Product recommendations shoppers actually want

Building Your Synonym List: The Vocabulary Your Search Engine Needs

Your shoppers do not speak your catalog's language. A synonym list is the translation layer.

Shoppers do not use your vocabulary. They use theirs, and the gap between the two is why site search returns nothing for a query the store could have answered. A synonym list closes that gap by teaching the search engine that a shopper's word and your word mean the same thing. Shopify's Search and Discovery app lets you build synonym groups of up to 20 terms, with a limit of 1,000 synonyms per store, and the work is deciding which words belong together.

The vocabulary problem is real, and it is measurable

People who study search call it the vocabulary problem, and the number behind it is stark: when two people describe the same thing, they use the same word less than 20 percent of the time. One shopper types sneakers, another types trainers, a third types running shoes, and all three want the same product. A search engine that only matches exact words fails two of them.

The failure shows up in the search log as zero-result queries for products the store actually sells. The shopper typed a reasonable word, the catalog uses a different reasonable word, and the engine returned nothing. The shopper leaves, and the store never learns why, because the query looked like a miss instead of a translation problem.

Synonym groups: the building block

Shopify's Search and Discovery app handles this with synonym groups. A group is a set of up to 20 terms that the engine treats as the same thing. Put sneakers, trainers, and running shoes in one group, and a search for any of them returns products tagged with any of them. The store gets 1,000 synonyms to work with, which is enough for most catalogs if the groups are chosen from real search data instead of from a brainstorm.

The work is picking the groups from the log. Export the zero-result queries, sort by volume, and look for the ones where the store has the product under a different name. Those are the groups to build first. A group built from a guess is a guess. A group built from the log is a fix for a real failure.

One-way or two-way, and why it matters

A two-way synonym treats both words as equal. Searching sneakers returns trainers, and searching trainers returns sneakers. That is right for true synonyms, words that mean the same thing in either direction. A one-way synonym only works in one direction: searching the shopper's word returns your word's results, but searching your word does not return the shopper's word.

One-way is the right choice when the relationship is not equal. A shopper who types couch probably wants sofas, but a shopper who types sofa does not need to see every couch in the store. A shopper who types cheap probably wants your budget range, but a shopper who types budget does not need to see the word cheap attached to your products. Direction matters, and getting it wrong is how synonyms backfire.

Keep the groups tight, and test them

The main risk with synonyms is a group that is too broad. Put hoodie, sweatshirt, and sweater in one group and a shopper searching for a sweater gets hoodies they did not want, which is worse than a narrow result set. The shopper asked for one thing and got three, and the search feels broken in a new way.

The fix is to test every group before publishing it, and to review the groups quarterly against the search log. A group that was right when the catalog had 200 products can be wrong when it has 2,000, because the words have more products to match against. Synonyms are maintenance, not a one-time project, and the stores that treat them that way keep their search working as the catalog grows.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a synonym list?

A list that tells the search engine two different words mean the same thing in your store, so a search for one returns results for the other. It closes the gap between how shoppers talk and how your catalog is written.

How many synonyms can I add in Shopify?

Shopify's Search and Discovery app allows synonym groups of up to 20 terms, and up to 1,000 synonyms per store. That is enough for most catalogs, if the groups are chosen well.

What is the difference between one-way and two-way synonyms?

A two-way synonym treats both words as equal, so searching either one returns results for both. A one-way synonym only works in one direction, so searching the shopper's word returns your word's results, but not the other way around.

Can synonyms make search worse?

Yes, and it is the main risk. A synonym that is too broad pulls in results the shopper did not want, which is worse than no results at all. Keep groups tight and test them before publishing.