "to", "not", "or" (stop words), these will not show up in the search terms.

• If the search contains symbols, these will not show up in the search terms.

• Filters selected by the users are not tracked.

Why do the number of results vary?

Viewtracker only records the search results that Confluence gives to a user.

• If an admin has access to restricted content, Confluence will suggest it, and Viewtracker will track the number of suggestions.

• If a normal user searches for the same restricted content, Confluence will not suggest it and our app will report that no results were found for this search term.

Filter the Search Report

Use the search field below the graph to filter the table for specific search terms (or parts of them).

Changing the date range

• As a default, the data from the last 30 days are displayed. You can change that by clicking into the date field and selecting a different date range. All metrics will adapt automatically.

• You can group the metrics in the graph by using “Group by” days (default), weeks, months, or years.
  

  

Choosing which metrics to display in the graph

Below the graph, there is a drop-down menu listing the available metrics. By default, “Searches” are selected.

Select the metrics you want to appear in the graph, and the graph will adapt automatically. Viewtracker saves the metric selection; whenever you access the report in the future, the selected metrics will be displayed in the graph.

Saving and sharing reports

Once you’ve applied a filter or changed the report's date range, the report’s URL will adapt with parameters like ?dateValue=this.week&searchText=export.

This is useful for the following reasons:

• You can copy and share the URL with co-workers with the same access permission.

• You can save the URL to access a customized report quickly.

Export Searches

You can export individual or aggregated searches as a CSV file by using the “Export” button. See details: 📥 Export Viewtracker Data Center/Server Data

How to work with the Search Report

The table lists the search terms by the number of searches (last column). This gives you an overview of your users' search behavior.

Settings

Access the Tracking settings via Analytics Cockpit - Tracking.

Here, you can specify

• the minimum length of a search term (default: 3)

• if numbers in searches should be included or ignored.