Etsy is replacing its existing search technology with Solr, an open-source search system used by sites like Netflix and Zappos. Etsy said the new technology would provide it with the foundation to scale in terms of speed and functionality and is the first in what it expects to be a series of improvements to Etsy's search function throughout the year.

In addition to speed improvements, the Solr technology is smarter than the old search technology in how it handles certain queries. Etsy used an example - with the old system, a search for "notecards" would bring up items containing "notecards" in the tag, title or description field, but not items containing only "note cards" (two separate words) - the new search system will bring back such items in search results.

Future phases of Search will include upgrades to the relevancy and ranking of the results. The way current search results are displayed (ranking) is based on chronology (most recently listed items first). According to the announcement:

"We believe that Etsy buyers will be better served by a system that takes into account both ranking and relevance in a way that helps them find items they're looking for according to various criteria by category. And, for those buyers who may not know what they're looking for, we also hope to introduce later in 2009 tools to foster discovery based on all the hearting and curating that takes place across the Etsy community every day."

Another initiative for the first half of 2009 is creating new ways for sellers to advertise on Etsy, the company said.

Link to announcement