[MC] Search Analytics 1.1.2

Search Analytics records what your members and guests search for and shows you the searches that came back empty. Those are the questions your forum has not answered yet, so they are ranked by how often they are asked, with every wording of the same question gathered into one cluster. For the clusters that matter most, it asks your search engine why nothing matched: a typo, content that exists under other words, or a genuine gap worth a new thread.



Features

Zero-result searches

• Zero-result queries page ranked by how many searches came back empty, with a trend line and a Typo or Gap badge per row
• Intent clustering: different wordings of one question ("x870e vs b850", "b850 vs x870e") collapse into one cluster, using stemming and stopword lists for English, German, French and Spanish
• Search engine diagnostics with Elasticsearch: each cluster that mostly returns nothing is checked in the background and labelled a likely typo with its suggested correction, matching content under different wording with a link to the closest match, or a genuine content gap
• Suggested tags for each diagnosed cluster, from the content your members already read. Without Elasticsearch, tag suggestions still work through MySQL search
• Query detail: daily volume, first seen date, average result count, the members who searched for it and every recent search

Reports

• Overview with zero-result queries, total searches, unique queries, unique searchers and zero-result rate, with the change against the previous period
• Daily search volume chart and a breakdown by search type
• Top queries with searches, zero results, trend line and change against the previous period
• Click-through rate and average clicked position per query, once Capture result clicks is on
• Trending: queries rising fastest against the average of their previous four periods, by day, week or month
• Clusters page listing every cluster with its variants, total searches and zero-result rate
• 7, 30 and 90 day ranges or any custom date range, sortable columns and a search type filter
• Export CSV from the zero-result, top queries, trending and clusters pages

Public widgets

• Two widgets: Top searches and Unanswered searches
• Eight layouts for each: Heatmap, List, Sparklines, Search bar, Tag cloud, Editorial, Statistic and Ticker
• Top searches can link each query to a fresh search. Unanswered searches can invite members to start a thread on the query, in a forum you choose or one the member picks
• Look-back window, maximum queries and minimum searches per query set per widget
• A query only appears once at least 3 different members or guests have searched for it (Widget frequency floor), so one member's searches never become public
• Searches made by following a widget link are not counted again

Privacy and control

• Members can keep their searches out of the public widgets from their privacy preferences. Capture for the reports is not affected
• Denylist with exact, contains and regex patterns, an optional reason per entry and a Test a query box. Matching queries are never captured
• Guest IPs are stored only as a keyed hash, used to count unique guests. Turn Hash guest IPs off and no IP is stored at all
• Attribute searches to users can be turned off, so searches are stored with no user id
• Excluded user groups: searches by these groups are never captured, useful for staff
• Raw searches are kept for 30 days and daily totals for 730 days (defaults), each set separately
• Click capture records the position of the result clicked, never which content it was. Off by default
• Conversations are never captured

Permissions and options

• View search analytics dashboard, Manage search analytics denylist and View raw user-attributed searches: admin permissions, so an admin can see the reports without seeing which member searched for what
• View Search Analytics widgets: a member permission controlling who sees the public widgets, given to guests and registered members on install
• Capture these search types: post and thread searches by default, and any search type your other add-ons register
• Minimum query length, default 3 characters
• Options are grouped into General, Processing, Surfacing and Widgets tabs

Other features

• Only genuine searches are counted: reloading a results page, search-as-you-type suggestions and search engine robots are ignored
• Capture never slows or breaks a search: rows are written in one batch at the end of the request, and an error in the add-on never reaches the member
• Daily rollup, retention prune, trending, diagnostics and widget cache run as separate cron entries, and the overview shows when the last rollup ran
• Works with MySQL search or Elasticsearch through XenForo Enhanced Search
• xf:mc-sa-self-test command runs the whole pipeline on tagged sample data and removes it afterwards
• Responsive on mobile, and works in light and dark styles

FAQ

Do I need Elasticsearch?
No. Capture, every report and the widgets work with MySQL search. Typo and content gap verdicts need XenForo Enhanced Search with Elasticsearch; without it, diagnostics suggest tags only.

Does it show searches made before I installed it?
No. Capture starts when the add-on is installed, and the reports fill in from the first daily rollup.

Can members see what other members searched for?
No. The widgets show queries and counts only, never who searched, and only once enough different people have searched for a query. Which member searched for what is visible only to admins with View raw user-attributed searches, and only while Attribute searches to users is on.

What happens on uninstall?
Every table, the member privacy preference and the add-on's stored data are removed.

Is there branding, and can I remove it?
Yes, a small footer credit. Removing it is free: switch it off with the Remove branding option in [MC] Core Library.



Screenshots

Zero-result searches



Reports





Public widgets





Privacy and control



Permissions and options