The Suggestions module allows you to influence which search suggestions are shown when a visitor enters a search phrase. This replaces the previous Autocomplete functionality.
In this article, we discuss the following components:
Managing suggestion settings: How to configure the display and order of general groups.
Types of suggestion groups: Explanation of Search Phrases, Categories, and Facets.
Item suggestions: Configuring products, blogs, and other item types.
Managing manual suggestions: Importing and exporting suggestions via CSV.
You can configure suggestions at the category level, meaning you can apply specific conditions per category. Additionally, you can easily see which manual and automatically generated suggestions are active per category. Default usage is at the shop or root level. All generated and manually added search suggestions are bundled into one central module. You manage them from a single location and can easily export and import manual suggestions as a CSV document.
Managing Suggestion Settings
After opening the suggestions, you will see an overview of all active suggestions. These are divided into suggestion groups and item suggestions. A number of basic settings apply to both suggestion groups and item suggestions, which determine their appearance in the search bar:
Visibility: You decide which groups you want to use by toggling them on or off via the three dots next to the eye icon. A purple icon means the group is visible; a gray icon means it is hidden.
Order: The order of the groups determines their display in the search bar. You can adjust this order via drag & drop. Item suggestions are always shown last in the suggestion list, regardless of their position in the configuration.
Limits: A limit of maximum one group per configuration applies to the groups Search Phrase, Category, Documentation, and Visual.
Types of Suggestion Groups
Search Suggestions (Search Phrase): Based on the Wisdom of the Crowd principle. Frequently used search terms are suggested, with manual suggestions taking priority.
2. Category Suggestions: Direct visitors to filtered results faster. For example, a term like “bra” can be automatically completed to “braising pans,” “fire extinguishers” (brandblussers), or “burners” (branders). This suggestion works as an 'exact match', meaning the most relevant categories relative to the search phrase are shown first, followed by other category suggestions.
Note: To use Category Suggestions, the Category must be set as a (hidden) filter in the active filter template of the linked category/root to provide the category structure.
3. Facet Suggestions: Lead users to results based on product properties such as color, brand, or type. You can add multiple facet suggestions to refine the experience.
4. Extra Facet Suggestion: Add additional properties to refine suggestions, such as brand, price range, or material.
Item Suggestions
Under the Item suggestions heading, you determine which specific items are shown. With the latest update, this is the place to set up Content Search. You can now create multiple blocks to show other content alongside products, such as blogs or documentation. Per block, you can set the Displayed name, the Maximum number of suggestions, and the Item type from the feed.
Products (Standard Group):
This is the Default Group that cannot be deleted. It serves as a safety net: new items from the feed that are not specifically assigned always automatically appear in this group.
You can make this group invisible if you do not want to show products.
Documentation (Docs): This group is used to make non-product content searchable, such as manuals, FAQs, or blogs.
A limit of maximum one Docs group per configuration applies.
Visual: Use this group to add visual suggestions to the search bar. Just like with documentation, a limit of maximum one Visual group applies. Once added, you can delete it to create a new one.
Managing Manual Suggestions
You manage manual suggestions easily via the import and export function. Export the existing suggestions and complete them in the corresponding CSV file. After exporting, you will see the following structure. Simply add your suggestions and upload the file back into Tweakwise.
After exporting, you’ll see the structure of the file. Simply update your suggestions and upload the file back into Tweakwise.