Product Selector

Fusion 5.9
    Fusion 5.9

    Ranking Rules

    Ranking rules affect the order in which products appear in your search results. Rules let you pin, boost, bury, and block specific items in your catalog. You can also use rules to display custom banners, redirect customers to a different page on your site, set facets, and more.

    Ranking rules vs. query rewrites

    Both ranking rules and query rewrites can be configured to help return the best search results to your users. Query rewrites allow you to alter and interpret search terms in multiple ways so relevant results are delivered. Ranking rules changes the order in which search results are displayed, allowing you to promote certain items over others.

    Although query rewrites are configured on a separate screen, you may see the effects of query rewrites on the Ranking Rules screen.

    How rules work

    Rules contain conditions and actions. When a condition (or a combination of conditions) is met, the rule performs an action.

    Conditions

    You can trigger rules on a single condition or a combination of conditions.

    Type Description Notes

    Dates

    The date and time range for the rule.

    Dates must be in ISO format. For example: 2024-12-10T19:29:34Z

    Field Value

    The field value to which the rule applies.

    You can add multiple fields.

    Query

    The query that triggers the rule.

    You must select a Query Matching Method:

    • keywords: At least one keyword of one of the search terms values must match the query.

    • phrase: The search query must contain one of the search terms values as a subphrase.

    • text: At least one of the search terms values must match the query, but unlike phrase, the query only needs to match part of the value.

    Query Profile

    Trigger this rule on a specified query profile.

    This value must match an existing Fusion query profile, which points your search application to the specified static endpoint.

    Actions

    You can only apply one action per rule.

    Commerce Studio alerts you if you create multiple rules with conflicting actions. For example, a conflict occurs if you create rules that boost, block, and bury the same item.
    Type Description

    Add Banner

    Returns an image outside of the search results that can be displayed in the frontend.

    Block Items

    Blocks the associated values from appearing in the search results.

    Boost Attributes

    Boosts products with specific attributes in a search. Boosts can be one of the following:

    • Additive, which adds a factor to the base score of the document

    • Multiplicative, which multiplies the base score of the document by a specified factor

    Boost Items

    Boosts products with a large multiplicative boost so the products appear at the top of the results. Larger boosts can override this action.

    Bury Items

    Buries products with the selected values. This action minimizes certain products without blocking them.

    Rerank Items in Group

    Changes the ranking of a group of items. You can boost, pin, bury, or block an entire group of items instead of reranking items individually.

    Filter Items

    Applies filter queries (fq) to the query and changes the results so a pre-selected set of content displays.

    Set JSON Blob

    Returns a JSON blob to your frontend when a condition is met. The JSON blob displays outside of the search results.

    Pin Items

    Puts a product in a specified order within the search results. You also have the option to use Query Elevation Component.

    Redirect

    Displays a message that the frontend can use to redirect a user to a specific URL. You can use this action to send users to dedicated landing pages or campaigns. If you have queries that return zero results, you may opt to create a dedicated page to redirect those queries.

    Set Response Value

    Sends an arbitrary value to the frontend or pipeline to trigger another action. This action can be combined with other actions within the same rule. For example, an ecommerce website may use the response value action to display an advertisement.

    Set Facets

    Customizes the facets (categories of groups) returned in the query response. For example, if your site sells clothing, you may set a number of facets as different colors (black, blue, red, yellow, and so on) so the customer can select a specific color for items they want to view.

    Set Params

    Sets a parameter name and value to a search query. For example, the sort order for the results, or a filter that affects results.
    Query Elevation Component (QEC) applies the rule action to the top results regardless of the product’s (document’s) score. Enabling QEC does not boost the document’s score. QEC only supports elevation through the id field. Your Solr cluster must be configured to enable QEC. Contact your Lucidworks representative for more information.

    Manage rules

    You can manage rules in Visual Editor or Rules Wizard.

    Create a rule using the Visual Editor

    You can create rules in the Visual Editor screen.

    Create a rule for one item

    1. To create a rule for an individual item, click + Add on an item.

    2. Select an action from the menu. This creates an unpublished rule.

    3. See Publish a rule.

    Create rule visual editor

    Create a rule for multiple items

    1. Select the checkbox for every item you want to include in the new rule.

    2. Click Add Rule.

    3. Select an action from the menu. This creates an unpublished rule.

    4. See Publish a rule.

    You can also use these steps to create a rule for a single item.

    Create a rule using the Rules Wizard

    For a more detailed rule configuration, use the Rules Wizard found on the Ranking Rules screen.

    1. Click Create New Rules and select Via Rules Wizard from the menu.

    2. In the Name field, enter a name for the rule.

    3. In the Rule Group field, enter a user-defined, logical grouping name where rule is reported.

    4. In the Tags field, enter a name that is used to filter the rules and change search results in the Visual Editor.

    5. In the Precedence field, enter a number that sets the priority order in which the rule is evaluated.

    6. Optional: In the Description field, enter user-defined text to describe the rule.

    7. Click Next.

    8. Click Select Condition and then select one or more conditions. You can select dates, field value, query, and query profile. When you select an option, additional fields may be required.

    9. Click Next.

    10. Click the Add Actions menu and then select an action. You can block, boost, bury, pin, or set values based on the previously-defined condition. When you select an option, additional fields may be required.

    11. Click Next.

    12. Review your rule’s settings, then click Publish.

    Edit a rule

    1. Navigate to the Ranking Rules screen.

    2. Hold the pointer over the rule and click the pencil icon.

    3. Enter your changes in the Name, Priority, Rule Group entries, Tags, and Description fields.

    4. If you:

      • Have entered all of your changes, click Save to return to the Ranking Rules screen.

      • Want to enter changes to the conditions or actions, click Save & Edit Rules via Wizard. Then enter changes to conditions and click Next, enter changes to actions and click Next, and then click Publish.

    Delete a rule

    1. Navigate to the Ranking Rules screen.

    2. Hold the pointer over the rule to delete and click the trash can icon.

    To delete multiple rules, select the checkbox for each of the rules to delete and then click the trash can icon.

    Rules are deleted permanently. There is no way to undo this action.

    Publish a rule

    Rules created using the Rules Wizard are published immediately. If you create a rule using the Visual Editor, you must publish it manually.

    1. Navigate to the Ranking Rules screen.

    2. Click the Published toggle to publish or unpublish a rule.

    To publish multiple rules, select the checkbox for each of the rules to publish and then click the up arrow. The toggle switches for each of those rules changes to Yes.

    To unpublish multiple rules, select the checkbox for each of the rules to unpublish and then click the down arrow. The toggle switches for each of those rules changes to No.

    Effective workflows for teams

    Commerce Studio has multiple options for actions that can occur when a query contains certain terms.

    Here is an example situation to help understand how each action might be effectively used by a commerce website based on the specified goals and actions of the following personnel.

    • The VP of Ecommerce for a bookstore wants their team to use Commerce Studio to improve their search experience.

    • The Graphic Design team creates banners for books on sale that are displayed when users search for related terms.

    • The Merchandising Manager defines discounts by setting sale prices and calculating margins.

    • The Data Analyst and Marketing Specialist collaborate to track traffic and sales metrics for real-time performance monitoring, enabling adjustments to search configurations as needed.

    To help improve product search, they decide to use the following Commerce Studio actions:

    • Boost Attributes: Highlight books from a popular series by listing them toward the top of search results when the search query includes the author’s name.

    • Block Items: Exclude books discontinued by the publisher from appearing in search results.

    • Boost Items: Prioritize specific new or overstocked titles in search results.

    • Filter Items: Show only children’s and young adult books when a user searches for children’s books.

    • Boost Items in Group: Ensure more popular titles from a book series appear earlier in search results when someone searches for that series.

    • Set Facets: Display genre facets on the homepage and top author facets on the search page.

    • Set JSON Blob: Show a random advertisement for popular mystery books when a user searches for mystery titles.

    Additionally, they decide to implement Commerce Studio actions in the Help section of their website to reduce support workload:

    • Pin Items: Place a document with gift card information at the top of search results for queries like gift.

    • Redirect: Show a prominent link to the Contact Us form at the top of search results for queries such as email or contact.

    • Bury Items: Deprioritize notices about a defunct membership program in search results.

    • Set Parameters: Display PDF files from the Legal department at the top of search results when a user searches for privacy policy.

    • Bury Items in Group: Push rules for older e-reader models toward the bottom of search results when users search the Help section for support information about the company’s e-reader.

    • Pin Items in Group: Ensure a rule about the new membership card program consistently appears at the top of search results for queries like membership or card.