Glossary

This glossary defines key terms and concepts used within Sitecore Search.

Glossary

blacklist

A way to exclude an item or a group of items from the search results, also called a blocklist. This is useful when you do not want to show certain items on a certain website or for specific visitors.

block widget

A widget displaying images, banners, and other HTML content configured in Sitecore Search, using, for example, attributes as dynamic variables.

boost

A way to increase the relevance of the item or the group of items by making them appear higher in the results list. You can use this to improve the visibility of certain content.

bury

A way to decrease the relevance of the item or the group of items by making them appear lower in the search results. You can use this to reduce the visibility of certain content.

category listing page

A page that displays a list of documents by category.

content collection

A list of all indexed items for each entity.

HTML widget

A widget displaying HTML content configured in Sitecore Search, using, for example, attributes as dynamic variables.

index document

A JSON object that represents a single item in the content collection.

pin

A way to set the position of a particular item in search results that overrides other search filters. You can use this to highlight content that is important or relevant for your visitors or if you want to highlight a recommendation.

preview search widget

A type of widget that provides instant and dynamic search results within a dialog box while a visitor types their search term. This enables visitors to quickly see search results and refine their search query.

recommendation widget

A widget that provides items based on an associated recipe with the purpose of driving conversions.

rule

A modification to widget behavior that can be used to overwrite the natural set of results, for example, to boost, bury, pin, and blacklist items. A rule can have its own variations as well as its own rules, and is evaluated when called from the customer website.

search experience

An interaction that a visitor has with a Sitecore Search implementation that influences their satisfaction and future behavior.

search results page

A page displaying items as a result of an entered search query.

search results widget

A widget that provides a comprehensive and ordered list of search results, based on a visitor query. The visitor can refine the list using facets, filters, and other features.

slot

A position in a list of search results to which you can pin an item or apply a boost rule.

source

A connector that retrieves items from a specified website, document, or repository, and indexes them so they are searchable. A source can be, for example, a web crawler, an API crawler, or an API push.

suggestion block

An algorithm in the preview search widget that provides visitors with relevant suggestions.

tag

An attribute that, when shared by multiple entities, can be used to aggregate entities into a single overview.

widget variation

A customized widget that contains rules that impact search results, which can be used to schedule content to appear at specific times or under certain conditions.  

For example, you can use a widget variation to emphasize specific items on your website for a certain time period, such as summer or Black Friday, or use it to display content for specific devices.

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