Magento offers built-in options for managing site search, but it also allows for customization to improve accuracy and relevance for your customers. Here's a breakdown of key ways to manage site search in Magento:
Configuring Search Settings:
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Search Attributes: Magento lets you define which product attributes are searchable. Go to Stores > Attributes > Product and set the "Searchable" option to "Yes" for relevant attributes like size, color, etc. This ensures customers can find products using those terms.
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Search Weights: You can assign weights to different searchable attributes. This prioritizes important attributes in search results. For instance, if your store has many color-based searches, assigning a higher weight to the color attribute will make it a bigger factor in product ranking. This is done in Stores > Attributes > Product by editing a specific attribute.
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Popular Search Terms: Magento allows you to define popular search terms and their corresponding results. This helps with typos or common misspellings. Navigate to Marketing > SEO & Search > Search Terms to add these terms and set their redirect URLs (landing page) or suggested terms.
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Search Synonyms: You can create synonyms for product terms. This ensures customers using slightly different terms will still find relevant products. Go to Marketing > SEO & Search > Search Synonyms to set these up.
Optimizing Search Functionality:
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Minimum Match Terms: You can configure the minimum number of characters required to trigger a search. This helps refine results and avoid overwhelming users with too many options for short entries.
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Search Analytics: Magento offers reports on search terms used by customers. This valuable data helps you identify what customers are looking for and optimize your product listings and search terms accordingly. Reports can be found under Marketing > SEO & Search > Search Terms.
Advanced Options:
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Magento 2.4 and above: These versions come with a pre-installed Elasticsearch module, a powerful search engine that can significantly improve search accuracy and performance for larger stores with a vast product catalog.
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Extensions: There are various Magento extensions available that offer additional search functionalities like autocomplete suggestions, layered navigation refinements, and more.
Remember, for some of these configurations, you might need to consult your Magento admin user guide or a developer if you're unfamiliar with the back-end.
