Searchable Attributes

The first step to take when setting up and configuring your index is to decide which attributes you want to use for searching.

• A classic example of a useful searchable attribute is the name of a product.
• An example of an attribute that isn’t useful for searching is a URL. URLs shouldn’t be in the list of searchable attributes since it’s unusual for users to search for them. However, you could use the image URLs in your index for displaying images in the results.

Here are some guidelines about which attributes to include and exclude from the searchable attribute list.

The following attributes are commonly included (searchable):

• Descriptive attributes: name, description, brand, list of actors in a film, list of features in a computer.
• Filters: color, brand, size.
• Keywords and tags.
• Valuable data like telephone numbers, SKU, ISBN, and other identifying attributes.

These are often excluded (not searchable):

• For display only: image and other URLs, price, brand logos, SKU.
• Short descriptions only intended for display. Short descriptions usually summarize what’s in a longer description. You may have a description for display and one with keywords (only used for search purposes).
• For information only: not yet available, just released, on promotion.
• For ranking only: most sales, most viewed, highest rated.

Ordering your attributes

Once you’ve chosen your searchable attributes, the next step is to focus on how to control their ordering;