Synonyms

Synonyms help improve your shopper's search experience by connecting commonly used keywords with other terms of similar meaning. When used effectively, synonyms allow customers to discover relevant products even if their original search term doesn't exactly match the terminology in your catalog.

We highly recommend applying synonyms to individual keywords rather than full search phrases. For example, pairing "sofa" with "couch" works well, but trying to match entire phrases like "living room set" to "sectional sofa" can lead to inconsistent results and is not advised.

Note: Changes to synonyms will take effect after your next data sync.

Note: A synonym phrase cannot be longer than four words.

You can configure two types of synonyms: Grouped Synonyms and One-way Synonyms.

Multi-word Synonyms

Synonyms are intended to offer control over very specific phrasing. You can create synonyms using multiple words — such as “warm jacket” or “fleece pullover” — but keep in mind that the shopper needs to include the full phrase in their search. For example, a search for “warm winter jacket” won’t pull up the "warm jacket" search results, but “winter warm jacket” will. The product data must also include that exact phrase, so if a product description includes “fleece zip pullover,” that item won’t be matched to “warm jacket” unless that phrase appears in the product text.

Best Practice: Whenever possible, focus on individual keywords instead of multi-word synonyms. Phrase-based synonyms are more fragile and prone to unexpected behavior due to the strict requirements around word order and proximity.

Stemming & Synonyms

By default, searches include both singular and plural forms of a word. This is known as "stemming". (For example, a search for “shoe” will also return search results for “shoes.”) But when a synonym is involved, plural forms are not included automatically for the synonym term. For example, if you create a synonym for "shoe" → "boot":

The search will match:

✔ “shoe”

✔ “shoes” (plural of the original word)

✔ “boot” (your synonym)

But it won't match:

✖ “boots” (plural of the synonym)

Grouped Synonyms

Grouped synonyms, found on the "Grouped Synonyms" tab, treat all words in the group as equivalent so that when you search for any of the words in the group, the system will return products relevant to that word, along with the other words in the group.

For example, there is a clothing store having a sale on T-shirts, but they use many variations on this product name, such as "Yellow T Shirt", "Red Tee Shirt", and "Blue Short Sleeve Top". To make the most out of their featured sale, the store sets up synonym logic for the word "T-shirt" and sets up a grouped synonym so that the words "t shirt", "tee", "top", "short sleeve", "v-neck", "v neck", and "crew" generate the same search results, regardless of which of these search terms is used.

Adding a Grouped Synonym

New synonyms may be added in the "Grouped Synonyms" tab by clicking the Add Synonym button in the top right corner of the page, just above the table of search terms.

In the new window that appears, enter multiple terms separated with a comma in the "Search Terms" field. Click the "Create Grouped Synonym" button in the bottom right corner. The new grouped synonyms will appear in the list.

Enabling a Grouped Synonym

In order for a synonym to be processed, the Status toggle must be set to "Enabled". If your synonym was previously disabled and you click the Status toggle to enable it, this change automatically saves. If you want to disable a synonym, but not delete it, simply toggle the setting to "Disabled".  unchecking this box. Any updates to this checkbox will take effect the next time your data syncs.

Editing a Grouped Synonym

You can edit any synonyms you have added by clicking the three dots and choosing the "Edit" option.

A new window will appear showing the options to Edit a synonym. Here, you have the option to select the synonym type (Grouped or One-way) and to edit the Search Terms.

You have the option to toggle between grouped and one-way synonyms while editing a synonym; this will save the synonym as the newly selected type once you click the "Save Grouped Synonym" button in the lower right corner. Cancel your edits by clicking the "Discard" button to the left of the "Save Grouped Synonym" button.

One-way Synonyms

One-way synonyms, found on the "One-way Synonyms" tab, are good fits for more generic words and for finding products matching more specific terms. One-way synonyms allow a search for a specific term to include results for other related words without making those related words interchangeable with each other. For example, a search for “winter clothes” could return “jackets”, “scarves”, “gloves”, and “sweaters”. However, searching for “gloves” should not return “jackets”—so a one-way synonym setup is more appropriate in this situation than a grouped one.

Adding a One-way Synonym

New synonyms may be added by clicking the Add Synonym button at the top right, just above the "Searching for" table.

Enter your starting search term for a One-way Synonym (Searching For:) and a list of "Synonyms" (words that should be considered the same).

Click the "Create One-way Synonym" button at the bottom right. Your new synonym will be added to the list on the main One-way Synonyms tab.

Enabling a One-way Synonym

In order for a synonym to be processed, the Enable checkbox must be checked. This change automatically saves. If you want to disable a synonym, but not delete it, the change is as simple as unchecking this box. Any updates to this checkbox will take effect the next time your data is synced.

Editing a One-way Synonym

Edit any existing synonyms by clicking the "..." icon under "Options" and selecting "Edit".

You have the option to toggle between grouped and one-way synonyms while editing a synonym; this will update once you click the "Save Grouped Synonym" or "Save One-way Synonym" button.

Deleting a Synonym

Remove a synonym may be removed from this list by clicking the "..." icon under "Options" and selecting "Delete".

Tips & Tricks

• Changes and additions to synonyms will take effect as soon as your data is synced.
• If you notice frequent misspellings in search queries, focus your synonym on the specific misspelled word rather than the entire phrase. For example, instead of matching “batt man shirt” to “Batman Shirt,” create a synonym for “batt man” to “batman”.
• Separate multiple synonyms with a comma.
• When entering a one-way or grouped synonyms, list each term separated by a comma (e.g., tee, t shirt, crew, v neck). This ensures that all terms are treated equally in the group.
• Avoid creating synonym entries in which one term contains another. For example, setting up “Batman Shirt” to replace “Batman” can create a loop or cause unintended behavior, since the system may attempt to reprocess the keyword "Batman" multiple times. Although safeguards are in place, it’s best to keep synonym terms distinct to avoid confusion.
• Synonyms do not apply to product code fields like SKUs or other exact-match identifiers. These fields are not influenced by synonym logic.