Foundation · 2 min
What you need to know
What should rank first?
If a shopper types an exact product title, that item should appear before unrelated products that share one of its words. For a broader search, such as a small gift in a given scent, title, characteristics, size and gift category may all matter. Treat popularity and past shopper behavior as secondary signals when they would hide a precise match.
Why might an exact product fail?
The storefront might search only titles while the item has a different displayed name, or an unpublished product might be excluded. Check the product’s public status, indexed fields, variant names, and the exact query. Test a few-word query as well as a full title.
How should stock affect relevance?
A sold-out exact match can still help someone identify an item. Show its status clearly and offer suitable alternatives; for broad searches, available products can be easier to act on. Decide placement based on shopper needs, not one rule for every query.
A simple check to try
Run one exact search and one broad search. Check the first results, sold-out items, and whether the shopper can understand why each item appears.
Foundation · 2 min
Frequently asked questions
Should titles weigh more than descriptions?
Usually give distinctive titles and product identifiers strong weight, then test whether descriptive attributes rescue useful matches without flooding the results.