The glom module ranks single-field matches ahead of cross-field matches and also ahead of non-matches (records that do not contain the search term). It serves as a useful tie-breaker function in combination with the maxfield module and is commonly used in commerce applications.

If you want a strategy that ranks single-field matches first, cross-field matches second, and no matches third, then use the glom module followed by the nterms module. glom treats all matches the same, whether or not they are due to synonyms or other forms of query expansion.

The glom module considers a single-field match to be one in which a single field has enough terms to satisfy the conditions of the match mode. or this reason, in MatchAny search mode, cross-field matches are impossible, because a single term is sufficient to create a match. Every match is considered to be a single-field match, even if there were several search terms.

For MatchPartial search mode, if the required number of matches is two, the glom module considers a record to be a single-field match if it has at least one field that contains two or more or the search terms. You cannot rank results based on how many terms match within a single field.