Synonyms

Synonyms create associations between different search terms to properly capture user intent regardless of their vernacular. For example, you may set up a synonym group for t-shirt, tshirt, shirt, shirts. Here's an example of the search term Bags

As you can see, it's within a synonym group which means that whenever a search term is entered, the same results will appear. The app knows to associate these terms together which allows sneaker products to appear when runners are entered into the search bar, and vice versa.

Ensure that synonym groups only contain synonymous words.

It is essential to include all search terms within the synonym group.

Example scenario: The search term "pleat", will show different results due to the knitwear synonym group. Since this group contains the search term "pleated rib". The query “pleated” will pull all results that contain any of these terms.

“pleated rib” is not synonymous with knitwear so it should be removed from this synonym group

Should you choose a “group” or “one-way” synonym?

You have the option to set up synonyms as a group or one way. Most merchants will group synonyms together (words that should be considered the same). Anytime a search term is entered within that group, it will feature very similar products. You may want to use one way when a popular search term is a specific product type. For example, “summer clothes” should be one way so that it doesn’t feature products that are unrelated to that term, like jackets or coats.

How does the site search work?

By default, site search uses single keyword matching. For example, when a shopper searches for black dress , the search bar will display all the results that have each of those keywords present. Every product that has those keywords within the product data (title, description, etc) regardless of what it is, will be displayed. The more keywords found in the data, the higher its position on the search results page.

By default, the search bar is driven by keyword density. Any items that contain these words in their searchable fields will display. In addition to this, you are able to control the rank beyond keyword density, by configuring search relevance.

What happens when a synonym term is searched?

When a synonym term is detected within a search query, that term will always score higher over the other terms that belong to the same synonym group. This ensures that the most relevant products always appear first.

What's the difference between synonyms and relevance?

Relevance, lets you identify certain attributes as opposed to similar keywords (synonyms). By not using synonyms, it's entirely possible to leave search results based on your relevance settings. However, most merchants will want to deliver the most accurate results possible, and in order to do that, relevance and synonyms must be used side by side.