How to improve Shopify search with the Search & Discovery app

To improve Shopify search, start with what shoppers actually type into your search bar. Shopify's free Search & Discovery app shows you which searches returned nothing and which got no clicks. You can fix most of them by changing product data, then use product boosts to put the right product first for the terms that matter most.

This guide follows Shopify's current search help. By the end you will be able to read your search reports, fix weak searches, set up boosts and check predictive search before holiday traffic arrives. For filters, see our collection page best practices.

How Shopify store search works now

Online store search is on by default for every Shopify store with an online store. A few points from Shopify's search behavior page and its guide to modifying search shape everything else here:

• Semantic understanding is built in. Shopify says it is included in online store search, so there is nothing to turn on. It uses related words, concepts and categories, drawn from the product title, description, product type, product category and tags. Product images aren't used.
• Typo tolerance is built in for the title, description, product type, tags, variant title and vendor.
• There is no ranking setting. Shopify states that you can't change how results are ordered, and that no setting controls how broadly search matches. Your product data and product boosts, covered below, are how you influence results.
• Only the first 10,000 characters of a product description, including HTML, are searchable.

Many older guides tell you to start by building a list of synonyms. Shopify's current search help describes semantic understanding instead and doesn't describe a synonyms list, so this guide works with product data and boosts.

Start with your search reports

Open Apps > Search & Discovery and look at the search performance reports. According to Shopify's search analytics guide, the app shows the last 30 days for:

• Click rate
• Purchase rate
• Searches by search query
• Searches with no results
• Searches with no clicks

For other date ranges, open the same reports under Analytics > Reports. The Behavior reports there also include Search conversions over time, which needs a theme that uses the url property of search results. Shopify's own themes are set up for it.

Before you act on the numbers:

• Search reports can be delayed by up to 72 hours, so a fix you make today won't show up straight away.
• They cover the search results page only. Interactions with predictive search, the dropdown that appears as a shopper types, aren't included.
• Staff need the Reports permission to see them.

Copy the top 20 searches with no results and the top 20 with no clicks into a list.

Sort each weak search by cause

Give each term on your list one label. Most fall into one of these five:

1. You sell it, but call it something else. A shopper types "hoodie" and your product says "pullover sweatshirt".
2. You sell it, but it's sold out. By default they appear at the end of results, and your settings may hide them.
3. You sell it, but the wrong product comes first. These often show up in the no clicks report.
4. You don't sell it. That is product demand, not a search problem.
5. It's a question about your store, such as "returns" or "shipping".

For the fifth group, check that you have a page whose title uses the shopper's word, such as "Shipping and returns". Shopify includes up to 2 pages or articles in search results, on the first page of results only, if pages are among your search result types. New stores request only products by default, so check Settings in the Search & Discovery app.

Fix product data first

For the first group, the fix is in the product itself, because product fields are what search reads. Shopify's predictive search page lists the product properties that product suggestions always search: title, description, product type, tags, vendor, variant title, variant SKU and variant barcode.

• Title: include the word most shoppers use. "Pullover sweatshirt" can become "Pullover hoodie" if that is what people type.
• Product type and category: fill in both.
• Tags: when the shopper's word doesn't fit the title, add it as a tag. Use real words, not internal codes.
• Description: mention common alternative names naturally, near the top, since only the first 10,000 characters count.
• Variants: clear variant titles such as "Navy / M" help with searches that include a color or size.

Shopify says individual product updates usually reach search within seconds, while bulk edits can take several hours.

Use product boosts for the terms that matter

When the right product exists but doesn't come first, use a product boost. In your admin, go to Apps > Search & Discovery > Search > Product boosts and click Create product boost. Select the products, type each search term and click Add, then click Save. Details from Shopify's guide to modifying search:

• A product boost can have up to 10 search terms, and a term can be several words.
• You don't need separate boosts for singular and plural forms or misspellings.
• Changes reach search results on the same day.
• Boosts only apply to products that are available for sale.
• Boosts aren't applied when a search uses search syntax, and the combined listings display setting might override them.
• They affect your store's own search only, not how products rank on Google or other search engines.

Shopify recommends boosting a single product, or a small number, for specific terms. To change many at once, select products on the Product boosts page and click Bulk edit.

Decide what search should hide

Some products, such as replacement parts or a free gift, shouldn't appear in search. Shopify's searchability guide gives two options:

• Unlisted status, which Shopify suggests considering first. It hides the product from store search, including predictive search, from collections, product recommendations, your sitemap and internet search. The product can still be opened by its direct link.
• The seo.hidden metafield. Create a product metafield definition under Settings > Metafields and metaobjects with namespace and key seo.hidden, type Integer, one value, maximum value 1. Set it to 1 on a product to hide it. It removes the product from store search, sitemaps and search engines, but not from collections or product recommendations.

If both are set, Unlisted status takes priority.

Check predictive search in your theme

Predictive search is the list of suggestions that appears as a shopper types. Shopify notes that it only works if your published theme supports it. By default it returns up to 10 results in total across the result types requested, and you choose those types, such as queries, products and collections, in the app's settings. If your theme sends its own type parameter, it overrides that setting.

Predictive search and the results page are separate search types, so they can differ. Open your store on a phone, type your top five searches and check both the suggestions and the full results page.

A worked example

Say you sell candles and home fragrance, and in early November your list of searches with no results looks like this (hypothetical terms):

• "wax melts": you sell them as "fragrance cubes". You rename the products "Fragrance cubes (wax melts)" and add a wax melts tag.
• "stocking stuffer": you sell small gift items but nothing says so. You tag them, then add a product boost for "stocking stuffer" on the three you most want to sell.
• "reed diffuser refill": you sell refills, but they are sold out and your settings hide sold-out products. You bring the restock forward and leave a note for your buyer.
• "unscented": you don't sell an unscented candle. It goes on a list of product requests.

Point holiday shoppers to the results you fixed

Once a term like "stocking stuffer" returns the right products, you can send shoppers there directly. In Atomato, a NotiFeed message shows in a feed shoppers open from a bell on your store, and its button link can be a product, a collection or an address you type, such as a search results page. NotiFeed is included on the free Starter plan, with one active NotiFeed campaign. Atomato credits products added to cart within 6 hours of a click to a product, collection or search page on your store, when the shopper checks out in the same browser within 30 days. See how to create a NotiFeed announcement.

Store search checklist

• Top 20 searches with no results and with no clicks copied into a list.
• Each term labeled: other name, sold out, wrong order, not sold or store question.
• Titles, product types, categories and tags use the words shoppers type.
• Pages exist for shipping, returns and other common questions, and pages are turned on as a search result type.
• Product boosts set for a few key terms, with one or a few products each.
• Parts, wholesale items and free gifts set to Unlisted or hidden with seo.hidden.
• Predictive search and the results page tested on a phone with your top five searches.
• Reports checked again at least 72 hours after your changes.

Common mistakes and what this won't fix

• Boosting lots of products for a broad term. Shopify's advice is a single product or a small number for specific terms.
• Expecting seo.hidden to remove a product everywhere. It still shows in collections and recommendations. Use Unlisted status for that.

Search won't fix weak demand, prices or product pages, and there is no setting to reorder results beyond boosts and the sold-out products setting. If shoppers can't find the search bar, that is a theme and navigation question. See our navigation menu best practices and the wider Shopify CRO checklist.

Common questions

Is the Search & Discovery app free?

Yes. Shopify describes it as a free first-party app,.

Can I change the order of Shopify search results?

Not directly. Shopify says there is no setting for result order. Product boosts move chosen products up for specific terms, as long as those products are available for sale.

Why isn't my product showing in Shopify search?

Check whether it is set to Unlisted, has seo.hidden set to 1, or is sold out with sold-out products hidden. If you just made a bulk edit, Shopify notes that changes can take several hours to reach search.

Does Shopify search use metafields?

Shopify's list of searched product properties doesn't include metafields. Metafields can power filters in the Search & Discovery app instead.

Next step

Open Searches with no results in the Search & Discovery app today. Fix the five most common terms with product data, add boosts for three key holiday terms, and check the report again after 72 hours, well before Black Friday traffic arrives.

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