The advanced query builder will allow you to add, edit, and create detailed keyword searches.
Where to start?
Select the Monitoring topic - it can be a brand, a company, a person, an information or marketing campaign, an entire industry, events of a political nature, etc.
Choose keywords - words or phrases that describe your topic. You can also add more context with additional words to get more accurate search results. For example, instead of "Apple" it is better to use "Apple presentation" or "Apple IOS17 presentation".
Use Boolean operators - short words and symbols that specify the criteria when looking for more accurate results. Boolean operators allow you to combine keywords to get better results.
Operators
Below are the main Boolean operators and examples of their use:
AND - combines two or more keywords to find results that contain the specified keywords. For example, the query (кава AND зернова) will show results that contain both the word "кава" and the word "зернова" at any distance from each other.
OR - combines two or more keywords to find results that contain at least one of the keywords. For example, the query (Samsung OR iPhone) will show results that contain the word "Samsung" or the word "iPhone".
AND NOT - excludes results that contain a set keyword. For example, the query:: банк AND NOT ПриватБанк will display results that contain the words "банк" but do not contain the word "ПриватБанк".
* - used to include any ending.
For example, Укрзалізниц* - will find all mentions of Ukrzaliznytsia with different endings after the letter ц: Укрзалізниця, Укрзалізницею, Укрзалізниці.
// - required to select a word in which any search operators are used except *.
.{a,b} - an operator for the exact spelling of the ending, where a and b are numbers indicating the maximum and minimum number of characters at the end of the word. For example, /Укрзалізниц.{0,1}/ - will find options Укрзалізниця, Укрзалізниці, but not Укрзалізницею, since a maximum of 1 character after the specified search word is input in brackets.
[] – operator for specifying the variability of a letter or symbol. Allows you to specify different spellings of the word, optimizing the query.
For example, /Ки[їеє]в/ - will find the words Київ, Киев, Києв.
? – this operator indicates that the preceding character is optional
For example, /З?робити/ - will find the options "робити" and "зробити".
. – an operator that replaces any letter or symbol in a word.
For example, /Ки.в/ - will find “Київ”, “Киев”, “Ки@в”
⚠️ NB: without // operators .{a,b} [] ? .
cannot be applied.
"quotes" – used to search for phrases or names consisting of several words. For example, a query for "Elon Musk" will find articles that contain the words "Elon" and "Musk" next to each other in random order (Elon Musk, Musk Elon)
(brackets) - used to determine the execution order of search conditions and interaction with operators.
((coffee OR cocoa) AND NOT (ground* OR bean*) AND instant*) AND source_type:tv
The search result will be: "instant (any ending with instant*)", and also the word "coffee", or "cocoa", or both, but the words "ground (any ending with ground*)" and "bean (any ending with bean*)". There will be mentions only in TV clips - source_type:tv
~n - setting the distance between words, where n indicates the maximum interval (number of words) between objects in the publication.
For example, the query "coffee bean"~3 will find posts in which the words “coffee” and “bean” are within 3 words of each other.
⚠️ NB ~n is used only in combination with "quotes"
Let's take a look the most important Boolean operators for writing queries using the example of Podorozhnyk pharmacy
Based on the results of the search query, you will receive a data array of publications with the words "podoroshnyk" or "aptekapodorozhnyk" or the phrase "podorozhnyk pharmacy" next to each other at a distance of no more than 1 word from each other and without mention of the word "discounts".
After completing the preparation of the query, by clicking "Next" you can preview the results of the search sample and adjust the query to get the most relevant mentions:
Fields
The Fields tab contains advanced search operators, with which you can additionally fine-tune your query and apply filters:
title: - the operator will help you search for keyword mentions only in the titles of the posts.
title:Kyiv
will filter out news where the word Kyiv is mentioned in the headlines
text: - the operator will search for mentions only in the publication text.
text:Kyiv
will find news where Kyiv appears in the text
publication_place_name: - an operator that allows you to filter social media pages by the name of the place of publication.
publication_place_name: Kyiv
will find pages with Kyiv in the title
post_type: - this operator allows you to specify the type of content: post, repost, comment, extended repost.
Kyiv AND post_type:(repost comment)
as a result, we will receive mentions of Kyiv in reposts and comments on social media
source_type: - this operator lets you choose the types of mass media for search (TV, radio, print media, online resources, news agencies or social networks). For a search request, you should use their English spelling - tv radio press internet agency socialnetwork. If necessary, you can choose one or several types of media.
Kyiv AND source_type:(tv agency socialnetwork)
will find all mentions of Kyiv from TV shows, news agencies, and social media
language_code: - operator lets you search for articles in a specific language.
(/Ки.в/ OR /Ki.v/) AND language_code:(uk en)
will find references to Києв, Київ, Kiev, Kiyv only in Ukrainian and English.\
A complete list of language code abbreviations is available under the link.
For example
Let's create a search query, according to which we should get mentions of PrivatBank in Latin in traditional mass media
(/ПриватБанк.{0,2}/ /PrivatBank.{0,2}/ "Приват /Банк.{0,2}/" "Privat /Bank.{0,2}/") AND (source_type:(tv radio press internet agency)
The query will consist of two parts:
the first – object name options - - (/ПриватБанк.{0,2}/ /PrivatBank.{0,2}/ "Приват /Банк.{0,2}/" "Privat /Bank.{0,2}/")
the second – applied media type and geography filters - (source_type:(tv radio press internet agency)
Tips and templates
Above, we looked at how to write a keyword search using Boolean operators. However, the advanced interface contains additional options aimed at facilitating the process of its creation.
The Tips and Templates tabs contain examples of search query fragments and ready-made basic templates for monitoring mentions of a company or person.
If necessary, you can copy and use them in the search query field as fragments or as a basis for creating your keyword.
The query field takes into account the general logic of the search query and warns about errors that will stop it from working:
After removing them, the warning disappears:
If none of the templates is suitable for creating your search query, you can create a keyword without a template and go to the empty query-writing field.
In this case, Tips and Templates will also be available to you in the menu on the left, which you can return to and copy (in whole or in part) or view if necessary:
This way, based on the proposed templates and using the tips, you can reproduce the most common search queries or create your own using the template as an example. However, the suggested algorithms might not reflect all the features of your specific search case.
With time and practice, you will master writing queries and be able to get the results you want with minimal effort.