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<% util.level ? util.level.title : '' %>
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Level up! <% util.levelPointsRemaining %> points to go
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Guide
Build a Search Experience End-to-End
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Introduction
Introduction
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Step 1
Strategy & Scope
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Step 2
Collect Data and Set Up Knowledge Graph
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Step 3
Configure Your Search Backend
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Step 4
Set Up Search Frontend
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Step 5
QA
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Step 6
Integrate and Launch
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Step 7
Post-Launch Optimization
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Step 1: Strategy & Scope

Overview

The first step is to define what content you want to include in your search experience, both in the backend (what users should be able to search on) and frontend (what you want to display on results cards).

You may have to adjust your content strategy based on how easy it is to both collect and maintain your data.

Keep in mind:

  • Data Quality is Key: The quality of your data directly impacts the overall quality of your build.
  • Structure Matters: How you structure your data will determine how you set up both the frontend and the backend.

Verticals

Verticals are groups of similar content types (e.g., locations, products, FAQs). If you want to display certain types of content differently or separately, or have them be searched differently, you’ll separate them into different verticals.

Verticals may differ depending on the industry you’re in as well. Financial institutions may have agents, ATMs, and locations. Healthcare organizations may have doctors and healthcare facilities.

Verticalized search can benefit the overall user experience, however, single vertical experiences can also be created for use cases only requiring a single content type, such as a store locator, doctor finder, or product search.

Determine Your Data Scope

Decide on the verticals you want in the search experience.

Best Practice: We recommend having no more than seven verticals to maintain good search quality and avoid overwhelming users.

Consider these factors for content:

  • What are users currently searching for and engaging with on your site?
  • What does success look like? (e.g., increased self-service, higher click-through-rate)?
  • What content do you want to highlight?
    • Where on your site would you like to drive more traffic and user engagement?
    • What about those content types do you want to be searchable or displayed on the results card?
  • What are your timeline and dependencies?
    • If your data collection timeline doesn’t align with your launch, consider starting with sample data or a subset of verticals and adding more later. Be aware that this might create a suboptimal user experience if they expect comprehensive results but only a partial set is shown.

For each vertical, keep track of:

  • Frontend Search Results: The attributes you want to display on results cards
  • Backend Searchable Fields: The attributes you want users to be able to search on
  • Data Ingestion: The source of the data and how it will be kept up-to-date
  • Additional Configuration: Any custom logic, such as sort options, how a vertical should rank against other verticals, or icons
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