Choosing the right keywords is the foundation of effective social listening. Whether you want to monitor your reputation or spy on competitors, follow this guide to get the most accurate results.
We will use Ryanair as our real-world example to walk through the optimization process.
1. Start with your objective
Before adding keywords, clarify what you want to achieve. Your goal determines which keywords you should track:
Brand Awareness: To find out what people are saying about your brand online track your brand name and common variations, e.g. ryanair or ryan air.
Competitor Analysis: To get an overview of the conversation online about my competitors track your competitor names and their specific product names, e.g. easyjet.
Product Research: Track your product names vs. competing products to see what customers prefer, e.g. ryanair cheap flights, easyjet offers.
Campaign Tracking: Track specific campaign names, unique hashtags, or advertised products to measure reach, e.g. #ryanaircrew, Ryanair Flash Sale.
2. Identify your main keywords & variations
Once your goal is set, start with the most direct form of the topic.
Check Spelling: Do a quick manual search online to see how people actually spell your brand. Add common variations or misspellings to your list.
Use Specifiers: If your brand name is a common word (e.g., "Apple" or "Orange"), add a specifier like the industry or a product name (e.g.,
Apple + iPhone) to avoid irrelevant results.
3. Set up and test your main keyword
Always start with the most direct form of the topic (e.g., Ryanair).
Option A: Test the Keyword First (Recommended)
The Test this Query option provides a preview of expected results. It helps you identify noise -like misspellings, parody accounts, or generic travel posts- before you start using your mention credits.
Option B: Save and Review
After saving, review your initial mentions and check:
Does the majority of the data refer to your brand?
Is there excessive noise from unrelated terms?
Are there generic posts cluttering the feed?
4. Use "Excluded Keywords" to reduce noise
If your keyword brings in unrelated mentions, add those terms to the Excluded Keywords box.
Common Noise for Ryanair: Celebrity content, parody accounts, or toy models.
Useful Exclusions:
toy,parody,meme,song,jet.
The Result: These exclusions ensure your mentions focus on the airline rather than unrelated content.
5. Use "AND" or "OR" Logic to refine your results
AND Logic (To Narrow Results)
If the keyword still brings in broad or irrelevant results, Additional Required Keywords help narrow the search.
AND logic requires the mention to contain “Ryanair” and the additional keyword.
Use a maximum of one or two to avoid making the search too restrictive.
Examples of AND combinations:
Ryanair+flight delay,Ryanair+cancellation.
Tip: Use only 1 or 2 required keywords to avoid making the search too restrictive.
This is recommended when monitoring a specific aspect of the airline’s activity.
OR Logic (To Broaden Results)
Use OR logic within your keywords to expand coverage and include related topics.
Examples of OR combinations:
flight delayORcancellationORcheck-in issueORcustomer service.
Tip: This is perfect for capturing a wide range of issues related to a single brand.
This method widens the scope while keeping the data relevant to Ryanair.
6. Apply Advanced Options
Advanced Options allow tracking of:
Specific Hashtags: The default hashtag you track is the main keyword #ryanair, but you might want to use #ryanairUK instead, because you are only interested in this specific country.
Niche Sources: Limit searches to specific websites or designated Subreddits.
Location & Language: Language or location restrictions significantly limit the number of collected mentions, especially for a multinational airline such as Ryanair. Many online users do not specify a location. Apply restrictions only when they serve a clear purpose.
Important! Apply only when necessary.
7. Main Keyword OR Operator (add-on)
Available for Pro plans and above, the Main Keyword OR operator add-on allows up to four variations of your main keyword in a single slot. This is the best way to ensure complete coverage without using multiple tracker slots.
Example variations:
ryanair,ryanairAirlines,RyanairUK,ryanairJet.
Note: In the Advanced plan and lower, the main keyword allows only the AND operator, which is very restrictive and not recommended.
This add-on comes with an additional cost to your current plan, and it can be enabled upon request through your Account Manager.
8. Keywords vs. Social Profiles
It is a common mistake to think these are the same, but they function independently:
Keywords search the entire internet for specific text.
Social Profiles pull every post from a specific account (e.g., @Ryanair), regardless of the keywords used.
Example:
If @Ryanair posts “Happy Holidays!” without mentioning the name in the text, the mention will be tracked because the profile was added (remember, the profiles track everything!).
Important note: If a post from the social profile also matches the keyword, we capture it only once to avoid duplicate mentions (you can change this from the tracker settings).
Need a hand with your setup? If you aren't sure how to optimize your keywords, we're here to help!
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