Open navigation

Synonyms

Synonyms are words with the same/similar meanings. For example, gorgeous and beautiful, curtains and drapes, etc. When a shopper searches for one word and you like to search for other similar words as well, you should use the Klevu's synonym feature. Follow the steps below for adding manual synonyms.

  1. Login into Klevu Merchant Center with the registered email id and password
  2. Choose the appropriate store from the drop-down and click on the Synonyms tab

  3. You can add the synonyms in two ways, 1. bi-directional(<=>) and 2. uni-directional (=>)
    From InterfaceFile Upload
    Adding bi-directional synonyms:For example,
    Search term: Sweater
    Direction: <=> (bi-directional)
    Synonym: sweatshirt, jumper, woolly, woolen


    Here, all the words (Sweater, sweatshirt, jumper, woolly, woolen) are treated as synonyms of one other. In other words, when a shopper searches for one of these words, all the other synonyms of the same are searched as well.

    Adding uni-directional synonyms:For example,
    Search term: tablet
    Direction: => (uni-directional)
    Synonym: iPad

    Here, when a shopper searches for the term "tablet", the words "iPad" too are searched. However, the vice-versa is not true.

  4. Please note, it takes up to 15 minutes to reflect the synonyms in search results.

    Frequently Asked Questions on Synonyms:

    1. Is there any difference in how synonyms are treated in Magento versus how they are treated in Klevu?

      Synonyms in Magento are treated differently than how they are used in Klevu. In Magento, when someone says "beautiful" is a synonym for the word "gorgeous", it literally means, if someone types in "gorgeous", use the term "beautiful" to search; do not use the term "gorgeous" at all. It is also important to note that synonyms in Magento only work when the entire query matches the words used for synonyms. Here, if someone says "gorgeous purse", Magento will NOT replace the term "gorgeous" with the term "beautiful".

      Klevu, on the other hand, treats synonyms differently. If a customer types in "gorgeous", Klevu will search for both the terms (i.e. "gorgeous" and "beautiful"). At the same time, it doesn't have to be the exact query for the synonyms to work. In other words, if a customer searches for "gorgeous purse", it will fire the following query

      (gorgeous OR beautiful) AND purse

      In the case of the quick search UI, the query is directly submitted to the Klevu servers. The same is true for the landing page based on the Klevu template. In both cases, synonyms provided in the Klevu Merchant center will be utilized to find the products.

      If you are using the native layout option for the landing page, Magento will first look at the query and if there is any applicable synonym, it will replace the original query with the synonym specified in the Magento admin panel. This query is then submitted to the Klevu servers. If there are any synonyms applicable to this modified query, they will be utilized.

      These synonyms, where applicable, are automatically added to the query at runtime and searched along with the original terms searched by the shoppers.

    2. I have set up a bi-directional synonym entry. Why is it that the search results appear different when I search for them individually?

      For example, you have added a synonym entry such as the following:

      mummy <=> mother

      and you are expecting that the results should be similar for whichever word you search for. However, the results may be different. Why?

      Klevu is a search as you type solution. In other words, when you type a search term (e.g. mother), internally it searches for the term "mother" as well as any term that starts with the term "mother" (e.g. motherland, motherhood, mothers, etc.). Thus the query Klevu fires internally are:

      mother OR mother*

      Now, when you have to add a synonym, the above query will change to the following:

      mother OR mother* OR mummy

      Please, note the addition of the synonym "mummy" in the query. However, we will not search for any term that starts with the word "mummy". Similarly, if you search for the term "mummy", the query will be as follows:

      mummy OR mummy* OR mother

      As you can see, it is very much likely that not only the result order but also the ranking of results be different.

    3. How do multiterm synonyms work?

      For example, you have added a synonym entry such as the following:

      dark bottle <=> black bottle

      and you are expecting that the results should be similar for whichever phrase you search for (i.e. dark bottle vs black bottle). However, the results may be different. Why?

      In the case above, when a customer searches for the dark bottle, we fire a query such as the following:

       (dark AND bottle) OR ("black bottle") 

      Similarly, if a customer fires a black bottle as a query, we fire a query such as the following:

       (black AND bottle) OR ("dark bottle") .

      Here, in the first synonym entry, as you can notice, by using the operator AND between the words dark and bottle, we are searching for products where both the words, dark and bottle are found. It isn't required that they appear one after the other. If the word dark, for example, is found in your color attribute and the word bottle is found in the same product's name, it is absolutely okay. Additionally, we search for the "phrase" black bottle. Since, there are quotes added around these words, the entire phrase, including their positions (i.e. the word bottle appearing after the word dark), are respected.

      If you do not want them to be searched as a phrase, we advise you to add an entry as follows:

      dark bottle <=> black && bottle

      Here, the presence of && will ensure the query is fired as the following:

       (black AND bottle) OR (dark AND bottle).

Did you find it helpful? Yes No

Send feedback
Sorry we couldn't be helpful. Help us improve this article with your feedback.