Search boost types
This topic discusses the search boost types available in Brightspot.
Content-type boost
When you boost by content type, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance if it is one of the selected content types.


Referring to the previous illustration, Brightspot increases articles’ relevance by a factor of 50, and images’ relevance by a factor of 30. In this scenario, articles appear higher in the search results than images.
Exact-match boost
When you boost by exact match, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance if the exact search terms are in the selected field.


Referring to the previous illustration, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance—
- by 50 if the item is an image whose caption exactly matches the search string.
- by 40 if the item is a tag whose name exactly matches the search string.
The following table describes some of the entries in the Index list.
Boost index categories
Category |
Description |
AbstractAsset |
Boosts matches associated with the following content types: Attachment, Image, Document, Spreadsheet, Presentation. |
AbstractBroadcastVideo |
Boosts matches associated with a video’s provider ID. |
AbstractPerson |
Boosts matches associated with the following content types: Author, Employee. |
AssetMetadata |
Boosts matches associated with an item’s metadata, such as file format or file size. |
AssetUsageData |
Boosts matches associated with an asset’s usage availability, such as approval required or expiration date. |
ColorFilterData |
Boosts matches associated with an image’s color composition. |
CreativeWork |
Boosts matches associated with the following content types: Article, Blog Post, Audio, Gallery, Video, Live Blog, Press Release, Quiz Page. |
DamAsset |
Boosts matches associated with items shareable through Digital Asset Management. |
EmbargoableData |
Boosts matches associated with an item’s embargo status. |
SluggableData |
Boosts matches associated with an items’ slug. |
Group boosts
You can design groups of boosting weights.
Group |
Group weight |
Item |
Individual relevance |
Group relevance |
Text |
70 |
Article 1 |
25 |
1750 |
Article 2 |
20 |
1400 |
||
Media |
30 |
Image 1 |
45 |
1350 |
Image 2 |
30 |
900 |
Referring to the previous table—
- There are two groups: Text with weight 70 and Media with weight 30.
- During the search, Brightspot found two articles that match the criteria for the Text group. Those two articles have individual relevances of 25 and 20.
- Similarly, Brightspot found two images that match the criteria for the Media group. Those images have individual relevances of 45 and 30.
- Multiplying the individual relevances by the group weights gives the final group relevance, such as 1750 for Article 1.
- Without group boosting, the images have higher relevances than the articles. After applying the group weights, the articles’ relevances are higher than the images’ relevances.
The actual computations for group relevance are more complex than this example.
Newest-date boost
When you boost by newest date, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance if it is the most recent selected event, such as an upload or expiration date. You typically apply this boost in conjunction with a boost for content type.


Referring to the previous example, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance by 25 if it is a document, and by another 50 if that document is the most recently uploaded.
Oldest-date boost
When you boost by oldest date, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance if it is the earliest selected event, such as an upload or expiration date. You typically apply this boost in conjunction with a boost for content type.


Referring to the previous example, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance by 25 if it is a document, and by another 50 if that document is the earliest one uploaded.
Partial-match boost
When you boost by partial match, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance if the search terms partially match the selected field. A partial match occurs when a search word begins one of the item’s words. For example, if you search for end user
, Brightspot detects a match in the following cases:
Text in item |
Result |
Delete a user. |
Found the word user, which is one of the search terms. |
Adding a module to the end of an article. |
Found the word end, which starts with one of the search terms. |
Add a form for users at end of content. |
Founds the words user and end, both of which start with the search terms. In this case the item gets higher relevance because it contains two search terms, while the previous items receive a lower relevance. |
Given a match, Brightspot applies the weight to the relevance.


Referring to the previous illustration, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance by 35 if a podcast’s name is a partial match to the search string.
Section boost
When you boost by a section, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance if it is associated with a section.


Referring to the previous example, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance by 75 if it is associated with the package Cream Puff Recipes.
Semantic-match boost
When you boost by semantic match, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance if the item is the indicated content type and the search terms include one or more of the keywords.


Referring to the previous illustration, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance by 35 if the item is a blog post and the item includes words that start with flour, water, or yeast. The following table provides some examples.
Content type |
Field and text |
Result |
Blog post |
Body: No matter what bread you make, you’ll need flour, water, and yeast. |
Boosted because the content type is correct, and the search terms appear in the item. |
Blog post |
Title: Watering plants is a must on hot days. |
Boosted because the content type is correct, and the the search term water begins one of the title’s words. |
Image |
Caption: Freshly baked bread from whole wheat flour. |
No boost because the content type is incorrect. |
Starts-with match boost
When you boost by starts-with match, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance if the search terms form the beginning of the selected field.


Referring to the previous illustration, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance by 35 if the item is an image whose caption starts with the search string. If you are searing for cream puff, a boost occurs for image captions Cream puff is my favorite high-calorie snack and Cream puffs for dessert.
Tag boost
When you boost by tag, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance if it is associated with the selected tag.


Referring to the previous example, Brightspot increases an item’s relevance by 35 if it is associated with the tag Appetizers.