7 Best eCommerce Search Engines for Composable Commerce

Every successful online purchase starts with finding the right product or service online! So the brands that have good conversion rates must have a powerful eCommerce search engine.

The best eCommerce search engines help you offer seamless and effortless product discovery or site search to your customers. Choosing the right search engine can not only improve their user experiences but also boost your store’s conversion rates.

So, to make your hunt for the perfect eCommerce site search solution effortless, this blog consists of:

• an ultimate list of leading eCommerce search engines 
• a detailed comparison to guide you in selecting the perfect solution 

Let’s check it out quickly!

Best eCommerce Search Engines

eCommerce search engines hold an influential role in driving customer satisfaction, spiking conversion rates, and amplifying revenue for online retailers. The utilization of such approaches helps in providing reliable and up-to-date outcomes.

Beyond augmenting the user experience, eCommerce search engines offer businesses the capability to scrutinize search queries, hone product offerings, and adapt marketing strategies. 

It uses technologies like natural language processing (NLP), Semantic Search, and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to guarantee that customers get more accurate results. 

As the eCommerce landscape continues to expand, various search engine solutions have emerged, each with its unique features and capabilities. Among the top contenders in the industry are:

1. Algolia
2. Elasticsearch
3. Bloomreach
4. Yext Search
5. Constructor
6. Coveo
7. Searchspring 

These leading eCommerce search engines cater to different business needs and offer diverse functionalities. This ensures that online retailers can find the best ecommerce search engine for their composable commerce requirements on their ecommerce website.

Let’s get familiar with all of them one by one!

1. Algolia

So, let’s welcome the most popular search engine in the eCommerce world: Algolia!

Algolia is a powerful search-as-a-service solution specifically designed for eCommerce websites, offering advanced functionality, simple implementation, and speedy changes. 

With its instant-on integration through Elastic Path’s Integrations Hub, Algolia has become a popular choice for digital commerce. This search engine utilizes features such as predictive text, synonym libraries, and redirects to ensure search relevance and prevent null results.

Algolia’s swift and accurate search algorithms empower businesses to establish quick, real-time search experiences for their customers. It also offers AI-powered searches to surprise your customers with unparalleled user experience.

Key Features

• Powerful Search API: Algolia’s robust API simplifies search development for your applications.
• Site Search Crawler: Automatically extract and enrich website content for instant searchability.
• InstantSearch UI Components: UI components for designing optimal search experiences.
• Infrastructure and Integrations: Reliable site search infrastructure and content indexing from any source.
• Security & Compliance: Keep user data safe and compliant with regulations.
• Analytics: Gain insights into user behavior and uncover optimization opportunities.
• Merchandising Studio: Curate and personalize search results without coding.
• A/B Testing: Fine-tune search relevance in real-time for the best results.
• Custom Ranking: Create your own search relevance algorithms.

Why Algolia?

1. Fast Implementation: Quick and easy implementation with advanced libraries and extensive documentation.
2. AI Capabilities: Advanced AI features like personalized results and dynamic synonyms for enhanced user experiences.
3. Customizable Relevance: Tailor search results and gain insights through A/B testing and search analytics.
4. Fully-hosted Solution: Algolia’s fully-hosted Search API reduces infrastructure management complexities.

Limitations of Algolia

1. Quiet expensive platform.
2. Customization and personalization are limited.

Pricing

2. Elasticsearch

Second comes — Elasticsearch, an integral component of the Elastic Stack, is a distributed, RESTful search and analytics engine that plays a key role in revolutionizing the world of eCommerce.  

Elasticsearch serves as the centralized repository for your data, offering lightning-fast search capabilities, fine-tuned relevancy, and scalable analytics.

Elasticsearch empowers you to explore your data comprehensively, allowing for structured, unstructured, geo, and metric searches. With Elasticsearch, your online store can benefit from instant search results, a powerful and efficient design, scalability to handle immense data loads, and enhanced resiliency.

Key Features

• Elasticsearch Relevance Engine (ESRE): The ESRE is a suite of retrieval algorithms that can integrate with large language models (LLMs), combining AI with Elasticsearch for superior search relevance.
• Versatile Query and Analysis: Elasticsearch enables a wide range of searches, from structured to unstructured, geo, and metric, offering unparalleled flexibility in data querying.
• Scalability: From a single node to a 300-node cluster, Elasticsearch scales horizontally, handling vast volumes of data seamlessly.
• Resiliency: Elasticsearch ensures data safety and availability, even in a distributed environment, with features like cross-cluster replication.
• Flexibility: Balancing performance and cost, Elasticsearch allows data storage both locally and remotely, adapting to evolving needs.

Why Elasticsearch?

1. Lightning-Fast Performance: Elasticsearch’s speed and efficient data indexing ensure that you can work with your data at incredible speeds.
2. Scalability for All: Whether you’re starting small or aiming for a massive online presence, Elasticsearch grows with you seamlessly.
3. Resilience and Data Protection: Elasticsearch’s resiliency features keep your data safe and available, even in challenging conditions.
4. Adaptability: Elasticsearch allows you to adapt to changing data needs, offering flexibility in how you store and search your data.
5. Diverse Use Cases: Elasticsearch caters to a wide range of data types and use cases, including log monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, APM, enterprise search, and more.

Limitations of Elasticsearch

1. It’s costly to have advanced features.
2. You need strong technical skills to implement and use the platform.

Pricing

3. Bloomreach Discovery

Here comes the third one: Bloomreach — the leader of commerce search and product discovery, according to The Forrester Wave™ Q3 2023!

Bloomreach Discovery provides a comprehensive suite of eCommerce site search solutions, including content management, SEO optimization, and role-based analytics, suitable for businesses of all sizes. 

Its AI-driven search and marketing tools, headless content management system, and marketing automation solutions are all accessible through a powerful search box, providing online retailers with a versatile and robust search engine solution.

This versatile eCommerce search engine provider caters to a wide range of businesses, making it an attractive option for retailers seeking a comprehensive and reliable search solution.

Key Features

• Dynamic Personalization: Real-time personalization enhances the shopping experience, improving customer satisfaction.
• Facet Optimization: Automatically reordering facets and optimizing product rankings boost sales.
• Precision in Search: Relevant search results for specific product searches meet customer expectations.
• Intent-Driven Suggestions: Suggestions aligned with customer intent boost loyalty and revenue.
• Content Integration: Bringing content and products together keeps customers engaged and well-informed.
• Image Personalization: Displaying product images based on preferences enhances the shopping experience.

Why Bloomreach Discovery?

1. Proven ROI: Bloomreach’s intelligent site search has a track record of delivering tangible returns on investment. Many eCommerce businesses have seen significant revenue increases shortly after implementing the platform.
2. User-Friendly Interface: The platform offers an intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it easy for your team to manage and optimize search functionalities without the need for extensive technical expertise.
3. A/B Testing: Bloomreach allows you to perform A/B testing to fine-tune search results, ensuring that you can continually improve the customer experience and drive more sales.
4. Constant Improvement: With Bloomreach’s AI-based search, your site’s search capabilities will continue to get smarter over time, keeping you ahead of the competition and aligned with the latest industry trends.
5. Customization: The platform offers a high degree of customization, allowing you to tailor your site search to align with your brand’s unique style and customer preferences.

Limitations of Bloomreach Discovery

1. The insights section needs some improvements. It should offer more in-depth analytics per entity.
2. Customization is either not possible or is very limited.

Pricing

Bloomreach pricing is available on request.

4. Yext Search

Yext Search occupies the fourth position!

Yext, a prominent player in the field of e-commerce search, offers a suite of cutting-edge tools designed to maximize the value along the purchasing funnel.

Its primary focus on:

• Artificial intelligence ranking to generate improved search relevance
• Engaging audiences to increase product sales
• Uncovering product insights to facilitate revenue growth

Yext has earned a reputation for its robust, multi-format support capabilities, making it a top choice for site search.

For e-commerce merchants looking to boost conversion rates and deliver a top-tier shopping journey, Yext is undoubtedly a name to remember.

Key Features

• AI-Powered Search: Create intelligent search experiences using natural language understanding and multiple algorithms.
• Search Merchandiser: Easily reorder entities, verticals, and snippets within search results with a drag-and-drop tool.
• Query Suggestions & Enhancement: Provide configurable prompts and intelligent query understanding.
• Dynamic Reranking: Continuously optimize search results based on user engagement.
• Direct Answers: Display concise results addressing user queries at the top of search results.
• Universal & Vertical Search: Showcase various result types in a single tab with vertical tabs for deeper exploration.
• Developer Tools: Access fast and scalable tools for building with Yext.
• Maps & Location Support: Implement an out-of-the-box map experience for location-type entities.
• Security & Compliance: Ensure SOC2 compliance, enterprise-grade security, and global data center support.
• Entity Relationship Modeling: Model relationships between entities for enhanced data organization.

Why Yext Search?

1. Real-time clickstream data for optimal search results.
2. Seamless integrations with platforms like Shopify, Salesforce, Acquia, and Google Merchant Center.
3. User-friendly drag-and-drop interface for effortless merchandising.
4. Comprehensive insights into consumer behavior and buyer intent.

Limitations of Yext Search

1. The user interface is not user-friendly for beginners.
2. The setup process is time-consuming.
3. The effectiveness of AI-driven search may depend on the quality of available data.

Pricing

Yext’s pricing can vary depending on the specific needs of your business. But a free trial is available!

5. Constructor

Next comes the Strong Performer — Constructor!

This revolutionary platform combines sitewide search, product discovery, and merchant solutions, all infused with AI intelligence and a laser focus on KPIs. Constructor is committed to delivering tangible results that matter to you, and we’ve got the data to prove it.

With Constructor, you can expect to see remarkable results in under four weeks. Some of the biggest names in eCommerce have witnessed substantial growth in revenue and search conversions.

But Constructor is not just another keyword search engine. It’s a comprehensive solution that offers product discovery specifically designed for enterprise eCommerce KPIs.  It leverages customer clickstream data and transformative technologies to create highly personalized experiences.

Key Features

• Native Commerce Core™: The heart of Constructor product discovery, this AI core learns from every shopper interaction, providing sitewide solutions.
• Hyper-Personalized Search: Constructor offers hyper-personalized search results based on real-time onsite shopping behavior, ensuring that customers see products tailored to their preferences.
• Business-Optimized AI Results: AI-driven search results are optimized for the specific business KPIs that you define, aligning the search experience with your objectives.
• Next-Generation Search: Unlike outdated keyword and vector search engines, Constructor represents the next generation of eCommerce search. It goes beyond “relevant” results to display products that customers truly want to buy.
• Comprehensive Search Features: Constructor offers a range of search features, including autosuggest, dynamic search facets, and glass box insights, enhancing the search experience for both customers and businesses.
• Innovative Content Search: In addition to traditional search features, Constructor supports content search, voice search, image search, and advanced natural language processing (NLP) features.
• Multilingual Support: Constructor accommodates multiple languages, allowing businesses to reach a global audience.

Why Constructor?

1. Full Merchant Controls: Businesses have full control over the search experience, with advanced reporting and best-in-breed customer success support.
2. Reliability: Constructor boasts a 99.99% uptime, ensuring that your eCommerce site remains accessible to customers.
3. Integration-Friendly: Constructor offers turnkey integrations and an API-first, headless architecture, making it easy to integrate with your existing eCommerce infrastructure.
4. Security and Compliance: Constructor prioritizes security and compliance, ensuring that customer data is protected and aligned with industry regulations.
5. Tangible ROI in Under 4 Weeks: Constructor is proven to deliver a tangible return on investment in less than four weeks, ensuring a quick and measurable impact on your eCommerce business.

Limitations of Constructor

1. Weaker in automated data syncing.
2. You will have limited customization options with Constructor.

Pricing

Constructor offers 4 pricing editions to cater to the diverse needs of eCommerce businesses. 

6. Coveo

So, the sixth position is occupied by Coveo!

Coveo is a cloud-based site search solution designed to do what every merchant dreams of: connecting customers with the most relevant information, insights, and answers, right from day one.

Coveo’s AI-powered search engine enables eCommerce businesses to:

• Create personalized search experiences for their customers
• Harness the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to offer relevant and personalized search results
• Enhance customer buying experiences
• Integrate seamlessly with any system, providing advanced search functionality without the need for complex programming.

Shoppers are particularly satisfied with its analytics capabilities and search relevance, making it a strong contender in the eCommerce search engine market.

Key Features

• Unified Knowledge: Coveo’s cognitive search engine centralizes access to multiple sources, making it easier to manage and scale your content.
• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Enhance your search across various customer-facing channels, internal portals, and CRM software.
• Enriched Intent Detection: Coveo understands user intent in language and behavior, ensuring precise search results.
• Automatic Re-ranking: Results are ranked based on previous actions and context, not just the typed query.
• Question Answering: Users can type a question, and Coveo’s cognitive search engine extracts the answers they need.
• Dynamic Content Filtering: Coveo automatically adjusts facets to each query, helping users narrow their results effectively.
• Smart Access Management: Manage permissions based on access levels, enhancing security and flexibility.

Why Coveo?

1. Enriched intent detection ensures relevant results even when queries are imprecise.
2. Dynamic content filtering and automatic re-ranking optimize the customer search experience.
3. Machine learning and text preprocessing continuously improve search results.
4. Rules customization allows for tailored search campaigns without developer intervention.

Limitations of Coveo

1. Navigating Coveo’s admin platform can be a bit challenging.
2. Limited community and supporting services.
3. The setup process is complicated.

Pricing

7. Searchspring

Last but not the least: Searchspring, a robust eCommerce search engine that has been turning heads with its exceptional product discovery capabilities. 

Searchspring empowers online merchants with a unique, proven, and powerful on-site search system, ensuring that your customers find exactly what they’re looking for. 

Searchspring simplifies on-site search, ensuring that customers enjoy a shopping journey that is not only effortless but also highly engaging. It guides shoppers throughout their online adventure, resulting in improved product discovery and, ultimately, higher conversion rates. 

Key Features

• Hyper-Relevance: Searchspring offers hyper-relevant and personalized search results that can help you exceed your sales goals and elevate your eCommerce site to new heights.
• Semantic Search: Searchspring’s semantic product search ensures that customers are led to the precise set of products they’re looking for, greatly enhancing the search experience and conversion rates.
• IntelliSuggest: Boost the visibility of the most engaged products by using engagement data to prioritize search results, making sure your top products are always front and center.
• Autocomplete: Provide users with quick and relevant search term predictions while they type, helping them find what they need before finishing their query.

Why Searchspring?

1. Flexibility and Extensibility: Its SDK and APIs enable quick implementation and customization for each brand’s unique needs.
2. Expert Support: The Searchspring team offers deep product expertise and responsive assistance.
3. Exceptional Value: It provides the most functionality at its price point, ensuring cost-effective solutions for businesses.

Limitations of Searchspring 

1. Dynamic search result pages are not SEO-friendly.
2. Steep learning curve.

Pricing

Here we come to the end of our list. Don’t worry if you’re unable to decide on a specific site search or product discovery solution. There’s more to know about these eCommerce search engines that will help you in the selection. 

Let’s jump to the next section!

Comparison: Best eCommerce Site Search Solutions

As we have explored all the top 7 eCommerce search engines, it is evident that each solution offers unique features, strengths, and limitations, catering to the diverse needs and requirements of online retailers. 

The detailed table given below will help you compare all the best search and discovery engines.

Factors	Algolia	Elasticsearch	BloomreachDiscovery	Yext Search	Constructor	Coveo	Searchspring
Free Trial/Version	√	✗	✗	√	✗	✗	✗
User-Friendly Interface	√	limited	limited	✗	✗	✗	√
Excellent Performance	limited	√	limited	√	√	√	limited
Fast and Relevant Search	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Autocomplete Suggestions	√	√	limited	√	√	√	√
Typo-Tolerance	√	√	√	√	√	√	limited
Synonym Support	√	√	limited	√	√	√	√
Custom Ranking Rules	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Filtering & Facets	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Multi-language Support	√	limited	√	√	√	√	√
Natural Language Processing (NLP)	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Machine Learning Capabilities	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
A/B Testing	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Personalization	limited	√	√	√	√	√	√
API and Integration	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Role-Based Access Control	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Security and Data Privacy	√	limited	√	√	√	√	√
Customization Options	limited	√	✗	√	limited	√	limited
Quick Implementation	✗	✗	√	✗	limited	✗	√
Reporting & Analytics	√	√	limited	limited	√	limited	limited
Scalability	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Excellent Customer Support	√	√	√	√	√	√	√

Please note that this is just a general evaluation, and your specific needs may vary. It is always best to consult with Digital Commerce Experts to ensure that the platform is the right fit for your business.

By evaluating and comparing these factors across the top eCommerce search engines, businesses can make an informed decision that ensures the best search functionality and user experience for their customers.

Which eCommerce Search Engine is the Right Solution for You?

Choosing the appropriate eCommerce search engine is an important decision that could influence your business’ success. Your choice should be based on your unique business needs, goals, and customer experience requirements.

For example:

• Algolia’s rapid and precise search algorithms make it an attractive option for small businesses
• Coveo’s comprehensive support and AI-powered platform cater to the needs of medium-sized eCommerce businesses
• Bloomreach’s personalization, scalability, and flexibility features are more suitable for the requirements of large-scale eCommerce retailers.

Ultimately, the selection of an eCommerce search engine should resonate with your business goals and align with customer expectations. 

Here are some additional tips for selecting the right eCommerce search engine:

• Start with a free trial – Many eCommerce search engines offer free trials, so you can try them out before you commit to a paid plan.
• Ask for recommendations – Talk to other e-commerce business owners to see which search engines they use and recommend.
• Get a demo – Most eCommerce search engine providers offer demos, so you can see the product in action and ask questions.

Factors such as implementation time, customer support availability, and desired search functionality should all be considered when selecting an eCommerce search engine. That’s what would help you become one of the best composable stores, wouldn’t that?

Wrapping Up!

Opting for the ideal eCommerce search engine is an essential step towards enhancing customer experience, elevating sales, and attaining higher customer retention.

From Algolia’s search-as-a-service solution to the Searchspring search engine, you have various options to choose from, each with its distinct advantages and challenges.

By carefully evaluating and comparing their key features, strengths, and limitations, businesses can make an informed decision that will ultimately enhance the customer experience and boost sales.

The right eCommerce search engine solution can truly unlock the potential of your online store and set the stage for long-term success.

Hunting for other components to complete your Composable store? We have prepared similar comparison guides for:

• Best Enterprise Ecommerce Platforms
• Best Digital Experience Platforms (DXPs)
• Best PIM Platforms

… and more are coming soon!