Search term associations
Search term associations suggest additional, different, or replacement products in search results. They can also link search terms to a selected landing page in the store. Search term associations are used as a product recommendation strategy to increase store sales when customers search for products, as the search submission is modified to increase or target search results.
- Synonyms
- Synonyms increase the scope of search results by adding more search terms to search submissions. The search results include the submitted search term, plus the search results for the additional defined synonyms. One or more synonyms can be defined for a search term.
- Replacement Terms
- Replacement terms modify potential search results by changing search terms from search submissions. The search submission can include the defined changed search terms, while optionally discarding the submitted search term. The search results include only the search results for the replacement terms, helping target certain product types over others.
- Landing Page
- Landing pages promote certain products or activities
in the store by directing shoppers to specific store pages based on search submissions. The landing
page can promote certain products, brands, or store pages, depending on the nature of the search
submission. If a shopper searches for a keyword, you can define the resulting landing page as a page
of your choice, such as the related category in the store, as opposed to the search term's
search results page.
For example, if a shopper searches for a laptop, you can define the resulting landing page as a custom store page, showcasing a particular brand's laptop computers or other related products. Landing pages can also be used to promote certain activities in the store. For example, if a shopper searches the store for wish list, you can define the resulting landing page as the My Account: Personal Wish List page.
Behavior of search terms matches
The search run time parses keyword inputs and converts them into a Solr expression. The behavior typically differs depending on the combining of search terms, search term associations, and match types.
- ANY
- Includes synonyms and replacement terms.
- ALL
- Includes search terms that are grouped with
AND
, plus synonyms and replacement terms as optional terms. - EXACT
- Includes only the search terms, with no synonym expansion.
- EXCLUDE
- Excludes the search term, with no synonym expansion.
Search term | Synonym |
---|---|
coffee | coffee maker |
table | (No search term associations) |
Search term input | Match type | Search term output |
---|---|---|
coffee table |
ANY | Any of coffee , table , coffee
maker |
ALL | All of coffee table , coffee maker |
|
EXACT | Exactly coffee table |
|
EXCLUDE | No search term output |
- Wildcard searches that match search terms to synonyms also result in synonym expansion.
- A search term association is resolved only once for a specific search term. For example, assume a search term associations exists for associating the term "Slacks" as a synonym for "Pants" and that a replacement term exists for replacing "pantss" with "Pants". When a shopper searches for"pantss", a search for only the term "Pants" is completed, not for both "Pants" and "Slacks". If you want a search for both terms to be completed, you must create separate replacement term associations for "pantss" to map to both "Pants" and "Slacks".
- Do not use special characters, such as
"' , . = * # @ & % ? ; $
in the synonym definition. You may use their escaped versions, such as\*,~,\?,'',"",.*\\.*,.*/.*,.*\|.*
. For more information, see Expanding synonyms and Search Term Associations at query time.
Phrases
- Synonyms and replacement terms are supported, with the following default behavior:
- Entered keyword: a
Entered keyword: a (Synonym) Synonym ANY ALL Exact a, c a or c a or c "a" or "c" e, f a a "a" Entered keyword: a (Replacement term) Replacement term ANY ALL Exact a > c c c c d > b a a a - Entered keyword: a b
Entered keyword: a b (Synonym) Synonym ANY ALL Exact a, c a or b or c (a and b) or (c and b) "a b" or "c b" d, b a or b or d (a and b) or (a and d) "a b" or "a d" e, f a or b (a and b) "a b" Entered keyword: a b (Replacement term) Replacement term ANY ALL Exact a -> c c or b (c and b) "c b" d -> b a or b (a and b) "a b" - Entered keyword: "a b"
Entered keyword: "a b" (Synonym) Synonym ANY ALL Exact a, c "a b" or "c b" "a b" or "c b" "a b" or "c b" d, b "a b" or "a d" "a b" or "a d" "a b" or "a d" Entered keyword: "a b" (Replacement term) Replacement term ANY ALL Exact a -> c "c b" "c b" "c b" d -> b "a b" "a b" "a b" - Entered keyword: x a b
Entered keyword: x a b (Replacement term) Replacement term ANY ALL Exact a -> c d (x or "c d" or b) (x and "c d" and b) "x c d b"
- Landing pages are supported by default for phrases as search terms.
Extended sites
Synonyms and Replacement Terms are supported for an Extended Site store. All Synonym and Replacement Terms respect the store path and can be overridden by keyword at the Extended Site store.