Client: Ranken Technical College
Website: www.ranken.edu
Project type: usability testing
Challenge: After launching a redesigned website, Ranken Technical College wanted to research how users were browsing the new site. Ranken wanted to see the browsing patterns of three distinct audiences: students who started or recently completed the college search process, parents of those students and Ranken alumni who may potentially donate to the school.
Solution: Using impartial, third-party usability testing software, The Net Impact orchestrated a sophisticated, task-based usability test for each of those three audiences. Study participants that fit each of the audience demographics were recruited to complete specific tasks related to finding relevant information on the website. For example, the student group was tasked with finding degree listings and statistical data like job placement percentages for the industrial technology degree program. Usability tests provide vital video data that shows how users navigate through a website and how long it takes that user to complete a task. At the conclusion of the usability testing exercise, The Net Impact used this data to provide Ranken with a comprehensive, page-by-page list of SEO recommendations to improve navigation, search engine optimization and overall website usability.