Introducing a Revamped Search Experience on Thatch: Faster, Smarter, and More Seller-Friendly

We’ve upgraded our search experience to provide faster, smarter, and more seller-friendly results!

Abby West

Founder & Product Lead

Introducing a Revamped Search Experience on Thatch: Faster, Smarter, and More Seller-Friendly

Oct 11 2024

We're excited to announce a major upgrade to the search experience on Thatch! Whether you’re selling travel guides, custom itineraries, or trip planning services, this update is designed to give your content a stronger chance to stand out.

What’s New?

Lightning-Fast Search Results

We've rebuilt the search functionality to deliver results instantly. This means that users can now find the perfect guide or service in record time, increasing the chances of them discovering your offerings with ease.

Flexible and Semantic Search

Search on Thatch is now smarter and more flexible. Users can search using natural language to find exactly what they're looking for. This means that instead of simply matching on “Paris, France” and having to page through results, users can now enter searches like “Paris for Kids” or “10 Days in Paris for Foodies”

Here's where it gets especially exciting for you: our new system not only matches specific keywords, but it also understands topics and phrases, giving you more opportunities to show up in results. By focusing on niche topics and keywords, you can carve out your place at the top of searches, even in crowded categories.

How Do We Rank Results?

To help you succeed, we want to share some insights into our new ranking algorithm. Review your content in context of these criteria to show up even higher in search.

Here's how it works, in order of priority:

Keyword Match Strength

The more relevant your content is to what users are searching for, the higher it ranks. In particular, our search will review your content’s title, description and tags.

Make sure to give your guides clear, useful titles and offer detailed descriptions that get to the heart of what the guide offers. This is the most powerful signal we look at for matching.

Reviews and Ratings

Positive feedback from a larger number of people boosts your visibility.

Percentage of Places with Notes:

Notes about places create value for your readers. So, we rank guides and itineraries higher if more of your places include your unique insights. Add more place notes to deliver more value and give your content an edge.

Number of Saves:

Saves show the community that other travelers have found value in your guides. The more users save your content, the higher we rank it.

Number of Places Mentioned:

Though more is not always better, we do prioritize guides that have a higher number of places over those that mention just a few spots. Be sure you’re using our ‘place’ block for every spot you mention in your guides - this allows the interactive map contained in your guide to be more useful for your audience.

This transparent approach is designed to give all sellers—whether you're just starting out or have an established audience—the opportunity to shine.

What Can You Do to Optimize?

To make the most of this new search experience:

Focus on niche keywords and topics that align with your expertise.
Write accurate, descriptive titles and descriptions for each guide.
Encourage your customers to leave reviews and ratings.
Make sure your guides have rich, detailed notes on the places you cover.
Promote your guides to increase saves and engagement.

We’re confident that this overhaul will make it easier for users to find exactly what they need, while giving you more chances to be discovered.

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