Whether you’re using keywords to filter the media items that appear in your Topics or search terms to locate relevant media items using the Find tool, creating effective search terms is key to using the Isentia platform effectively.

Here are some tips to help you create the best possible keywords and run the most effective searches.

Upper or lower-case

The keywords you use are not case sensitive. So using automation, Automation or even AuToMATION as a keyword will return all media items that contain the term automation.

Single words

Using a single search term or keyword will return the broadest possible results (unless it’s a unique name or term).  Searching for the term technology will return all matching media items that contain this term, and if you receive a lot of technology-related content, this may not provide the results you are looking for.

We suggest using multiple keywords or boolean operators to create specific keywords to return the media coverage you want to see.

Multiple keywords

Using multiple keywords (without boolean operators) will return media items that contain all of your keywords in the order you search for them.

For example, searching for Automation technology machine learning will only return media items that contain all four keywords in that exact order.

To see media items that contain any of the individual keywords, use commas or the Boolean operator “OR” between your keywords.

Boolean operators

Boolean operators are simple words (AND, OR, NOT) used to combine or exclude keywords. They can help you save time by removing irrelevant media items, help you run better searches, and ensure your topics contain the correct media coverage by allowing you to be specific with which items you want to see.

Boolean Operator	Example	Search Results
AND	automation AND technology	All media items containing both the terms automation and technology.
OR	automation OR technology	All media items that contain either the term automation or technology
NOT	automation NOT technology	All media items that contain the term automation but do not include the term technology

Exact Phrases

Like multiple keywords, using exact phrases will search for the terms in your “phrase” in the order they appear. For example, searching for machine learning will return all media items that contain the exact phrase machine learning.  

Note: You do not need to surround phrases with quotes (“…”). Any keywords or search terms not including boolean operators like OR, AND, or NOT will be considered a phrase.

Exact phrases with boolean operators

When creating keywords, you can combine exact phrases and boolean operators. The search term Machine Learning, NOT automation, will return media items that contain the exact phrase machine learning but do not include the word automation. 

Wildcards

Wildcards are a great way to search for multiple terms and keywords to capture any variations in the spelling or tense of a term. Wildcards are added to a search term or keyword using the * symbol after several letters in a term or phrase.

For example, using the search term tech* will return all media items that include matches with the exact word (in this case, tech), plus any matches to any extension of the term such as technology, technologic, technological.

If you use the wildcard after several letters in a phrase, for example, if you are searching for a journalist and use the term Dav Ryan*, your search results will return media items that include matches with the exact phrase (Dav Ryan), plus any matches to any extensions of the words in the phrase, such as Dav Ryans, David Ryan, Dave Ryan, David Ryans. 

Note: Wildcards can only follow a single word or phrase. They cannot be used within a phrase e.g. mach* learning.