Magento Online Store Search - How Does It Work and How Can I Improve It?

How does a quick search work?

The standard Magento 2 search works in the following way: either manually or on a set schedule, the site re-indexes all the goods and adds information about the attributes involved in the search in the database.

When a user enters a query, the site breaks it down into elements interconnected with logical OR.

This means that the search will be conducted for each of the words.

For example, the query “Headphones for Sports” will be divided into three elements, “Headphones”, “for”, “Sports”.

Next, the site checks each element with its records and if it encounters a match, the product is shown in the results.

This search method will easily find the right product if one or two attributes may be involved in a search.

Adding other attributes to the search with a large amount of information, such as short or long descriptions, will not only significantly increase the list of results but also lower its accuracy.

How can I manage a search?

Searches are conducted only by the values of the attributes (characteristics), allowing you to control the search results. It is enough to specify in the administrative interface whether the particular attribute is involved in the search.

Another opportunity for managing results is at the level of goods. You can specify whether the attribute is displayed in the search results, just in the catalog, or will be available everywhere.

How can I see the search results?

All queries of the user are recorded and processed by the site.

The information collected is an excellent field for an analysis of customer searches.

You can see which products a buyer is looking for on your site, select a group of the most popular queries or create your own query.

How to improve the search?

To improve the search (for improvement, we mean perform a more accurate search) Magento provides the following features: tips which are located below the search box, and showing some of the most frequent search queries of buyers.

By default, a site chooses the most frequently used queries, but in the administrative interface, you can create your query example and show it to the buyer; synonyms, allowing you to partially solve any problem with errors of grammar or keyboard.

This is how it works: in the administrative interface of a store, the administrator creates a synonym (Computer Asys) and indicates the original request (Computer Asus). The customer enters a synonym in the search, and as a result, sees products for the proper request.

Conclusion

In order to achieve a precise search using standard Magento, do not add attributes with large text descriptions to the search, as it will expand the list of results. Instead, you should onlu let truly important attributes be accepted for a search. Offer tips to customers, keep a list of synonyms up-to-date, as it will simplify the lives of your customers.

If standard features are not enough for you and you want to achieve more efficient operations in the search module, you can watch, try and buy one of our extensions of the Advanced Magento search Sphinx Search Ultimate.

That allows you to not only significantly improve the standard search, but take it to the next level.