Prepare Your PrestaShop Store for Black Friday 2025 with the Advanced Search Pro Module

Black Friday is one of the most important commercial events of the year for e-commerce retailers. As Black Friday 2025 approaches, it’s crucial to prepare your PrestaShop store to capture customer attention and maximize your sales. Among the many aspects to optimize (site performance, promotions, logistics, etc.), internal search and faceted navigation play a determining role in helping visitors quickly find the best deals. In this article, we’ll see how to leverage the Advanced Search Pro module (Presta-Module) to effectively prepare your PrestaShop store for the Black Friday rush, with concrete examples oriented towards merchants and agencies. This advanced search module, a true reference on PrestaShop, will allow you to improve both your customers’ shopping experience and your online visibility.

Why Effective Search is Crucial During Black Friday

During Black Friday, visitors flock en masse and often have a precise idea of what they want to buy – or at least, they’re quickly looking for the best deals. In this context, having a powerful search engine and filters is not a luxury but a necessity. Indeed, up to 30% of e-commerce site visitors use internal search to navigate, and these users are 2 to 3 times more likely to convert than others. In other words, a customer who immediately finds the discounted product they’re looking for has a much higher probability of purchasing. Conversely, if your site’s search is slow, inaccurate, or unintuitive, you risk losing sales: 12% of users leave a site after an unsuccessful search – a scenario to absolutely avoid during Black Friday.

Moreover, Black Friday shoppers compare many products in a reduced time. They expect a smooth “Google-like” search experience to filter through the hundreds of available offers. A good search system acts like an experienced salesperson in a store, guiding the customer to the right aisle and the right product in moments. By facilitating the rapid discovery of relevant promotions, you improve the user experience, retain visitors, and increase your chances of closing sales. In short, optimizing your PrestaShop store’s search/navigation function is an essential lever to capitalize on Black Friday’s traffic influx.

Limitations of PrestaShop’s Native Search

PrestaShop natively offers keyword search and a standard filtering module (faceted navigation). However, these basic solutions quickly show their limits during an event like Black Friday. For example:

Results Relevance: Native search is based on product names and descriptions. It may lack tolerance for errors or synonyms. A customer who types “HD tel” instead of “4K television” might find nothing. The same goes for queries like “smartphone promo” if your product sheets don’t use this term.

Limited Facets: The default “Faceted Search” module allows filtering by category, price, attributes… but it doesn’t offer advanced features like creating SEO-dedicated pages for filters, nor guided search. Additionally, its configuration remains basic and it can become less performant on very large catalogs.

SEO and Duplicate Content: Native faceted navigation, while practical, often poses a duplicate content problem if too many URL combinations are indexed (multiple different URLs can display largely the same filtered products). As a precaution, these filtered pages are often blocked from indexing, to the detriment of SEO. PrestaShop doesn’t optimize these result pages for search engine ranking by default.

In short, native features suffice for everyday use, but show limits during periods of heavy promotional traffic. This is where Advanced Search Pro comes in, an advanced module that advantageously replaces native search. (Note: you should not use the native “Faceted Search” module and Advanced Search Pro simultaneously, to avoid any conflict – Advanced Search Pro takes over by disabling it).

Advanced Search Pro: Advanced Faceted Filters and Boosted SEO

Advanced Search Pro (also called Advanced Search 5 Pro in its latest version) is considered one of the most powerful filter navigation modules for PrestaShop. Its objective: solve two major e-commerce challenges: increase conversion rate and increase traffic. It enriches your store in multiple ways, notably:

Ultra-Customizable Faceted Navigation: The module allows creating as many filter blocks as necessary, and positioning them at various locations on the site (columns, header, specific pages, etc.). Each search engine can have its scope (entire catalog or only a specific category) and its own criteria. You can, for example, define a specific filter block for your Black Friday promotions, and another different one for general search. This flexibility is very useful for highlighting different types of offers.

Rich Multi-Criteria Filters: Unlike basic keyword search, Advanced Search Pro allows displaying results by combining multiple criteria at once (category, price, size, brand, color, availability, etc.). A customer can thus filter “Laptops” + “Dell Brand” + “on promotion” simultaneously, which enormously reduces the time to find the desired product. This precise multi-criteria filtering transforms the search experience: customers locate exactly the desired items thanks to sophisticated facets, and see only products relevant to their needs. This improves their satisfaction while maximizing your site’s conversion rate.

Tolerant Search (Synonyms & Corrections): The module handles synonym search and integrates automatic spelling correction of customer queries. In practice, this means that if the buyer makes a typo or uses an approximate word, the system can still offer relevant results. These functions considerably improve results relevance and streamline the shopping journey on your store. During Black Friday, when users sometimes type quickly and approximately, this error tolerance can make the difference between a served customer or a lost one.

Optimized Performance: Advanced Search Pro was developed to offer very short loading times, even on large catalogs. Filtering and indexing algorithms are designed to handle a large number of products and criteria without slowing down. This is a crucial point for Black Friday: your site may experience a sudden traffic spike and every millisecond counts for displaying promotional product lists. This module brings performance settings (for example, exclusion of certain criteria during re-indexing to go faster) and is compatible with cache/optimization solutions (JS “deferral” mode, compatibility with the ETS Super Speed module, etc.). In short, you can offer ultra-fast search even when thousands of visitors filter offers simultaneously.

Compatibility and Support: The module is in its version 5 (5.2.x in 2025) and is compatible with PrestaShop 1.7 through 8 and 9, a guarantee of longevity. It’s a proven tool, kept up-to-date to support the latest versions of PrestaShop and modern themes. Agencies appreciate it for its reliability and customization options (images, hooks, etc.) that allow harmonious integration into any PrestaShop store.

In summary, Advanced Search Pro establishes itself as the complete solution to equip your store with internal search worthy of the largest e-commerce sites. It allows your customers to quickly find a product, and simultaneously improves your natural referencing – a doubly relevant asset as Black Friday approaches.

Boost Black Friday Visibility Through SEO Facet Pages

Black Friday isn’t played out only on your site, but also on Google and search engines. Many internet users type specific queries like “Black Friday Samsung smartphone” or “4K TV promo Black Friday”. To capture this highly qualified organic traffic, it’s essential to have SEO-optimized pages corresponding to these searches. This is precisely one of Advanced Search Pro’s flagship features.

The Pro version of the module integrates an automatic generator of indexable result pages (SEO facets). In just a few clicks, you can create pages listing filtered products according to certain criteria, with a clean URL and optimized meta tags. For example, you could generate a page for each flagship category on promotion: “Black Friday – Smartphones”, “Black Friday – Televisions”, “Black Friday – Women’s Fashion”, etc. The module lets you choose the criteria (category, brand, price range, “promotion” tag, etc.) and automatically generates dozens or hundreds of pages corresponding to all desired combinations. It takes care of creating for each a rewritten URL, a title, a meta description, an H1 and even spaces where you can add optimized descriptive content. Above all, Advanced Search Pro takes care to avoid duplicate content by generating unique metadata for each facet.

This ability to index filters is an undeniable SEO advantage. As the WebXY agency explains, the module ensures the generation and linking of multiple SEO-optimized result pages, so that your filters and corresponding products are directly indexed by Google via dedicated URLs. In other words, you occupy more space on Google with relevant and targeted pages. For Black Friday, this means your store can appear on specific searches related to your promotions, without intense manual effort. For example, you can easily obtain a page “All Dell computers on Black Friday promotion” or “Women’s clothing on Black Friday sale” and thus attract organic traffic on these niche queries.

Tip for merchants/agencies: prepare your Black Friday SEO facets now. Identify the product categories or brands on which you’ll be offering strong promotions. With Advanced Search Pro, generate pages for each key segment (for example, “Black Friday + [Category] + [Brand]”). The module even allows automatically linking these pages together (cross-linking), which improves internal linking and navigation experience. Once created, integrate these pages into your menu or landing pages: the module provides the list of generated URLs (exportable in CSV/HTML) so you can add them to menu, footer, banners, etc. You can thus highlight a “Black Friday” link on your site that points to a central page, itself redirecting via links to different facet pages (by category, by brand…). Don’t hesitate to also share these pages in your newsletters or on social networks to maximize their visibility. The more these pages receive traffic and links, the better they’ll be indexed in time for the big day.

In summary, thanks to Advanced Search Pro, your search filters transform into a true SEO machine. During Black Friday, instead of having a single generic “promotions” page, you’ll have a multitude of targeted pages, all indexable without risk of duplicate content. This is a huge advantage for driving natural traffic in addition to your traditional advertising campaigns. This visibility gain will directly translate into more visitors ready to buy your Black Friday offers.

Improve Shopping Experience with Step-by-Step Guided Search

Faced with the abundance of offers during Black Friday, a visitor may feel a bit lost if navigating without help through a vast catalog. To prevent abandonment due to lack of guidance, Advanced Search Pro offers implementing a “step-by-step” guided search. This is an additional search mode (exclusive to the Pro version of the module) where you guide the user through a series of successive filters.

Concretely, instead of immediately displaying all filters in bulk, you’ll ask a first question (e.g. “I’m looking for products for: Male / Female”), then once the choice is made, display the next refined filter (e.g. “In category: Clothing / Shoes / Accessories”), then so on (size, color, etc.), until displaying results. This step-by-step search engine visually streamlines the page and dynamically adapts to user responses. The user only sees relevant criteria at each step, which lightens navigation compared to a long list of traditional filters.

The advantages of this guided journey are multiple:

Improved User Experience: the visitor benefits from an assisted shopping path, as if a salesperson were asking questions to guide them. It’s interactive and less intimidating than a category page with 50 filters to check.

Time Savings: by showing only the essential at each step, you save the customer time to reach the product that suits them.

More Conversions: a better guided customer is more likely to find an item to their liking and buy it. A well-designed step-by-step search helps you close more sales.

Increased Revenue: ultimately, by combining these effects, this type of filter increases your e-commerce revenue.

For Black Friday, how to exploit step-by-step search? Imagine a new user arriving on your site without a precise idea, just attracted by the promos. You could set up a “Black Friday Assistant” in the form of guided search:

First Step – Ask what they’re looking for: “Who are you looking for a product for? Male / Female / Child / All”. (It’s common for Black Friday to serve for advance Christmas gift shopping, so this question can capture intent.)

Second Step – Refine according to their interests: for example “What type of products? High-Tech / Fashion / Home / …” based on the previous choice.

Third Step – Offer a price range or discount level filter: e.g. “Desired budget or discount: -20%/-30%/-50% or Small prices / Mid-range / High-end”.

Final Step – Display results or a selection of promotions corresponding to these criteria.

These are just examples, but the idea is to progressively reduce the range until presenting a reasonable list of relevant products. The Advanced Search Pro module makes this feasible without heavy development: simply create a new search engine in “Step-by-step” mode in the back-office (a simple selection in the module settings), then configure the criteria groups in the desired order. PrestaShop doesn’t offer this feature natively, but Advanced Search 5 Pro makes it easily accessible. Once in place, your customers will experience a customized experience. And if at some point they want to skip a step, the module even allows skipping a criterion or going back to change one, without starting everything over – it’s flexible and user-friendly.

Ultimately, guided search acts as an optimized conversion funnel. Especially for large catalogs, it avoids the “too much choice kills choice” effect. During Black Friday, when time is short, offering this kind of tool can make the difference between a lost visitor and a converted customer. Let’s not forget that pleasant and efficient navigation builds customer loyalty – a buyer satisfied with their experience on your site on Black Friday will tend to return for other purchases (Christmas, sales, etc.).

Visual Customization and Promotion Highlighting

Black Friday is a period when capturing internet user attention is more difficult than ever (everyone displays “-50%” banners!). Every detail counts to make your store attractive and intuitive. Advanced Search Pro includes visual customization options that can help you highlight your promotions in an original way.

In particular, the module allows displaying your filter criteria as images or icons. Instead of simple checkboxes with text, you can associate an image with each criterion value (and this per language if needed). For example: for a Brand filter, display brand logos rather than their written names, which is much more visually compelling. Similarly, for a Color criterion, show a small colored square instead of the word – the visual impact is immediate for the customer. You can also illustrate a filter type with an icon (e.g. a “%” pictogram for a discount filter).

How does this serve during Black Friday? Think about highlighting promotions via these images. If you have a “Discount” criterion (for example created via the module’s “discount” option that filters discounted products), you could associate it with a “Black Friday” icon or a promo badge visual. Thus, from the filter panel, the user spots at a glance where to click to see only the good deals. Similarly, if certain categories or brands are particularly discounted, their prominent logos/visuals will catch the eye. This customization brings a playful and differentiating side to your site, while improving navigation.

From a web agency’s point of view, these customization possibilities are ideal for respecting a brand’s graphic identity during its promotional campaigns. You can design filter visuals in Black Friday colors (e.g. black and yellow) or integrate the merchant’s campaign visual. Advanced Search Pro then becomes not only a functional tool but also a marketing one, contributing to communication coherence during the event.

Finally, let’s remember that these improvements (guided search, images, etc.) please customers. A site where it’s pleasant to search for a product encourages browsing more and discovering more items. According to SEO Presta, facilitating search represents time savings for your customers, increases your conversion rate and therefore increases your revenue. By combining polished visual appearance and technical efficiency, you offer the best in terms of shopping experience.

Practical Tips to Exploit Advanced Search Pro During Black Friday

To conclude, here are some concrete recommendations for merchants and agencies to fully leverage Advanced Search Pro in the Black Friday context:

Prepare Your Indexes and Criteria in Advance: A few days before Black Friday, update your catalog (products, categories, attributes) and ensure to reindex the Advanced Search module after applying your discounts or adding a special “Black Friday” category. The module offers CRON tasks to index in the background if necessary. Having a fresh index ensures that “On Promotion” or “New Items” filters indeed include all relevant products.

Create a “Black Friday” Category or Tag for your discounted products. This can facilitate filter configuration. For example, place all discounted items in a Black Friday category (even if they also remain in their original category). You can then create a search engine that applies only to this category or that offers a “Black Friday Yes/No” criterion. Otherwise, use the module’s Discount criterion to filter discounted products. The goal is for the user to instantly filter discounted products without browsing those at regular price.

Integrate the Search Bar/Filters at a Strategic Location: During Black Friday, search must be visibly accessible. Thanks to the module, you can display it in the header, sidebar, or even on the home page as a prominent box. For example, add on the home a block “Search your deals:” that attracts attention upon arriving on the site.

Use SEO Pages as Advertising Landing Pages: If you’re running Google Ads or Facebook Ads campaigns for Black Friday, think about redirecting clicks to specific SEO facet pages generated by the module. For example, an ad “-40% on Casio watches” could point directly to the filtered page “Casio watches on promo” created via Advanced Search Pro, rather than to the home page. The customer will land directly on the relevant selection, which improves conversion rate.

Test Load and Compatibility: If possible, perform a load test (on a pre-production environment) to see how the module behaves with many filters activated simultaneously. Also check compatibility with your theme and other modules (cache, JS/CSS minification…). Advanced Search Pro is robust and designed for PrestaShop, but each store has its specificities. Ensuring everything runs perfectly before the big day will avoid unpleasant surprises.

Train Your Team or Agency on Module Usage: Advanced Search Pro configuration offers many options. Take time to browse the documentation or tutorials to exploit potentially useful advanced functions (e.g. the option to display out-of-stock products at the end of the list, interesting for Black Friday to push depleted items down). The more you master the tool, the more you can adjust it in real-time (e.g. urgently create a filter on a brand doing a last-minute flash sale).

Monitor User Searches: after launching promos, look at search statistics (if you have a module or via Analytics). If you notice frequent unsupported terms, use Advanced Search Pro’s synonym feature to add them. For example, if many type “BF2025 [product name]”, create an alias to match it. Black Friday is short, each quick adjustment can pay big.

By applying these best practices, you’ll exploit Advanced Search Pro’s full potential as a sales lever during Black Friday. This module was designed to improve e-commerce navigation and it excels particularly during high-intensity events like this one.

Conclusion

Preparing your PrestaShop store for Black Friday 2025 isn’t limited to putting “-50%” labels on products – you must also ensure customers easily find these good deals and enjoy navigating the site despite the crowd. The Advanced Search Pro module establishes itself as a powerful ally in this preparation, by enhancing your internal search engine. In summary, it allows you to offer an ultra-fast, relevant, and guided search experience to your visitors, while boosting your SEO through indexable filter pages. Merchants gain in sales and visibility, agencies have a powerful tool to optimize their clients’ stores during Black Friday campaigns.

By investing in quality search, you meet modern online shoppers’ expectations (speed, personalization, efficiency) and stand out from the competition. Let’s not forget that a visitor who easily finds what they’re looking for is a visitor who buys, and who will return. So, anticipate this Black Friday 2025 by optimizing your PrestaShop site now with Advanced Search Pro. You’ll approach D-day with a store ready to convert each opportunity into a sale, and to offer the best of PrestaShop technology to your customers as well as your partners. All that remains is to wish great Black Friday sales to your store!

Sources: The information and examples presented are based on official Presta-Module documentation and various expert feedback: e-commerce search usage statistics, PrestaShop advice articles, as well as the description of the Advanced Search 5 Pro module by Presta-Module and specialized agencies. These references confirm the positive impact of advanced search on user experience and commercial success, particularly during events like Black Friday. All recommendations here aim to implement these best practices in the PrestaShop 2025 context.

Article published November 3, 2025 by Nicolas Dabène - PHP & PrestaShop Expert with 15+ years of experience in e-commerce and digital sales optimization