Abstract

We present a model for mining user queries found within the access logs of a website and for relating this information to the website's overall usage, structure and content. The aim of this model is to discover, in a simple way, valuable information to improve the quality of the website, allowing the website to become more intuitive and adequate for the needs of its users. This model presents a methodology of analysis and classification of the different types of queries registered in the usage logs of a website, such as queries submitted by users to the site's internal search engine and queries on global search engines that lead to documents in the website. These queries provide useful information about topics that interest users visiting the website and the navigation patterns associated to these queries indicate whether or not the documents in the site satisfied the user's needs at that moment. © 2006 Springer-Verlag.