The search function in Shoporama
Everything you need to know about Shoporama's search function - how it works, what is searched and how to optimize it.
Shoporama has a built-in search function. It can be used in different ways, and here we try to answer any questions you may have about the search function.
What does the search function search for?
When a user performs a search on your online store, it searches in:
- Products
- Categories
- Landing pages
- Blog posts
By default, the search looks at the name, descriptions and any additional keywords you have added to the product. If you also want to search by SKU, GTIN and other fields, you can enable it in settings.
For shops in Danish or English, the search is also aware of inflections and word stems. For example, if a customer searches for Efterspil, they will also find products called Efterspillet. If they search for runner, they will also find the race. This means you don't have to add all conjugations manually.
Settings for the search
You'll find the search settings under Settings (the cogwheel) and then "Search" on the left side. Here you can customize how the search behaves:
- Wildcard search - Search for words that start with the search term instead of just complete words. If a customer searches for "dress" they will also find "dress" and "dresses".
- Precise searches - Turn this on if you don't want the search to try to match similar words and misspellings. Useful if you have products with very specific names.
- Search all fields (incl. SKU) - Expands the search to include all fields on the product. Note that this may slow down the search slightly.
- Search by name, SKU and GTIN - A faster variant that only searches by product name, item number and GTIN. Suitable for B2B shops where customers often search by SKU.
- Search static pages - Includes the content from static pages (e.g. "About us", "Terms") in the search results.
- Show in-stock products first - When enabled, in-stock products always appear before out-of-stock products in search results. The order of relevance is preserved within each group, so the most relevant in-stock items are shown first, followed by the most relevant sold-out items.
- Include category names in search - When a customer searches on a category name, products in that category are also matched. Useful if your categories are authors, brands or series - for example, a search for "Timm Vladimir" will find all books in that category. Be aware that generic categories such as "Offers" or "News" will also show up when searching for those words.
How to make your search function better
People search in many different ways. What you call a dressing gown, they might call a bathrobe. When you add misspellings and plurals, there are many search options to work with.
That's why you have the option to add extra keywords to your products. Go to the product, select the "Search" tab and enter your additional keywords in the "Optional words for internal shop search" field. Enter one keyword per line and click "Save".
Note that
When you change search settings or add keywords, all your products are queued to be re-indexed. It typically takes a few minutes - on very large stores up to an hour or two - before the changes are fully active in the search results.
Can I exclude products from the search?
Yes, you can. Go to the product, click on the "Search" tab and check the "Ignore in online store search" box.
Can I get Ajax search on my shop?
Yes, Ajax search (live search results as you type) is available in our newer themes like Delaware and Montana. If you have an older theme, a developer can implement it.
Search analytics and zero searches
Shoporama has built-in search analytics where you can see what your customers are searching for and which searches are not returning results. Read more in our article on null searches and search analytics.
Do you need help? Contact us at support@shoporama.dk.