Search and Filters

The Store Locator Map: SE widget provides robust search and filtering capabilities so customers can quickly find the most relevant store locations. This guide covers how search works, the available filter options, and how to configure search behavior from the app dashboard.

Search Functionality

How Search Works

When a customer enters a query in the search bar, the widget geocodes the input using the Google Maps Geocoding API, converting the text into geographic coordinates. It then calculates the distance between those coordinates and each of your store locations, returning results sorted by proximity.

The search bar accepts the following input types:

• Zip / postal codes -- e.g., "90210", "M5V 2T6"
• City names -- e.g., "Austin", "London"
• Full addresses -- e.g., "123 Main Street, Portland, OR"
• Regions or states -- e.g., "California", "Ontario"
• Landmarks or points of interest -- e.g., "Times Square" (geocoded via Google Places)

Use My Location (Geolocation)

The widget includes an optional Use My Location button that requests the customer's current position via the browser's Geolocation API.

• When the customer grants permission, the widget uses their coordinates as the search origin and displays nearby stores.
• If the customer denies permission or the browser does not support geolocation, the button is gracefully hidden or displays a fallback message.

To enable or disable the geolocation button:

1. Open the app and go to Settings > Widget > Search.
2. Toggle Enable "Use My Location" button on or off.

Autocomplete

The search bar supports Google Places Autocomplete, which provides real-time suggestions as the customer types. This improves the search experience by reducing typos and guiding customers toward valid locations.

To enable autocomplete:

1. Go to Settings > Widget > Search.
2. Toggle Enable search autocomplete on.
3. Optionally, restrict autocomplete suggestions to specific countries using the Country restriction field (e.g., "US", "CA", "GB").

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Autocomplete requires the Places API to be enabled on your Google Maps API key. See Google Maps API Setup for details.

Radius Filter

The radius filter allows customers to control how far from the search point the widget looks for stores.

Default Search Radius

Set the default radius that is applied when a customer performs a search:

1. Go to Settings > Widget > Search.
2. Set the Default search radius value (e.g., 25).
3. Choose the unit: miles or kilometers.

Radius Dropdown

You can display a radius dropdown that lets customers choose their preferred search radius:

1. Go to Settings > Widget > Search.
2. Toggle Show radius selector on.
3. Define the available radius options (e.g., 10, 25, 50, 100).

Setting	Description	Default
Default search radius	The radius applied on initial search.	25 miles
Radius unit	Miles or kilometers.	Miles
Show radius selector	Display a dropdown for customers to pick a radius.	Enabled
Radius options	The list of radius values available in the dropdown.	10, 25, 50, 100

Category and Tag Filters

If you have organized your locations using tags or groups (see Location Groups and Tags), you can expose those as filters on the widget so customers can narrow results by store type or attributes.

Enabling Category Filters

1. Go to Settings > Widget > Filters.
2. Toggle Enable category filters on.
3. Select which tag groups should be available as filters.

Filter Display Options

Option	Description
Dropdown	Filters appear as a dropdown menu above the results list.
Buttons	Filters appear as clickable pill-style buttons.
Checkboxes	Filters appear as a checkbox list, allowing multi-select.

Example Use Cases

• Store type -- Filter by "Flagship," "Outlet," "Partner," or "Pop-up."
• Services -- Filter by "Repairs," "Custom Fitting," "Curbside Pickup."
• Product availability -- Filter by stores that carry specific product lines.

Configuring Maximum Results

Control how many locations the widget returns per search:

1. Go to Settings > Widget > Search.
2. Set the Maximum results value.

Setting	Description	Default
Maximum results per search	The upper limit of locations returned for a single search query.	20
Show "Load more" button	If results exceed the limit, show a button to load additional results.	Enabled

Setting a reasonable limit helps maintain performance and prevents the results list from becoming overwhelming. For most use cases, 10 to 30 results is optimal.

Default Behavior (No Search)

Configure what the widget displays before the customer performs a search:

Option	Description
Show all locations	Display all locations on the map with no pre-applied filter. Best for stores with fewer than 50 locations.
Show nearest locations	Automatically detect the customer's location (if permitted) and show the closest stores.
Show empty state	Display a prompt asking the customer to enter a location.
Show specific region	Center the map on a predefined location (e.g., your headquarters or primary market).

To configure:

1. Go to Settings > Widget > Search.
2. Under Default view, select the desired behavior.
3. If using Show specific region, enter the default center coordinates or address.

Search Analytics

The app tracks search queries and filter usage to help you understand customer behavior:

• Most searched locations and zip codes
• Common filter selections
• Searches that returned zero results (useful for identifying coverage gaps)

Access search analytics from the Analytics section of the app dashboard.

Next Steps

• Widget Customization -- Adjust the visual appearance of the search bar, filters, and results.
• Location Groups and Tags -- Set up the tags and groups that power category filters.