How to add search synonyms to your online store
In your AlFinder dashboard, open Search, then Manage Synonyms, make sure synonyms are enabled and pick the language. Click Add New Word, enter the term your products use as the Word, add the other words shoppers type as Synonyms, and save. Searches for any of those synonyms will then find your products.
- 1:00 video
- Search › Manage Synonyms
What search synonyms do
A synonym tells your search that a word shoppers type means the same as a word in your catalog. If your products say sneakers and you add trainers and running shoes as synonyms, a shopper searching for trainers gets your sneakers instead of an empty page.
AlFinder already understands meaning and tolerates small typos, so you don't need synonyms for spelling mistakes. Synonyms are for the words search can't be expected to know: your store's own names, local and dialect words, brand nicknames and trade terms.
How the Word and its Synonyms work
Each entry has one Word and a list of Synonyms. Put the term your product titles actually use in Word, and every other way shoppers say it in Synonyms. A search for any synonym then also finds products that contain the Word.
Synonyms are saved per language, and the language picker lists the languages your store uses that support synonyms. Add Arabic words under Arabic and English words under English, matching the language your shoppers search in.
Examples worth adding
Gulf shoppers often use several words for the same thing, and Arabic synonyms are where this feature pays off most. A few examples by store type:
- Electronics: هاتف with the synonyms جوال and موبايل.
- Fashion: حقيبة with شنطة, and حذاء رياضي with سنيكرز and كوتشي.
- Perfume: دهن عود with زيت عود, or a perfume's full name with the short name shoppers know it by.
- Cosmetics and groceries: moisturiser with face cream; كاتشب with صلصة طماطم.
Finding the synonyms you are missing
The best list comes from your own shoppers. Your dashboard home and Search Analytics show the negative search queries of the last month, the searches that brought back nothing useful. Many of them are products you sell under another name. Add those words as synonyms, then search them yourself to confirm the right products appear.
Keep synonyms truly equivalent. Linking words that only sound related, such as perfume and body mist, mixes products shoppers see as different and makes results feel less accurate.
How to set it up
- 1In the dashboard sidebar, open Search, then Manage Synonyms.
- 2Make sure Enable Synonyms is switched on.
- 3Choose the language your shoppers search in.
- 4Click Add New Word and type the term your products use in Word.
- 5Under Synonyms, add each other word shoppers type for it, then click Save changes.
- 6For a long list, use CSV Upload: one row per word, with the synonyms in the second column separated by commas inside quotes.
Common questions
Do synonyms work in both directions?
They are built to send shoppers' words to your catalog's word. A search for any synonym finds products containing the Word, so always put the term from your product titles in Word.
What happens if I upload a CSV with words I already added?
Words that already exist are updated with the synonyms from the file, and new words are added. Words not in the file are left as they are. The file is imported for the language selected on the page.
Do I need synonyms for spelling mistakes?
Usually not. Search already tolerates small typos. Use synonyms for different words with the same meaning, not for misspellings of the same word.
Why can't I add synonyms for my store's language?
Synonyms are only available for languages that support them. If none of your store's languages do, the page tells you so instead of showing the list. Contact support from your dashboard if you expected to see a language there.
