Kowal Search Optimizer Implementation in the HiFiStation.pl Store

Better Audio Product Search in Magento 2

HiFiStation.pl is an online store in the audio industry, offering hi-fi equipment, home theater systems, loudspeakers, headphones, amplifiers, turntables, streamers, accessories, and products from specialist brands. The store operates in a segment where customers very often search for products by model name, symbol, brand, technical abbreviation, or partial product designation.

In such a catalog, the quality of the search engine has a direct impact on the shopping experience. A customer who enters a phrase such as “Arcam A15,” “Monitor Audio Bronze,” “Sennheiser HD 820,” “DAC 200,” or a fragment of a product code expects a fast and relevant result, not a random list of products. Publicly available store data shows a broad offering in audio categories, including hi-fi stereo, headphones, turntables, hi-fi furniture, and accessories.

To improve search quality in the store, the Kowal Search Optimizer module for Magento 2 was implemented.

The audio industry is particularly demanding for a product search engine. Product names often contain:

• model symbols,
• series designations,
• technical abbreviations,
• brand names,
• color variants,
• numbers and special characters,
• names that are similar to each other but refer to different devices.

For example, a customer may search for a product by its full name, model only, manufacturer, or common device category. In an audio catalog, a phrase may refer to a specific amplifier, speaker, streamer, DAC, headphones, or accessory.

The problem with standard Magento search may be that:

• matching by name is not always prioritized strongly enough,
• products matched only in the description may appear too high,
• product models and symbols are not treated like identifiers,
• a typo in a brand or model name may lead to empty results,
• the administrator does not have simple insight into phrases that return no products.

The Kowal Search Optimizer module was designed specifically to improve result relevance, prioritize important product fields, and give the administrator greater control over the search engine.

The goal of the implementation at HiFiStation.pl was to improve the quality of product search in Magento 2, especially for queries related to:

• product names,
• brands,
• models,
• SKU,
• EAN,
• partial phrases,
• typos,
• queries without Polish characters,
• technical phrases typical of the audio industry.

The implementation was also intended to allow the administrator to analyze phrases with no results, so that over time the store could better align product names, synonyms, and catalog structure with the actual language customers use.

The Kowal Search Optimizer module was implemented in the store. It extends the logic for building OpenSearch queries instead of modifying the finished product collection after the fact. This is important because ranking should be created at the search engine level, not through costly correction of results after they have already been retrieved.

The module was configured so that fields that are key for an audio store carry greater weight:

• product name,
• SKU,
• EAN,
• manufacturer or brand,
• short description,
• product description.

As a result, the search engine can better distinguish whether the customer is looking for a specific model, brand, accessory, or general product category.

1. Strengthening Matches by Product Name

In the HiFiStation.pl catalog, the product name very often contains the most important purchasing information: brand, series, model, and variant. That is why matching the name field has particular importance in the module.

Effect: products with a relevant name have a better chance of appearing higher than products that match only a fragment of a long description.

2. Priority for SKU and EAN

In stores selling audio equipment, some customers, especially more advanced ones, search for products by symbols, codes, or very specific designations. The module prioritizes exact matches by identifiers such as SKU and EAN.

The module documentation defines the following priority order:

1. exact match by EAN,
2. exact match by SKU,
3. partial or prefix match by EAN,
4. partial or prefix match by SKU,
5. other product fields.

Effect: if a customer enters a specific code or model, the search engine should not treat it like a regular descriptive phrase.

3. Autocomplete While Entering a Phrase

The implementation includes an autocomplete popup that shows the customer the most relevant products while they are entering a query.

In the first version of the module, autocomplete:

• starts from 3 characters,
• shows a limited number of results,
• presents basic product data,
• includes a link to the full results list,
• uses the same ranking logic as the full results page.

For an audio store, this is especially useful because the customer often enters only the beginning of a brand or model name and wants to quickly move to the right product.

4. Handling Typos

Audio brand and model names can be difficult to remember. A customer may make a typo, enter an incomplete name, or use a different spelling variant. The module enables controlled fuzzy search, which helps return meaningful results despite minor errors.

Fuzzy search does not replace exact matching. In the module, it is treated as a supporting layer so as not to worsen results for precise queries by SKU, EAN, or model name.

5. Logging Phrases with No Results

One important element of the implementation was enabling logging for phrases that do not return any products. This allows the store administrator to check what customers searched for but did not find.

In practice, such data can help with:

• adding synonyms,
• improving product names,
• expanding descriptions,
• changing field weight configuration,
• identifying gaps in the assortment,
• better understanding the language customers use.

The module includes a read-only grid in the admin panel, which makes it possible to analyze such phrases without having to work directly in the database.

Implementing Kowal Search Optimizer at HiFiStation.pl made it possible to organize how the product search engine works and adapt it to the specifics of an audio catalog.

The most important qualitative results:

• more predictable search results,
• better handling of model names and technical designations,
• higher priority for exact matches by SKU and EAN,
• more convenient searching thanks to autocomplete,
• the ability to handle minor typos,
• access to a list of phrases with no results,
• greater administrator control over field weights and search engine behavior,
• a safer architecture thanks to fallback to native Magento behavior.

The module was designed so that, in the event of a problem with the extension layer, it does not cause a critical storefront failure. Fallback to native Magento search is one of the key assumptions of the project.

In a store such as HiFiStation.pl, the search engine is not used only to find general categories. Very often it is used by customers who already have a specific purchase intent.

The customer may be looking for:

• a specific amplifier model,
• a speaker series,
• headphones from a specific brand,
• a streamer with a specific function,
• a cable, DAC, or accessory,
• a product recommended in a review or by a salesperson.

If the search engine does not understand codes, models, and brand names, the customer may assume that the product is not in the store, even though it is actually in the offering. That is why improving search in an audio catalog matters not only technically, but also from a sales perspective.

The implementation of Kowal Search Optimizer at HiFiStation.pl shows that the Magento 2 search engine can be effectively adapted to a demanding product catalog without building a completely external search system.

Thanks to the module, the store gains better result ranking, support for queries by SKU and EAN, autocomplete, controlled fuzzy search, and a tool for analyzing phrases with no results. This is especially important in the audio industry, where product names, model symbols, and technical designations are crucial to the purchasing process.

Kowal Search Optimizer helps customers find the right product faster, while giving the administrator practical tools for further search optimization.