Operations Search: Search Tuning - URL Redirects

This document is created with the purpose to give an explanation of category redirects and how to create them.

What is a URL Redirect Search?

A URL redirect is a search rule that will redirect a user to any page on your web site based on the search string.    It can redirect to a content page, search page, category page and also include query params on the end as needed.   It is more powerful than a simple category redirect.

The reason it falls under search is that it still begins with terms entered into the search box on the website. When a user enters a specific term into the search box, you can then redirect them to a specific page within the site instead of returning classic search results.

Adding a URL Redirect Rule

In the Operations Portal, navigate to the “Search Tuning” screen under Search. Once there, click on the URL Redirects tab to add a new URL Redirect.

Use the “add row” at the bottom of the grid to add a new URL Redirect.

When adding a new URL Redirect, add the values using the examples below.

Language Code 

• Should be the default language used on your site.

Query

• This is the “term” you specify that the user will input into the search box on the website. 

• Example - “Contact Us” to redirect the user to a contact page.

URL

• This is the URL within your site that the user will be redirected to after searching in the website search box. 

• Example - using the value given in the Query above (Contact Us) - you can redirect the user to the url for the contact page which would be “/s/content/contact-us”.

Important Note

When adding URLs, make sure to remove any query parameters on the end of the URL not needed for the page redirect. For example, you might see parameters like cid=123434&sid=12344& more. These may be tracking parameters or other parameters not needed to view the page you want to redirect to. Only include the params needed.

Here is an example of a complicated url redirect: /category/other_firestop?searchString=&sid=VRTPB8BTY2BE&facets=fg_brands%7Cfg_brands_grabber&from=1

The sid is a tracking code which you would not want everyone to use, it can be removed. There is no search string, so it can be removed. The from parameter just means start at page 1 so it can be removed. The following is the valid URL which redirects to a category page and by default checks a filter on the left side of the page for a specific brand: /category/other_firestop?facets=fg_brands%7Cfg_brands_grabber