- Magento product search keywords are the terms customers use to find products faster in the product search field.
- The search keywords include product names, synonyms, attributes, brands, and spelling variations people enter in the search.
- To optimize Magento product search, you need to set up search terms, enable the "Popular Search Terms" option, and create synonym groups in the admin panel.
- Meta keywords are included in product search in case no terms or synonyms match users' search queries.
- Prevent bots from spamming product search while keeping Magento search fully available for real customers using the Search Spam Filter in the .
When customers browse your store, some may use Magento layered navigation to narrow down their options. Others prefer to use product search to quickly find what they are looking for. And here you need to create a list of product search keywords that match the words and phrases shoppers may use to find a particular item.
So in this guide, you'll learn how to build Magento product search keywords into a working search strategy — from search terms and synonyms to search spam protection.
What Are Magento Product Search Keywords?
Magento product search keywords are the search terms customers enter in a store's search field when looking for a specific product in your catalog. Besides the exact product names, they include words and phrases associated with the product, such as alternative names, product attributes, synonyms, model numbers, brands, abbreviations, and some spelling variations.
If your search system is aware of these terms, it's more likely to show the exact products your customers need, even if they don't type in the actual product names in the search.
You might be selling the very exact thing someone is looking for. Yet, if you haven't added the relevant search terms and synonyms, your Magento search may fail to display it to your customer. And when customers can't find what they want, they leave.
What is the Difference Between Magento Search Terms, Popular Search Terms, and Synonyms?
Even though Magento search terms, popular search terms, and synonyms are related, they serve different purposes in the context of product search keywords:
- Search terms allow you to track and redirect what customers type into the search box to a specific product
- Popular search terms show which phrases people use the most to find what they need
- Search synonyms tell Magento the other words customers can use instead of search terms
The following table provides more context on how they differ.
| Feature | What it does | Where it comes from | Main use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search terms | Logs what customers type into the search box, can optionally redirect a term to a specific product, category, or landing page | Automatically recorded from real customer searches | Understand what customers are searching for and direct them to relevant pages |
| Popular search terms | Displays which search terms customers use most often to find a specific item | Based on the recorded search terms | Spot trends, identify customer demand, and guide merchandising decisions |
| Search synonyms | Maps different words or phrases to an existing search term to return the same results | Added manually by the store admin | Help customers find the right products even if they use different wording (e.g., "sneakers" vs. "trainers") |
How to Add Magento Search Terms?
To add Magento search terms you have to set the relevant search queries in the admin panel.
1. Navigate to Marketing > SEO&Search > Search Terms.
2. Press the Add New Search Term button.
3. Enter a word or a phrase you want to be used as the Search Query.
4. Choose the Store View the search term will be available on.
5. Set the Redirect URL customers will be directed to once searching for this term.
6. Enable the Display in Suggested Terms options if you want the term to be available as a suggestion when the search term has no results.
The wider the range of the search term variations you configure, the more likely customers are to find what they came for.
How to Use Popular Search Terms in Magento 2?
Magento popular search terms can be used as both a quick way to show your customers what other shoppers are looking for and analytics to reveal which Magento product search keywords attract the most search interest.
To enable Magento popular search terms:
1. Go to Sores > Setting > Configuration > Catalog > Catalog and find the Search Engine Optimization section.
2. Enable the Magento Popular Search Terms option and press Save Config.
You can monitor Magento popular search terms in Marketing > SEO & Search > Search Terms. Here you can review the search queries customers use the most and optimize your search configurations accordingly to provide more relevant results.
How to Create a Synonym Group in Magento 2?
To create a synonym group in Magento 2, add the words with the same or similar meaning using the New Synonym Group feature in the admin panel. It helps to ensure customers find relevant products using words similar to what you have in the product page.
To add Magento search synonym group:
1. Navigate to Marketing > SEO&Search > Search Synonyms and press the New Synonym Group button.
2. Set the Scope you want the synonyms to be available on.
3. Enter the Synonyms separated by a comma.
4. Select the checkbox in order to merge synonyms, and don't forget to Save the group.
How to Add Magento Product Search Keywords as Meta Keywords?
Besides creating search terms and synonym groups in Magento, you can add relevant terms to a Magento Meta Keywords field in the Search Engine Optimization section of a product.
Since meta keywords in Magento no longer influence search engine rankings, the system allows you to use them to match customer search queries with relevant products in your store internal search.
To add meta keywords to Magento catalog search:
1. Go to Catalog > Products and press the Edit button next to the product you need.
2. Scroll down to the Search Engine Optimization section.
3. Specify the product search keywords separated by commas and Save the changes.
Yet, if you sell a lot of products, you can add product search keywords in bulk using Magefan's SEO extension for Magento. It offers meta tags templates with predefined patterns to generate meta keywords automatically.
Magento Product Search Keywords: Best Practices
Adding Magento product search keywords is just the beginning. To get the most from Magento catalog search, consider the following best practices.
- Use real customer queries. Check the store's search data and build your keyword strategy around the words customers actually use when searching for products.
- Check zero-result searches. A zero-result query may indicate a search configuration issue or reveal new trends to add to your catalog for more conversions.
- Don't overuse synonyms. A lot of synonyms don't always mean better search. If you group too many slightly related synonyms, your search results will make it harder for customers to find what they want.
- Consider redirects for searches with a clear destination. Some search queries have a direct destination and don't need a list of products. So, to reduce the search steps and help shoppers get to the needed page faster, consider redirection to the most relevant product, category, or CMS page.
- Keep store views and languages in mind. Search terms and synonyms may vary between store views and languages. Make sure they are configured accordingly to the terminology local customers use.
- Protect Magento search from spam. Since Magento catalog search is publicly accessible, another best practice is to protect it from bots and automated requests. They can generate meaningless searches to waste server resources and distort your search data.
How to Protect Magento Search from Spam?
The quickest way to protect Magento product search from spam is to use the Search Spam Filter provided by the Magefan Bot Blocker extension. The filter blocks known spammy search queries by default and allows you to add additional queries. At the same time, the extension keeps search fully available to legitimate customers.
So, to stop Magento search spam, do the following:
- Identify irrelevant or suspicious search requests through server logs or Google Search Console.
- Enable the Magento 2 Bot Blocker by going to Stores > Configuration> Magefan Extensions > Bot Blocker > Enable Bot Blocker.
- Enable the search spam filter by going to Stores > Configuration > Magefan Extensions > Bot Blocker > Search Filter and start blocking common search spam right away.
- Add your own spam keywords to the list of Blocked Keywords.
Magefan Search Spam Filter settings
With spam filtering in place, your search data reflects the real customer queries. This is especially valuable when optimizing your Magento product search keywords.
So configure Magento search terms accordingly, monitor popular search trends, and build out synonym groups to turn browsers into buyers.
FAQs
Can I use Magento search terms and synonyms across multiple store views?
How many synonyms should I add per group in Magento?
Will adding Magento product search keywords affect my site's page speed?
Does Magento come with search spam protection out of the box?
