Thread

As of now it appears that search displays the results based on the most recent post, however we are using the search to search a library of items, so if someone searches for ‘the simpsons’ and the simpsons page isn’t a newer one, they are going to think it doesn’t exist at all.

Does anyone know of a way to modify the search module so it orders the search results based on keyword relevance instead?

PS: I tried doing a forum search to see if this topic was already addressed but when I typed ‘search’ in the search box up there, it defaulted to the advanced search page… so clever.

None that I know of.  But of course I can always be wrong. 😉  I’m sure one of the techs can jump in on this.

The problem I see is how would EE determine a greater relevance if two entries have the same keywords?  EE’s search doesn’t have a deep algorithm like a Google or Yahoo.  It simply queries the db, finds the relevant keyword in the entry and displays them based on date relevance.  One can also drill down the relevance of the search by using the Advanced Search form.  And you can also change the sort of your Results page to refine what the user sees first.

If you looking for more of a keyword relevant search, then I suggest you use Google Custom Search and plug it in to EE.

I’ve been thinking about how to do even basic relevance myself, as my client rally likes the EE search, doesn’t want to monkey with trying to integrate Google search into their site, and just needs something a little beyond sorting by date.

I believe I have an idea about how to do the relevance, but I’m sure it will require hacking the Search module. If I do figure out how to do it, I’ll be sure to share, as usual.