Configuring keyword redirects

By default, when your customers enter search queries, Bloomreach shows them a list of results. You can define keyword-based rules to send your customers instead to a particular page when they enter certain keywords in their search queries. For example, you can open your company's Betsey Johnson jewelry page when a customer enters pink gecko necklace in the search field.

How do I configure keyword redirects?

Do you want to create a redirect rule or a redirect-exclusion rule?

What's the difference between a redirect rule and a redirect exclusion rule?

A redirect rule defines which keywords trigger a redirection to another page. For example, you can specify that when customers enter the query, Coach, they are taken directly to your company's Coach landing page.

A redirect exclusion rule helps you refine your redirect rules by letting you specify searches that don't redirect your customers to a new page. For example, you can specify that when customers enter the query, Coach wallet, they are shown a list of search results pertaining to the query rather than taken to the Coach landing page.

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Redirect rule

Start at Search & Merchandising → Site search → Redirects

  1. Click the Add New button in the Redirects table to create a new rule or hover your mouse over an existing rule and click the pen icon to edit it. 
    The Add Keyword Redirect box opens.
  2. Select one of the following match types:
    • Redirect Term(s)  triggers the rule only when customers enter a specific keyword or keyword phrase exactly the way you specify it.
    • Redirect Phrase(s)  triggers the rule when customers enter the entire keyword phrase, but not necessarily the exact way you specify it.
  3. Enter your keyword or keywords in the Keyword text field.
  4. Enter the URL where you want to send users in the Destination URL text field.
  5. Enter a name for this rule in the Name text field at the bottom of the Add Keyword Redirect box. 
    It's a good idea to use this rule's keyword when you name the rule.
  6. Click the Save button. 
    The Add Keyword Redirect box closes and your rule is automatically enabled.

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Redirect exclusion rule

Start at Search & Merchandising → Site search → Redirects

  1. Click the Add New button in the Redirects - Excludes Config table to create a new rule or hover your mouse over an existing rule and click the pen icon to edit it. 
    The Add Keyword Redirect box opens.
  2. Select one of the following match types:
    • Do not redirect term(s) triggers the rule only when customers enter a specific keyword or keyword phrase exactly the way you specify it.
    • Do not redirect phrase(s) triggers the rule when customers enter the entire keyword phrase, but not exactly the way you specify it.
  3. Enter your keyword or keywords in the Keyword text field.
  4. Enter the URL where you want to send users in the Destination URL text field.
  5. Enter a name for this rule in the Name text field at the bottom of the Add Keyword Redirect box. 
    It's a good idea to use this rule's keyword when you name the rule.
  6. Click the Save button. 
    The Add Keyword Redirect box closes and your rule is automatically enabled.

Best practices

Use keywords to name redirect rules

If you include the keywords in the name of the rule, then it's easy to find it later. For example, Lucia's company sells handbags from many designers. It's a lot easier for her to find the rule redirecting queries for Gucci handbags if the rule is called Gucci handbags than it is if the rule is called handbags.

Entering values

You can enter multiple keywords as comma-separated values into a redirect rule. For example:

red,strappy,heel,sandals

Plan redirect rules

Make a plan before you add a rule. You need to consider your existing redirect rules and evaluate their potential conflicts. For example, Lucia already has the following redirect rule:

prada → http://www.example.com/prada

She wants to add the following multiple-keyword rule:

louboutin, prada, gucci → http://www.example.com/handbags

There's a conflict between her new rule and her existing rule. To prevent the conflict without ignoring her rule, Bloomreach applies the  louboutin → http://www.example.com/handbags  part of the rule, and ignores the rest of it.

Before creating the redirect rule, Lucia needs to plan it. She needs to decide if she wants prada to redirect to accessories or to handbags. If she wants prada to redirect to accessories, then she removes  prada  from her mutliple-keyword rule, making it look like this:

louboutin, gucci → http://www.example.com/handbags

But if she wants prada to redirect to  /prada  instead of  /handbags , then she needs to delete her  prada → http://www.example.com/prada rule. After she deletes that old rule, then her louboutin, prada, gucci → http://www.example.com/handbags rule works.

Check for targeted audiences

Click the Refine by Audience dropdown and select an audience option to see a list of rules that apply to that audience.

It's a good idea to filter the list of redirect rules by targeted audience before changing rules. You can also open a specific rule and then check for which audiences are targeted by the rule.

Redirect Rules - Bulk Upload

Please contact Bloomreach Support to bulk upload redirect rules. You must provide the redirect rules in the specified CSV file format. Once you share the redirect rules in the expected file format, Bloomreach Support will upload the rules for you.

The file formatting instructions are listed below:

  1. Create a CSV file of the following format: keyword, url, matchType
    The match type could be EXACT_MATCH or PHRASE_MATCH. If not specified, matchType will be assumed to be EXACT_MATCH.

  2. Please do not put a header row in the CSV file.

  3. We do not support multiple terms in one row. Please separate multiple terms into multiple lines.

    Unsupported format: “cars, car”,www.test.com,EXACT_MATCH

    The terms car and cars must be separated into different rows.

    Supported format:

    cars,www.test.com,EXACT_MATCH

    car,www.test.com,EXACT_MATCH

  4. Duplicate entries are not supported.