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

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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.

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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

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Blocking Types

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Product-Level Blocking

Block specific products by ID or SKU: 
{
  "type": "block",
  "products": ["prod_123", "prod_456"],
  "reason": "discontinued"
}

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Attribute-Based Blocking

Block products matching certain attributes: 
{
  "type": "block",
  "condition": {
    "inventory": { "eq": 0 }
  },
  "reason": "out_of_stock"
}

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Category-Level Blocking

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

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Brand-Level Blocking

Block all products from specific brands: 
{
  "type": "block",
  "brands": ["brand_x"],
  "reason": "vendor_restriction"
}

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Exclusion Rules

Exclusions are similar to blocks but can be more nuanced:

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Conditional Exclusions

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

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Query-Specific Exclusions

Exclude products only for specific queries: 
{
  "type": "exclude",
  "product_id": "prod_123",
  "queries": ["kids toys"],
  "reason": "age_restriction"
}

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Segment-Specific Exclusions

Exclude products for specific customer segments: 
{
  "type": "exclude",
  "product_id": "prod_123",
  "segments": ["under_18"],
  "reason": "age_restriction"
}

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Regional Exclusions

Block products based on geographic location: 
{
  "type": "exclude",
  "product_id": "prod_123",
  "regions": ["EU"],
  "reason": "gdpr_compliance"
}

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Inventory-Based Blocking

Automatically block out-of-stock items: 
{
  "type": "block",
  "condition": {
    "inventory": { "eq": 0 }
  },
  "reason": "out_of_stock",
  "auto_apply": true
}

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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"
}

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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"
}

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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

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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