Search tracking

To populate the dashboard with information about user behavior and search performance, Ecommerce Search tracks search events. Tracking stores search events with metadata from the search request and response in the event history. The event history is then used to generate dashboard reports.

Sampling

Collecting metrics from search queries comes at a performance cost. To mitigate this, search tracking is sampled to minimize the impact on system performance. The metrics displayed on the dashboards are then adjusted based on the sample percentage. This means that the numbers you see are statistical approximations that are designed to be close to the actual numbers, providing a reliable representation without the full performance overhead.

Tracking sessions

To support advanced analysis of the event history, a session ID should be included in search requests. This session ID should come from the customer solution.

Session IDs are different from user IDs. User IDs are long-lived, whereas session IDs should be short-lived. Session IDs are used to link API actions performed by the same user over a time span (e.g. 30 minutes).

There are no requirements for the creation of session IDs. A session ID can be in the form of a UUID, GUID, snowflake, or any other unique identifier. It must however be distinct, and consistent for the duration of a session.

Session IDs are not created or managed by Ecommerce Search. They should be kept in local browser storage and adhere the following guidelines:

1. A session ID should be generated upon entering the site without an existing session ID.
2. Session IDs should be stored in sessionStorage to ensure that they are properly deleted.
3. Session IDs should not have a TTL, as they should only be cleared at the end of sessions.