Faceted Search
Part of the Query Understanding series by Daniel Tunkelang.
Overview
Faceted search allows users to narrow down a result set by applying structured filters to attributes of the items — category, price range, brand, color, size, and so on. It is particularly effective for exploratory search, where users are browsing a space rather than looking for a specific known item. The system’s job in faceted search is not just to display relevant facets but to show the right ones: facets should be chosen based on what attributes are actually discriminating for the current query and category, and their order and prominence should reflect their usefulness. Query understanding connects to faceted search by pre-populating filters when attributes are mentioned in the query, determining which facet set is appropriate for a given query scope, and personalizing the default ordering based on user preferences.
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