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Blocking and Exclusions

Blocking and exclusion rules remove products from search results entirely, ensuring they never appear regardless of relevance or other ranking factors.

Overview​

Blocking and exclusions provide hard filters that completely remove products from search results. Use these when products should never appear, regardless of search query or user context.

Use Cases​

  • Out of stock: Remove products with zero inventory
  • Policy compliance: Block products that violate policies (age restrictions, regional bans)
  • Quality control: Exclude products with poor quality scores or missing data
  • Legal restrictions: Block products that can't be sold in certain regions
  • Vendor restrictions: Exclude products from specific vendors or suppliers
  • Discontinued items: Remove products that are no longer available

Blocking Types​

Product-Level Blocking​

Block specific products by ID or SKU:

{
  "type": "block",
  "products": ["prod_123", "prod_456"],
  "reason": "discontinued"
}

Attribute-Based Blocking​

Block products matching certain attributes:

{
  "type": "block",
  "condition": {
    "inventory": { "eq": 0 }
  },
  "reason": "out_of_stock"
}

Category-Level Blocking​

Block entire categories:

{
  "type": "block",
  "categories": ["discontinued", "recalled"],
  "reason": "policy"
}

Brand-Level Blocking​

Block all products from specific brands:

{
  "type": "block",
  "brands": ["brand_x"],
  "reason": "vendor_restriction"
}

Exclusion Rules​

Exclusions are similar to blocks but can be more nuanced:

Conditional Exclusions​

Exclude products conditionally:

{
  "type": "exclude",
  "condition": {
    "quality_score": { "lt": 0.5 },
    "missing_images": true
  },
  "reason": "low_quality"
}

Query-Specific Exclusions​

Exclude products only for specific queries:

{
  "type": "exclude",
  "product_id": "prod_123",
  "queries": ["kids toys"],
  "reason": "age_restriction"
}

Segment-Specific Exclusions​

Exclude products for specific customer segments:

{
  "type": "exclude",
  "product_id": "prod_123",
  "segments": ["under_18"],
  "reason": "age_restriction"
}

Regional Exclusions​

Block products based on geographic location:

{
  "type": "exclude",
  "product_id": "prod_123",
  "regions": ["EU"],
  "reason": "gdpr_compliance"
}

Inventory-Based Blocking​

Automatically block out-of-stock items:

{
  "type": "block",
  "condition": {
    "inventory": { "eq": 0 }
  },
  "reason": "out_of_stock",
  "auto_apply": true
}

Quality-Based Exclusions​

Exclude products with quality issues:

{
  "type": "exclude",
  "condition": {
    "or": [
      { "missing_title": true },
      { "missing_images": true },
      { "quality_score": { "lt": 0.3 } }
    ]
  },
  "reason": "data_quality"
}

Temporary Blocks​

Block products for a specific time period:

{
  "type": "block",
  "product_id": "prod_123",
  "date_range": {
    "start": "2024-01-01",
    "end": "2024-01-31"
  },
  "reason": "maintenance"
}

Best Practices​

  1. Use sparingly: Blocking removes products entirely—ensure it's necessary
  2. Document reasons: Always specify why products are blocked
  3. Monitor impact: Track how blocking affects result counts and user experience
  4. Set up alerts: Get notified when blocking rules remove too many results
  5. Use fallbacks: Combine with fallback strategies to handle low result counts
  6. Review regularly: Periodically review blocked products to ensure they should remain blocked

Fallback Behavior​

When blocking removes too many results:

  • Relax rules: Automatically relax blocking rules if result count is too low
  • Show alternatives: Display similar products that aren't blocked
  • Inform users: Show messages explaining why results are limited
  • Boost and Bury - For score adjustments that influence position without removing items
  • Campaign Rules - For time-bound promotions that might include temporary exclusions
  • Compliance Rules - Policy-based blocking and exclusions