Synonyms
Improve product discoverability by mapping similar, related, or alternate search terms using synonyms feature.
Overview
The Synonyms section in the Netcore Unbxd console helps ensure that shoppers find what they’re looking for—even if they use different words, regional terms, misspellings, or abbreviations in their search. By defining synonyms, you connect related or equivalent terms so that shoppers receive relevant results for a variety of query styles.
This is especially helpful in reducing zero-result searches, improving product discoverability, and ensuring a consistent search experience across different shopper intents.
When Are Synonyms Used?
Synonyms come into play in several everyday search scenarios:
- Terms with the Same Meaning Words like “ladies” and “women’s” or “graph paper” and “grid paper” refer to the same thing and should return the same products.
- Geographically Different Terms Shoppers in different regions may use different words for the same product. For example, “slippers” in India are often referred to as “flip-flops” in the US. Mapping these terms ensures search results remain relevant regardless of location.
- Related Terms Even if two terms are not exact synonyms, they may be closely related in context. A search for “paper plates” could also show “plastic plates” as relevant alternatives.
- Hyponyms A more specific term (like “desktop PC”) can be mapped to a broader category (“computers”) to expand results meaningfully.
- Spelling Variants Differences in dialect or preference can lead to spelling variants like “color” vs “colour” or “adapter” vs “adaptor”. These should be treated as equivalent.
- Common Misspellings Shoppers may frequently misspell brand names or product terms—e.g., “purel” instead of “Purell”. Adding such synonyms ensures they still see the right products.
- Spacing Variations Words like “WiFi”, “Wi-Fi”, and “Wi Fi” are visually different but semantically the same. Handling such variations is key to delivering consistent results.
- Abbreviations Shoppers may search using abbreviations like “MK” for “Michael Kors” or “NYC” for “New York City”. Mapping these helps return complete and relevant results.
By understanding these scenarios, you can set up synonyms that reflect how your customers actually search—making your on-site search smarter and more forgiving.
What should synonyms not include?
- Empty record: entry where there is no value entered (whitespace)
- Symbols: entries where only symbols are typed as the value. The following characters are not accepted by our system :
,( comma) ,\+(plus),{,}(curly braces),\*(Asterix),&(Ampersand) ,\\(backslash) - Alphanumeric: entries with only alphanumeric values. It should have text characters.
- Stopwords: entries that contain just words that add no value like of, for, the, or any such stopwords.
- Redundant Synonyms: entries that already exist. Don’t add two similar inputs.
- Multi-term Synonyms: Synonyms having more than 2 keywords should be avoided.
Types of Synonyms
These synonyms are bi-directional. When a shopper searches for any of the terms in the group, the search engine returns results for all related terms.
Example If “pants” and “trousers” are set as two-way synonyms, a search for either will return results for both.
These synonyms are bi-directional. When a shopper searches for any of the terms in the group, the search engine returns results for all related terms.
Example If “pants” and “trousers” are set as two-way synonyms, a search for either will return results for both.
These are uni-directional. A search for the primary keyword returns results for its synonyms, but not vice versa.
Example If “ivory” is a one-way synonym for “white”, then:
- Searching for “white running shoes” will return both white and ivory shoes.
- Searching for “ivory running shoes” will only return ivory shoes, not white.
Configure Synonyms
Now that we know various use cases and types of synonyms let us understand how to configure these synonyms using the Unbxd console.
To add synonyms (or a single synonym):
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Navigate to Content > Synonyms*.*
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Click Add a Synonym to configure your keywords along with the synonyms.
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Provide keywords for Synonyms in the Type Search Keyword section.
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Provide queries in **One-Way Synonyms **and Two-way Synonyms.
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Click **Proceed to **save the configure Synonyms.
Bulk Upload Synonyms
With the Bulk Upload Synonyms feature, you can upload a list of synonyms. You can browse on your computer or use drag-and-drop. The supported upload format is .csv*.*
It is advisable for first-time users to upload a list of synonyms already known to their previous search system so that they can handle all those instances in Unbxd search.
Once uploaded, you can see the number of synonyms added. Using the Bulk Download Synonyms feature, you can also bulk download all the synonyms you have configured. A .csv file is downloaded.
Delete a synonym:
- Navigate to Content > Synonyms.
- Search for the keyword and click the hamburger icon next to it.
- Click Delete, where you will receive a confirmation message for deletion.
- Click Yes if confirmed or No otherwise.