In order to deploy and use Convert's rank models, you need to create a solution and a campaign.

Solutions are a collection of Rank Models and other configurations that define how Convert's rankings will be implemented. Campaigns allow solutions to be published on a customer site. 

 

Table of Contents

• Creating a Solution
• Managing Rank Models & Targeting Rules
• Managing Override Rules
• Creating a Solution Version
• Creating a Campaign

 

Creating a Solution

1. Navigate to the Solutions page. 
2. Click Add Solution.
3. Enter a unique, identifiable Name.
4. Click Create Solution.
5. Navigate to the Rank Models tab in your new solution.
6. Click Attach Rank Model.
7. Use the dropdown to select a Rank Model you'd like to use.
8. If you'd like to use the best version of the rank model automatically, enable Use Default Version. Otherwise, use the dropdown to select your desired Rank Model Version.

   We recommend enabling Use Default Version, as it will allow you to automate the usage of the latest and best model version. If you manually select a specific Rank Model Version, any time you want to update the model version used by the solution, you'll need to edit the solution settings.

9. Define Targeting Rules for when the rank model should generate rankings.

   If you want to use the rank model to generate rankings in all instances, we recommend setting the targeting rules to Apply only when Query is any.

10. Click Attach Rank Model.

 

Managing Rank Models & Targeting Rules

In order for rankings to be generated by Convert, a solution must have at least one rank model attached. However, solutions can have an unlimited number of rank models, giving you powerful flexibility over when and how rankings are generated on your site.

For example, let's say you've developed one rank model that's optimized for new users, and one that's optimized for returning users. Solutions provide you an easy way to ensure that the right users are seeing the right rankings at the right time.

In addition to Query and User ID, you can use Model Features to create sophisticated targeting rules. Any model feature with a User or Query type can be used to define targeting rules. Here's how we would execute on the example above:

1. Create a model feature called "returning_user", ensuring that Type is set to User, and Available for Targeting & Override Rules is enabled. 

   For more information on setting up your model features, see our guide here.

2. Attach your returning users-optimized rank model to a solution. Set the targeting rules to say Apply only when returning_user equals true.
3. Attach your new users-optimize rank model to the solution. Set the targeting rules to say Apply only when returning_user equals false.

Please note that it is possible for multiple rank models to be applied to a relevance request. If you're attaching more than one rank model to a solution, be careful to ensure that you don't have accidental overlap between the targeting rules for different models.

 

Managing Override Rules

To give you even more control over your merchandising experience, Solutions allow you to define Override Rules, which will take precedence over the rankings generated by Convert. Want to ensure that a specific product is in the first position of all of your lists? Solutions make that easy to accomplish.

A solution can have an unlimited number of override rules, and each override rule can have multiple effects.

Override Rules have multiple components:

• Name is used for identification purposes. We recommend choosing a unique and identifiable value.
• Override Results define which products to move and where to move them. Override results contain multiple sub-components:
  • Product Criteria use rule-based matching to define the products that should be overridden. In addition to Product ID, products can be matched based on any model features where the type is Item, Query-Item, or User-Item.
  • Position is the list position that should be applied to any products that match the product criteria.
  • Note: It's possible that the criteria from multiple results can apply to a product. In this case, the higher result will take precedence. To change the priority of results, you can drag and drop results to control their order.

• Context criteria define the situations in which the override will be applied. As with Targeting Rules, in addition to Query and User ID, you can use Model Features to create sophisticated context criteria. Any model feature with a User or Query type can be used to define context criteria.

Note: It's possible that multiple override rules may apply to a product. In this case, the higher override rule will take precedence. To change the priority of your override rules, you can drag and drop rules to control their order.

Creating a Solution Version

Once you've finished assembling your ranking strategy by attaching rank models, defining targeting rules, and creating override rules, you'll need to create to create a Solution Version.

As with Rank Models, creating Solution Versions allows you to experiment with different settings without impacting the rankings that are being displayed on your site. Once you're ready to publish any changes to your ranking strategy, you'll need to create a new Solution Version.

New solution versions can be created on demand or according to a schedule. To schedule regular versioning, navigate to the Versioning Schedule tab within a solution, and select your desired frequency, start time, and more. Alternatively, you click Create Version on any page within the solution to kick off the versioning process on an ad hoc basis.

Default Versions

Each solution will always have one solution version set as the default version. The default version concept is designed to enable easy deployment of new solution versions. Campaigns can be configured to use the default version of a solution, so that whenever the default version of that solution changes, the campaign will automatically start using the best solution version.

The default version can be defined in multiple ways. To manually change the default version, navigate to the Solution Versions tab, and click Make Default on the desired version. Alternatively, new solution versions can automatically be marked as default at the end of the creation process. Use the Make Default Version field on the versioning schedule or manual creation form to enable this.

 

Creating a Campaign

Campaigns are used to deploy solution versions. Because rank models and solutions can change frequently, Campaigns are designed to serve as a static reference point to Convert's rankings.

To create a campaign, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Campaigns page.
2. Click Add Campaign.
3. Enter a unique, identifiable Name.
4. Select a Solution. 
5. If you'd like to use the best version of the solution automatically, enable Use Default Version. Otherwise, use the dropdown to select your desired Solution Version.

   We recommend enabling Use Default Version, as it will allow you to automate the usage of the latest and best solution version. If you manually select a specific Solution Version, any time you want to update the solution version used by the campaign, you'll need to edit the campaign settings.

6. Set Status to Active.
7. Click Create Campaign.

Once a campaign is created, Convert rankings can be previewed in your All Product and Product Lists reports. Campaign configurations can be changed at any time.