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Pinning

Pinning allows you to force specific products into exact positions in search results or collections, ensuring critical items appear where you need them most.

Overview​

Pinning places products in specific positions regardless of their natural relevance score, giving you absolute control over top positions. Unlike boost/bury rules that modify scores, pinning ensures exact positioning.

Use Cases​

  • Featured products: Pin hero products to position #1
  • Promotional items: Pin sale items to top positions
  • New launches: Pin new product launches to ensure visibility
  • Vendor placements: Pin sponsored or vendor-funded products
  • Inventory clearance: Pin overstocked items to top positions
  • Strategic positioning: Ensure specific products appear in top-N results

How to Pin Products​

Marqo offers two ways to pin products in the merchandising interface:

Method 1: Drag and Drop​

The quickest way to pin products is by dragging and dropping them directly in the search or collection results:

  1. Navigate to Merchandising:
    • Go to the Merchandising section in your Marqo dashboard
  2. Select context:
    • Choose either Search Merchandising or Collection Merchandising
  3. Enter query or select collection:
    • For search: Enter a search query (e.g., "running shoes")
    • For collections: Select the collection you want to merchandise
  4. View results:
    • The search results or collection products will display in a grid/list view
  5. Drag and drop:
    • Click and hold on any product card
    • Drag it to the desired position slot
    • Release to pin the product to that position
  6. Save changes:
    • Click Save to apply the pinning changes

For more precise control, use the pin button to search for specific products:

  1. Navigate to Merchandising:
    • Go to the Merchandising section
  2. Select context:
    • Choose Search Merchandising or Collection Merchandising
  3. Enter query or select collection:
    • Enter a search query or select a collection
  4. Click Pin button:
    • Click the Pin button (usually located at the top of the results area)
  5. Search for product:
    • A search dialog will appear
    • Type the product name, SKU, or ID to find the product you want to pin
    • Select the product from the search results
  6. Enter position:
    • Enter the desired position number (e.g., 1 for first position, 3 for third position)
    • Click Confirm or Pin
  7. Save changes:
    • Click Save to apply the pinning

Pinning for Specific Queries or Collections​

Pinning is scoped to the query or collection you're merchandising:

  • Search Merchandising: Pins apply only to the specific search query you entered
  • Collection Merchandising: Pins apply only to the selected collection

Positions are 1-based, so position 1 is the first result.

If the query belongs to a synonym group, pin against the group's parent phrase. A pin authored on a child term never fires, because the query is replaced before rules are resolved. See Synonyms and Taxonomy Tools.

Pinning Beyond Search and Collections​

Pins are also available in two other places:

  • Recommendation shelves: similar, complementary and complete-the-look shelves each keep their own rule set, keyed on the seed product. A shelf's pins apply only when the request carries exactly one seed product. Pinned products are fetched under the filter the request supplied, so a pinned product that the shopper's own filter rejects stays out of the shelf.
  • Recommendation widgets: a widget authored in the console carries its own pins, which apply instead of the index-wide rules for that widget.

When Pins Do Not Apply​

  • A request that applies its own sortBy suspends pinning, along with the other rules that reorder results. An explicitly sorted request is taken as the stronger ordering instruction.
  • Published changes take a few minutes to reach live traffic.

Best Practices​

  1. Use sparingly: Pinning reduces organic relevance—use only when necessary
  2. Monitor impact: Track conversion rates of pinned vs. organic results
  3. Test positions: Experiment with different positions to find optimal placement
  4. Combine with boost: Use boost/bury for products just outside top positions
  5. Keep it relevant: Ensure pinned products match user intent for the query
  6. Review regularly: Periodically review pinned products to ensure they're still relevant

Limitations​

  • Pinning reduces the organic nature of search results
  • Over-pinning can hurt user experience and conversion
  • Pinned products may not match user intent if not carefully selected
  • Requires ongoing management and optimization