SearchTrends

Perceptive Enterprise Search has built-in user trends tracking. To enable this feature, you must have an SQL server database available for use by Perceptive Enterprise Search. Perceptive Enterprise Search will populate this database with user search trends and statistics.

Microsoft SQL Server Express Edition is the preferred database server for this task. To install and configure Microsoft SQL Server Express Edition download the appropriate installer file for your machine from the Microsoft website and follow the prompts.

SearchTrends Database

SQL Server

Specifies the machine name where SQL server is installed. This may be in the form of SERVERNAME or SERVERNAME\INSTANCE.

For Microsoft SQL Server Express Edition the default SQL Server name is MACHINENAME\SQLEXPRESS.

SQL Server Database Name

Specifies the name of the database where Perceptive Enterprise Search will store the SearchTrends. If the name specified does not exist, the database will be created for you.

Login Type

Specifies what authentication method Perceptive Enterprise Search should use to login to the database. This may be either "SQL Authentication" or "Windows Authentication". Please note that when using "Windows Authentication", the database connection is established in the context of the "searching" user. It is therefore recommended to use "SQL Authentication".

Database Username

Specifies the SQL server username to login with when using "SQL Authentication". This field can be left blank when using "Windows Authentication".

Database Password

Specifies the SQL server password to login with when using "SQL Authentication". This field can be left blank when using "Windows Authentication".

Connect to an existing SearchTrends database

Instructs Perceptive Enterprise Search to connect to an already running SearchTrends database. This allows multiple Perceptive Enterprise Search Servers to share a single SQL Server database.

Please note that the user account your search website uses for authentication (found on the Admin page under WebSites -> -> Security -> Access Control), must have write access to this database for search trends to be stored.

SearchTrends Analysis

SearchTrends Analysis will analyze your SearchTrends data and offer suggested synonyms that could be created to improve your user's search experience. The analysis process can take some time, so is done in the background.

SearchTrends analysis will walk your search trend data looking for relationships between two searches. A relationship is defined by two or more sessions performing the search sequence. For example, when multiple user's search for "HR" followed by "Human Resources", Perceptive Enterprise Search will recognize this and offer it as a synonym suggestion.

Analysis Frequency

Specifies how frequent the SearchTrends should be analyzed. Options are Daily, Weekly or Monthly.

Analysis Start Time

Specifies the time that the designated day that the SearchTrends are to be analyzed.

Analysis Time Span

Indicates how much data should be analyzed to discover suggested synonyms.

Occurrence Threshold

Indicates the minimum number of times a relationship between two search terms, before it is recommended as a synonym.