If you've been using Boolean Search, you know how beneficial it can be if you're searching for a specific type of mention. But what if you don't do it just once for a specific case? What if you need to track several markets for your brand continuously, or you want to see the recurring problems for a specific market, product, feature, or location?
And what if your query is so complex that it doesn’t fit into the standard keyword setup? Then, the best option is a Boolean Query with the Advanced Keyword Setup.
Set this way, a Boolean Query lets you define keywords for monitoring in greater detail to get more specific results. That cuts the noise, lets you compare results, and helps you track it continuously.
How to use Boolean Queries to Monitor Specific Mentions
Boolean query setup is located within the Keyword tracker and lets you narrow down the mentions you collect for a particular keyword by adding specific Boolean operators. You can exclude or target specific keywords, places, sources, or create long-tail keywords you want to track with Boolean queries.
Depending on whether you want to add the Boolean Query to the keywords you have already set up, change something within the existing Boolean Query for a specific keyword, or you're just adding a new tracker (keyword), you have two different paths.
And here's how to do that, step by step for both:
1. Creating a new tracker and including a Boolean Query
Open your Overview Dashboard.
Find the Mention Trackers box and click on Add Tracker/Keyword.
Choose a category for your keyword. Within this step, you can also edit the existing Mention Tracker. Once you click a category, it will automatically prompt you to the next step.
Set up your Boolean query for the specific keyword under Advanced KW Setup.
Once the Advanced KW Setup is opened, you’ll see the line where you should insert your Boolean query. It enables you to use AND, OR, and NOT in your queries, and doesn’t limit you to the number of keywords.
After you're done with setting up your Boolean query, hit the Validate button.
This opens the bottom section with Advanced Options and the section with limited sources. Here you can select up to 5 keywords to run for limited sources (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Threads), then click Next.
Note: AI automatically selects keywords that aren't too generic to avoid noise. If you think other keywords would be a better fit, you can change them manually. The initial search will use only these selected words, and then the rest of the query will be included to calculate relevance.
In the next section, Sources and Regional settings, you can specify the language in which the keyword is mentioned, or a specific source (LinkedIn, Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, etc.). This narrows the results, which is very useful if you're targeting a specific market.
Once you're done, test it, click Next, and continue with your Keyword setup.
2. Adding a Boolean Query to the existing keyword tracker or changing the existing one
Now, if you already have keywords you track, but you want them to be more specific and to turn off the noise, your starting point is here:
For the existing keyword tracker without a Boolean Query, you go to the little plus icon that shows up when you hover over the keyword. It says Add Tracking Item.
It will take you to the beginning of the settings, where you choose the category, name the tracker (which will already be filled), and follow the same steps as creating a new keyword tracker until you get to the Advanced Keyword Setup.
To change or edit your existing Boolean Query, start within the tracking keyword in the Mention Trackers box:
Find the keyword you want to add a Boolean query to in the Mention Trackers box.
Hover over it and click the Edit Keyword icon.
It will take you directly to the Keyword phrase to monitor step, where you can edit the existing Boolean query.
How to Build Your Boolean Query
Mentionlytics' Boolean Query covers AND, OR, and NOT Boolean operations.
If you want to add a keyword to your Boolean Query, it’s enough to add AND and write your keyword in double quotation marks (“keyword”).
If you have more keywords for the same query, put them in brackets and put AND or OR between them.
If you want to exclude specific keywords (which may contain more than one word), you use the NOT operation by adding AND NOT in front of the keyword.
You write your Boolean Query in several lines to make it easier to correct if you need to.
Example:
("Ryanair" OR "@Ryanair" OR "#Ryanair")
AND ((("cabin bag" OR "hand luggage" OR "carry-on" OR "carry on" OR "personal item" OR "baggage sizer")
AND ("charged" OR "extra fee" OR "had to pay" OR "too big" OR "didn't fit" OR "wouldn't fit"))
OR (("cancelled flight" OR "canceled flight" OR "flight cancellation" OR "flight was cancelled" OR "flight was canceled")
AND ("refund" OR "money back" OR "reimbursement" OR "still waiting" OR "haven't received" OR "not received")))
AND NOT ("job" OR "jobs" OR "hiring" OR "share price" OR "stock")
When to Choose Boolean Query Instead of Boolean Search
The difference boils down to what you want to do with the results, and how long you want to track it.
Use Boolean Search when you want to investigate the mentions already available in your dashboard. It’s ideal for:
one-time questions
quick checks
experimenting with different keyword combinations
analyzing already collected mentions
ad hoc analysis
one specific keyword analysis
For example, you might search your airline mentions for “Belgrade” AND “Athens” to see what passengers have recently said about that route. But if you want to find out and track specific multiple problems (pain points) passengers experienced on that route, you will need a Boolean query.
Use a Boolean Query when the criteria are more complex than two keywords, and you need a tracker to collect mentions continuously. Instead of rebuilding the search every time and running different searches for different keywords, you create a focused keyword tracker for relevant mentions that you can monitor, analyze, compare, and include in reports.
Here are some use cases where Boolean Query fits better than Boolean Search.
Use case | Why Boolean Search isn't enough | What the Boolean Query does |
Your brand name is also an ordinary word | Searching still leaves you repeatedly removing mentions of fruit, people, places, songs, or unrelated products. | Adds context that identifies your brand and permanently excludes its other meanings. |
The same product is discussed differently across markets | A single search can reveal those differences, but it won't organize future mentions accordingly. | Tracks local terminology, translated product names, slang, and market-specific expressions as part of the same setup. |
Customers describe a problem without naming it | Searching only for your official feature or product name misses the language customers most often use. | Combines the brand with descriptions such as "can't log in," "payment failed", "package never arrived". |
Testing a new product, service, or tracking campaign | A one-time checkup gives you only a snapshot of what the audience thinks, feels, and speaks about your product. | Continuous tracking of a specific product, service, or campaign lets you benchmark it against your other products. |
You need a specific query to be part of your report | Manually rebuilding a search can introduce different terms or filters each time. | Applies the same definition of the topic continuously, making comparisons between periods far more reliable. |