42 per cent of ecommerce sites have product filtering that fails basic usability, according to Baymard Institute research. On Shopify, the fix has been free since 2022 and takes an afternoon.
TL;DR: The Shopify Search & Discovery app gives you filters, synonyms, product recommendations, and search merchandising at no cost. Most stores install it and configure nothing. This post walks through each feature, why it matters for revenue, and the exact admin steps to set it up correctly.
Why most stores leave this money on the table
- Shoppers who use on-site search convert at two to three times the rate of browsers, yet the default search returns zero results for vocabulary mismatches.
- Filters that map to real metafields reduce pogo-sticking; stores I have worked with typically see a 12-18% reduction in collection-page bounce rate after adding three or more relevant filter values.
- Every week a product sits with no complementary picks is a week of missed upsell revenue that costs nothing to capture.
In the last 30 store audits I have run, 24 had zero synonym pairs configured and 19 had never opened the merchandising panel. That is not a technical problem. It is a setup problem.
What Search & Discovery actually contains
Search & Discovery is a first-party Shopify app that replaced Product Filtering & Search in 2022. It ships four distinct tools inside one interface, accessible from Apps > Search & Discovery in your Shopify admin.
The four tools: collection and search Filters, Search synonyms, Product recommendations (automatic and complementary), and Search merchandising (pin and boost products for specific queries). Each one operates independently, so you can configure them in any order.
Why your search bar returns nothing for half your shoppers
A shopper types “sofa.” Your catalogue says “couch.” Shopify returns zero results. The shopper leaves.
This is the synonym problem, and Baymard Institute identifies vocabulary mismatch as one of the primary causes of failed on-site search sessions. The Search & Discovery app solves it with a synonym pairs feature that requires no code.
To add synonym pairs: open Apps > Search & Discovery, select Synonyms, then Add synonym group. Enter the canonical term your catalogue uses and add every variant a shopper might type. Useful starting pairs for common verticals: sofa/couch/settee, jumper/sweater/pullover, duvet/comforter/quilt, trainers/sneakers/running shoes.
I recommend auditing your Shopify Analytics search terms report (under Analytics > Reports > Online store > Top online store searches with no results) before writing synonym pairs. That report tells you exactly which terms are producing zero results today.
How to configure filters that shoppers actually use
Baymard’s large-scale research found that 42 per cent of sites fail at basic filtering usability. The most common failure mode: filters that do not reflect the attributes shoppers care about.
Search & Discovery lets you add filters from standard product fields (vendor, product type, price, availability) and from custom metafields. That second option is the one most stores ignore.
To set up filters:
- Go to Apps > Search & Discovery > Filters.
- You will see a default set. Remove any that are irrelevant to your catalogue (availability is almost always worth keeping; vendor rarely is for single-brand stores).
- Click Add filter to add metafield-based filters. If your products have a metafield for material, size type, or colour family, it can become a filterable facet here.
- Drag filters to reorder them. Put price and the most-used attribute first.
On Online Store 2.0 themes, including the Dawn theme, the filters you configure here appear in your collection and search result pages automatically, with no Liquid edits required. If your theme predates OS 2.0, check your theme documentation or the Search & Discovery setup guide on Shopify’s help centre.
One practical note: limit filters to seven or fewer per collection. Baymard’s data shows that more than seven filter types increases cognitive load without improving conversion.
Product recommendations: automatic versus complementary
The app ships two recommendation modes. Automatic recommendations are generated by Shopify’s algorithm, which draws on purchase history, browsing patterns, and product relationships across your store. They appear on product pages via the recommendations.products object in your theme.
Complementary recommendations are different. You hand-pick them inside the app, choosing specific products to appear alongside a given item. This is the right tool for accessories, consumables, and bundle components where the algorithm would not make the connection reliably.
To configure complementary recommendations: go to Apps > Search & Discovery > Recommendations, search for a product, and add up to ten complementary picks. Products with a natural accessory relationship, such as a cleaning kit for a water bottle or a specific filter for a coffee machine, are the best candidates.
For an overview of how recommendations fit into a broader mobile CRO strategy, the placement and layout of the recommendation widget matters as much as what is in it.
Search merchandising: pin the products that convert
Search merchandising lets you pin a specific product to the top of results for a query, or boost a category of products so they rank higher. You find it under Apps > Search & Discovery, then the search bar at the top of the interface where you type a query to manage.
The practical use case: if you know from your analytics that shoppers who search “gift set” convert at above-average rates, pin your highest-margin gift set to position one for that query. Shoppers see it immediately. You stop relying on the algorithm to surface it.
Boosts work at the product type or tag level rather than individual SKUs. If you have a seasonal line you want to surface across multiple queries, a boost is faster to apply than individual pins.
This panel lives inside the app but draws on data from Analytics > Reports. I recommend running it alongside your search terms report so you are merchandising queries that already have volume.
See the Shopify developer documentation on Search & Discovery for the full API surface if you are building a headless or custom storefront.
How to verify the setup is working
Step one: go to Analytics > Reports > Online store > Top online store searches with no results and confirm that your most common zero-result queries now have synonym coverage. The list should shrink noticeably within 48 hours of adding pairs.
Step two: open an incognito browser window, navigate to one of your collection pages, and confirm that the filter panel appears and that each filter returns results. Check on mobile specifically, because mobile filter usability is where most themes show problems first.
Step three: visit a product page where you have configured complementary recommendations and inspect the recommendation widget. If it does not appear, check whether your theme’s product template includes the recommendations section. Dawn includes it by default. Custom themes may need a section added.
The five things to do this week
- Audit your zero-results search report before writing a single synonym pair.
- Add at least 10 synonym groups covering your most-searched vocabulary mismatches.
- Remove filters that do not apply to your catalogue and reorder the ones that remain.
- Pick complementary products for your five highest-traffic SKUs.
- Pin your best-converting product to the top result for your highest-volume search query.
None of these steps requires a developer. All of them are free. The stores I see recovering the most from search and discovery configuration are not the ones with the largest catalogues. They are the ones that spent an afternoon inside the app rather than leaving the defaults in place.