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Managing search synonyms

Shoppers rarely use the words in your catalog. Someone types hoodie when your products say sweatshirt, or navy when the color is Blue. Synonyms tell Nucleo's site search how to read those words, so the search finds the right products instead of returning nothing.

You manage synonyms from Catalog > Search > Synonyms. Nucleo also proposes synonyms of its own, based on the searches that found nothing, for you to accept or dismiss.

Note
Synonyms apply to Nucleo's site search as soon as you save them. You can check their effect at any time in the Playground.

Types of synonym

Every synonym has a type, which decides in which direction the words are read:

TypeWhat it doesExample
Two-wayAll the terms are equivalent: a search for any of them is read as the first term. Put first the word your products actually use.sweatshirt, hoodie, sweater
One-way → to textThe terms are rewritten as the target, but not the other way round. A search for the target is unchanged.trainers → sneakers
One-way → to an attribute valueThe terms become a filter on an attribute instead of text. The target has the form attribute:Value, and can hold several values of the same attribute.navy → colorway:Blue
Tip
Prefer an attribute value as the target whenever the word describes a property of the product, such as a color, a fit or a category. The search then filters on the attribute, which is more precise than matching text in titles and descriptions.

Add a synonym

Steps

  1. In Nucleo, go to Catalog > Search > Synonyms.
  2. Click Add synonym.
  3. In Terms, enter the words that shoppers type, separated by commas. Add plurals and variants too: a synonym reacts only to the exact words you list.
  4. In Type, select One-way → or Two-way.
  5. In Scope, select All locales, or a single language if the words only make sense in that language.
  6. If you chose One-way →, fill in Resolves to:
    1. For plain text, leave the first field empty and type the target word in the second field, and then click Add value.
    2. For an attribute value, type the attribute code in the first field, such as colorway. Then type a value in the second field and click Add value (or press Enter). Repeat to add more values of the same attribute.
  7. Check the target shown under the fields, for example colorway:Blue|Navy.
  8. Click Add synonym.

The synonym appears in the Synonyms tab and applies to the next search. Open the Playground and search for one of the terms: the Synonyms step and the Understood as box show it at work.

Edit or remove a synonym

Steps

  1. In Nucleo, go to Catalog > Search > Synonyms.
  2. Find the synonym. Type a word or a target in Search terms or target, or, if your synonyms are in more than one language, click a language above the list to show only that language.
  3. Do one of the following:
    1. To change it, click the row or the pencil icon, edit the fields, and then click Save changes.
    2. To delete it, click the trash icon, and then click Delete synonym to confirm. The synonym stops applying immediately and can't be recovered.

Review suggested synonyms

Nucleo looks at the searches that returned no results and proposes a synonym when the words sit close to an attribute value or a product name in your catalog. Suggestions don't apply on their own: they wait in the Suggested tab until you decide.

Steps

  1. In Nucleo, go to Catalog > Search > Synonyms.
  2. Click the Suggested tab. The number next to the tab shows how many suggestions are waiting.
  3. For each suggestion, do one of the following:
    1. Click Accept to move it into your synonyms. It then behaves like a synonym you created yourself.
    2. If it's almost right, click the pencil icon, correct it, click Save changes, and then click Accept.
    3. Click Dismiss, and then click Dismiss again to confirm. A dismissed suggestion doesn't come back.

Read the synonyms list

ColumnWhat it shows
TermsThe words the synonym reacts to.
Resolves toThe target of a one-way synonym, or each other for a two-way synonym.
TypeTwo-way or One-way.
ScopeAll locales, or the one language it applies to.
Hits · 30 dHow many searches in the last 30 days contained one of the terms. A synonym with no hits may not be needed.

Click Terms, Resolves to or Hits · 30 d in the header to sort the list. When you filter by language, synonyms with the All locales scope appear under every language, because they apply in all of them.

Considerations for synonyms

  • You can also create a synonym straight from Queries: the Add synonym fix opens the same form with the searched word already filled in.
  • A two-way synonym needs at least two terms. A one-way synonym needs a target.
  • Synonyms match whole words exactly as you list them, after lowercasing and removing accents. They don't match other forms of the word on their own.
  • An attribute target works only if the value exists. You can write the value label in any of your catalog's languages, so one All locales synonym covers every language. A value also covers its more specific values: pointing to Trousers includes the kinds of trousers filed under it.
  • Keep two-way synonyms for words that are truly interchangeable. If one word is broader than the other, such as shoes and sneakers, use a one-way synonym from the narrow word to the broad one.
  • Hits are an estimate: a search counts for every synonym whose terms it contains, even when a more specific synonym was the one applied.
  • A synonym allows up to 40 terms of up to 120 characters each.
  • Synonyms don't change your product data. To add a missing value to the products themselves, use Enrichment.
  • You need the Owner, Admin or Editor role to add, edit, accept or remove synonyms.

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