Skip to content

Adam Greenwell

Keyword Match Modes

Lumenare Search offers two keyword match modes to control how search queries are processed and what results are returned.

Match Modes

Match ANY (OR) – Default

How it works:

  • Returns results containing at least one of the search keywords
  • Uses OR logic: keyword1 OR keyword2 OR keyword3
  • Broader, more inclusive results

Best for:

  • Blogs and news sites
  • General content sites
  • Exploratory searches
  • Maximizing result count
  • Topic discovery

Example:
Search: "WordPress security plugin"

Returns posts containing:

  • "WordPress" OR
  • "security" OR
  • "plugin"

So a post about "WordPress plugins" would match, even without "security".

Match ALL (AND) – Precision

How it works:

  • Returns only results containing ALL search keywords
  • Uses AND logic: keyword1 AND keyword2 AND keyword3
  • Narrower, more precise results

Best for:

  • Product catalogs
  • E-commerce sites
  • Technical documentation
  • Specific queries
  • Exact matches

Example:
Search: "WordPress security plugin"

Returns only posts containing:

  • "WordPress" AND
  • "security" AND
  • "plugin"

So a post about "WordPress plugins" would NOT match (missing "security").

Configuration

Setting Match Mode

  1. Go to Settings → Lumenare Search → Search Quality Settings
  2. Find Keyword Match Mode
  3. Select your preferred mode:
    • Match ANY (OR) – Broader results
    • Match ALL (AND) – Precise results
  4. Click Save Changes

Note: Match mode changes take effect immediately – no reindexing required.

Choosing the Right Mode

Use Match ANY (OR) When:

  • ✅ You want maximum results
  • ✅ Users explore topics broadly
  • ✅ Content is diverse and interconnected
  • ✅ You want related content to appear
  • ✅ Blog or news site
  • ✅ General knowledge base

Use Match ALL (AND) When:

  • ✅ You want precise matches only
  • ✅ Users search for specific products/concepts
  • ✅ Content is well-organized and specific
  • ✅ You want exact matches
  • ✅ E-commerce or product catalog
  • ✅ Technical documentation

Examples

Query: "WordPress security best practices"

Match ANY (OR):

  • Returns posts about WordPress
  • Returns posts about security
  • Returns posts about best practices
  • Returns posts with any combination

Match ALL (AND):

  • Returns only posts mentioning all three terms
  • Much narrower results
  • More precise but fewer results

Query: "blue running shoes size 10"

Match ANY (OR):

  • Returns all blue products
  • Returns all running shoes
  • Returns all size 10 items
  • Very broad, many irrelevant results

Match ALL (AND):

  • Returns only blue running shoes in size 10
  • Precise match
  • Exactly what user wants

Switching Between Modes

You can switch match modes at any time:

  1. No reindexing required
  2. Changes take effect immediately
  3. Test with your content to see which works better
  4. You can switch back if needed

Advanced: Combining with Other Features

With Stop Words

Stop words are excluded regardless of match mode:

  • "the WordPress security" → searches for "WordPress security" (both modes)
  • Stop words don't affect match logic

With Synonyms

Synonyms expand searches in both modes:

  • "car" with synonym "automobile, vehicle"
  • Match ANY: Finds posts with car OR automobile OR vehicle
  • Match ALL: Finds posts with (car OR automobile OR vehicle) AND other keywords

With Fuzzy Matching

Fuzzy matching works with both modes:

  • "computr" matches "computer" (typo tolerance)
  • Match logic applies after fuzzy matching

Troubleshooting

Too Many Results (Match ANY)

Solutions:

  • Switch to Match ALL for precision
  • Add more stop words
  • Increase minimum characters
  • Tune weights to improve relevance

Too Few Results (Match ALL)

Solutions:

  • Switch to Match ANY for broader results
  • Enable fuzzy matching for typo tolerance
  • Add synonyms for term variations
  • Check if keywords actually exist in content

Results Not Relevant

Solutions:

  • Try switching match modes
  • Adjust weights (see Tuning Guide)
  • Add stop words for irrelevant terms
  • Configure synonyms for better matching
  • Review phrase boosting settings

Best Practices

Testing Your Choice

  1. Test with Real Queries: Use actual user searches
  2. Compare Results: Try both modes with same queries
  3. Review Analytics: See what users search for
  4. Check Relevance: Are results what users expect?
  5. Iterate: Switch if needed based on feedback

Content-Specific Recommendations

Blogs/News:

  • Start with Match ANY (OR)
  • Better for topic exploration
  • More results = better discovery

E-commerce:

  • Use Match ALL (AND)
  • Precise product matching
  • Users know what they want

Documentation:

  • Try Match ANY (OR) first
  • Switch to Match ALL if too broad
  • Depends on documentation structure

← Back to Documentation Home | Weighting System →