Matching Options

Overview

The Matching Options page controls how strictly search queries must match the text in your product catalog. Adjusting these settings lets you balance precision (returning only very relevant results) against recall (returning more results, including approximate matches).

Navigate to: Search Settings > Matching Options

AND vs OR Logic

When a customer types a multi-word query, ExpertRec can apply either AND logic or OR logic to determine which products match:

• AND logic: A product must contain all words in the query to appear in results. This produces fewer but more precise results. Best for stores with large catalogs where broad results would be overwhelming.
• OR logic: A product needs to match at least one word in the query. This produces more results but may include less relevant items. Best for stores with smaller catalogs or niche products where strict matching causes too many zero-result searches.

You can also configure a minimum match percentage as a middle ground: for example, require at least 75% of query words to match.

Fuzzy Matching

Fuzzy matching corrects for typos and minor spelling errors by allowing a small edit distance between the query word and the indexed word:

• Off: Queries must match product text exactly (allowing for stemming).
• Low: Allows 1 character difference. Catches single-character typos such as “shooes” matching “shoes”.
• Medium: Allows up to 2 character differences. Recommended for most stores.
• High: Allows up to 3 character differences. Use with caution as it can reduce precision significantly.

Partial Matching

Partial matching allows a query word to match the beginning of an indexed word rather than requiring a full word match:

• Prefix matching: “run” matches “running”, “runner”, and “runway”. Useful for autocomplete-style queries.
• Infix matching: “run” also matches “outrun” and “rerun”. More flexible but can produce unexpected results.

Recommended Settings

• For most ecommerce stores: AND logic, medium fuzzy matching, prefix matching enabled.
• For small catalogs (fewer than 500 products): consider OR logic to avoid empty result pages.
• If customers frequently misspell product names (technical or brand names): increase fuzzy matching to medium or high.

Applying Changes

1. Navigate to Search Settings > Matching Options.
2. Adjust the AND/OR logic, fuzzy matching level, and partial matching settings.
3. Use the test search box to verify results with sample queries.
4. Click Save. Changes take effect immediately for all new searches.