Overview 

This case study highlights how structured experimentation across navigation and information architecture improved content discoverability and user engagement for a high-traffic sports media platform. By testing and refining the main navigation, the initiative delivered measurable gains in click-through rate (CTR), recirculation, and session depth while improving alignment between user intent and content structure.

Challenge

WEEI’s navigation structure had evolved organically over time, reflecting internal organizational structures more than user behavior and intent. Key challenges included:

• Friction in content discovery across live audio, shows, and editorial content
• Navigation labels and hierarchy that did not align with how users explored sports coverage
• Missed opportunities to guide users toward high-value actions such as live listening, show pages, and topical hubs

The goal was to improve discovery efficiency without disrupting editorial workflows or brand consistency.

Strategy 

I led a structured A/B testing initiative focused on optimizing navigation and information architecture based on observed user behavior and engagement patterns.

Key Components included:

1.  User-Intent Mapping

• Analyzed engagement data to identify primary user journeys across live audio, team coverage, shows, and personalities

2. Navigation Variants

• Reprioritized high-intent actions including “Listen Live,” shows, and team hubs
• Simplified category groupings and navigation hierarchy
• Improved navigational clarity through more intuitive labels and structure

3. Experimentation Framework

• Deployed statistically valid A/B tests to measure performance against the existing navigation experience

Testing & Measurement

Traffic was split between control and treatment experiences. Performance was evaluated using:

• Click-through rate (CTR) across navigation elements
• Engagement with downstream editorial and audio content
• Session depth and recirculation behavior

Results

The optimized navigation variant delivered statistically significant performance improvements:

• +20% increase in navigation CTR
• Increased engagement across priority editorial and audio content areas
• Improved content discovery and recirculation across the platform

These results demonstrated how targeted information architecture improvements can materially improve audience engagement at scale.

Key Takeaway

Navigation and information architecture play a critical role in content discoverability and audience engagement. This initiative demonstrated how structured experimentation and data-driven UX decisions can improve user engagement while creating scalable frameworks for ongoing discovery optimization.