Chun Wei Choo, Brian Detlor, and Don Turnbull described four modes people move through when using the web, ranging from passive to highly deliberate. Undirected viewing happens when someone starts on a default or favorite page and follows whatever catches their eye, with no specific goal yet. Conditioned viewing involves browsing familiar entry points, tables of contents, site maps, and monitoring sites the person already trusts. Informal search happens at a small number of sites the person has already vetted, using basic search features without much rigor. Formal search is the most deliberate mode: using powerful search features and evaluating sources carefully, because the person doesn't want to miss anything important.
These modes aren't permanent traits of a person, the same individual moves between them depending on what they're trying to accomplish in a given moment.
A single visit to your site might involve a user in undirected viewing for the first thirty seconds and formal search two minutes later, once something catches their attention.
1: Undirected viewing. Aiden arrives with no goal at all and follows whatever catches his eye. This is the defining trait of undirected viewing.
2: Conditioned viewing. Priya's habitual return to familiar sections to check for new content is exactly what conditioned viewing describes.
3: Informal search. Marcus is searching, but within a single trusted site, using basic features, without the rigor of trying to be comprehensive, the hallmark of informal search.
4: Formal search. Dr. Chen's use of advanced filters and careful source evaluation, driven by a need for comprehensive coverage, is the deliberate, high-effort behavior that defines formal search.
Dr. Chen benefits most from a strong search system with advanced filtering, formal search is, by definition, the mode built around deliberate use of powerful search features, so investment in that capability pays off most directly for her. Aiden benefits least at the moment described, he isn't searching for anything, so no amount of search sophistication would help him in that moment. What would help Aiden is compelling front-page content and clear navigation, not search.This is a useful reminder that "improve the search system" is not a universal fix. It's the right investment for formal and informal search behaviors, but largely irrelevant to undirected and conditioned viewing, which depend instead on navigation, content curation, and familiar, stable entry points.