# Searchable attributes, search preferences and index rebuilds

*B2C Commerce Developer Study Guide · Data Management Using Business Manager Usage · Last updated November 3, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/b2c-commerce-developer/data-management-using-business-manager-usage/searchable-attributes-search-preferences-and-index-rebuilds*

Making a term or attribute findable in storefront search: searchable attributes with boost factors and auto-correction, the Search Preferences switches (orderable-only, leading zeros, redirect rules), search redirects, stemmers and stop words, and when a full index rebuild is needed instead of incremental indexing.

- Certification: Salesforce B2C Commerce Developer
- Exam section: Data Management Using Business Manager Usage
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/b2c-commerce-developer

**Official exam objective:**

> Given a business requirement, modify site search preferences and settings to enable searching for a specified term or product attribute.

## What the exam expects

- Make a new or existing product, category or content attribute searchable, choose its boost factor and auto-correction setting, and rebuild the right index.
- Pick the Search Preferences switch that meets a requirement: Show Orderable Products Only, Ignore Leading Zeros, Search Autocorrections, Dictionary Locale Fallback, Search Redirect Keyword Rules.
- Send a keyword to a page with a search-driven redirect instead of a results grid.
- Fix locale-specific matching with the stemmer on the Language Options page, and shrink an index with stop words and fewer searchable attributes.
- Say which changes incremental indexing picks up and which need a full rebuild, and how `ProductSearchModel` overrides the orderable-only preference.

Key terms: **searchable attribute** (an attribute whose values are written to the product or content index and matched against queries); **boost factor** (a per-attribute weight on text relevance); **search preferences** (site-level search switches under Merchant Tools > Search); **search redirect** (a keyword rule that returns a page instead of results); **stemmer** (the per-locale rule that reduces words to a common stem); **incremental indexing** (near real-time index updates for some data only).

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Boost default and advice | 1.00 changes nothing; keep boosts at or below 5.00 | [Configure Searchable Attributes](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_configure_searchable_attributes.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Auto-correction default | No for every new searchable attribute | [Configure Searchable Attributes](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_configure_searchable_attributes.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Ignore Leading Zeros | Applies to all searchable attributes; rebuild to activate | [Set Search Preferences](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_setting_search_preferences.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Dictionary Locale Fallback | Country to language locale only | [Set Search Preferences](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_setting_search_preferences.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Script orderable-only flag | Overrides the search preference | [Class ProductSearchModel](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/commerce/b2c-commerce/references/b2c-script-api/dw.catalog.ProductSearchModel.html) |
| Redirects per site | Up to 1500 | [Search Redirects](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_managing_search_redirects.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Index size | Driven by indexed attributes; stop words shrink it | [Search and Navigation Implementation Considerations](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/commerce/b2c-commerce/guide/b2c-search-and-navigation-implementation-considerations.html) |
| Incremental latency | 30 seconds; not for searchable attributes | [Incremental Indexing](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_incremental_indexing.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |

## Check yourself

- How long after a merchant's edit does an incrementally updated index reflect it?
- Why rebuild indexes daily even with incremental indexing enabled?
- When does a new Availability Low Ranking Threshold take effect?
- Which redirect keyword syntax fires only for that exact phrase with no extra words?

## Sources

- [Configure Searchable Attributes](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_configure_searchable_attributes.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Set Search Preferences](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_setting_search_preferences.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Incremental Indexing](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_incremental_indexing.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Search Indexes for B2C Commerce](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_search_indexes.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Configure Search Index Language Options](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_configuring_search_index_language_options.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Stop Words](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_stop_words.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Search Redirects](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_managing_search_redirects.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Search and Navigation Implementation Considerations](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/commerce/b2c-commerce/guide/b2c-search-and-navigation-implementation-considerations.html)
- [Understanding the Search Pipeline](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/commerce/b2c-commerce/guide/b2c-understanding-the-search-pipeline.html)
- [Class ProductSearchModel](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/commerce/b2c-commerce/references/b2c-script-api/dw.catalog.ProductSearchModel.html)
- [Configure Searchable Attributes (Trailhead)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/b2c-storefront-search/b2c-configure-searchable-attributes)
- [Configure Storefront Search Preferences (Trailhead)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/b2c-storefront-search/b2c-configure-storefront-search-preferences)
- [Explore Storefront Search (Trailhead)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/b2c-storefront-search/b2c-explore-storefront-search)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 9 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the B2C Commerce Developer pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams