Use Search Term Replacement

Search term replacement lets you define which terms the search engine actually uses when a visitor searches for a configured term. This applies to the term itself and all its configured synonyms.

Use it in three ways:

• Expand results: a visitor searches for a broad term and also sees products for related, more specific terms.
• Filter irrelevant results: a search term is too short or too broad and returns noise; replacing it with a more specific term improves the results.
• Fix Misspellings: search terms could often be misspelled by visitors; replace common misspelled search terms with the correct search term to return correct search results.

Set Up Search Term Replacement

1. In the CloudSuite Admin, go to Search & Navigation > Search Management.
2. Click Edit next to the search term you want to configure, or click + Add Search to create a new one.
3. Go to the Basic settings tab.
4. Enable Search term replacement using the toggle.
5. In Replacement terms, type a term and press Enter, or separate multiple terms with a comma.
6. Repeat for each term you want to add.
7. Click Publish.

When a visitor searches for this term or any of its synonyms, the search engine uses the replacement terms instead.

Example: Expand Results

You want visitors searching for smartphone to also see iPhone and Android products, but you do not want visitors searching for iPhone to see every smartphone product.

Add smartphone, iPhone, and Android as replacement terms. The search engine now uses all three terms when a visitor searches for smartphone — but a search for iPhone only returns iPhone results.

Example: Filter Irrelevant Results

A visitor searching for TV sees irrelevant results because the letters appear inside unrelated product names. Add Television as a replacement term. The search engine uses Television instead, returning only relevant products.

Example: Fix Misspellings

A visitor searching for i-phone or ifone may not see the full range of iPhone products. Add iPhone as a replacement term. The search engine treats the query as an exact match, returning complete and accurate results.

Combine Search Term Replacement with Synonyms

When you add synonyms to a configuration, the search term replacement applies to all of them. This lets you build a chain of related terms across multiple configurations.

Example

You want the terms ui, ajuin, uien, and uitjes to all lead to relevant results.

Configuration 1:

• Synonyms: ui, ajuin
• Replacement terms for ui: uien, uitjes

Configuration 2:

• Synonyms: uien, ajuin

Result:

• Visitor searches ui → search engine uses uien, uitjes
• Visitor searches ajuin → same result, because ajuin is a synonym of ui
• Visitor searches uien → also finds results for ajuin, because of configuration 2

Start by mapping out your terms and their relationships before you start configuring. Decide for each term whether it needs a synonym, a replacement, or both. This helps you avoid gaps and duplicates in your configuration.