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Add keyword terms with Best Bets (Search Server 2008)

  • Article

Applies To: Microsoft Search Server 2008

 

Topic Last Modified: 2010-01-26

Note

Unless otherwise noted, the information in this article applies to both Microsoft Search Server 2008 and Microsoft Search Server 2008 Express.

Keyword terms are defined by an administrator to enhance search results. They can be used in queries from the Search box, the Search Center site, or Advanced Search. When a query includes a keyword term or one of its synonyms, the definition for that term and links to its featured locations or documents, called "Best Bets," are displayed prominently on the search results page, above the core search results.

By defining terms that are often used in searches as keywords, a site collection administrator can provide a standard glossary of names, processes, and concepts that are part of the "common knowledge" shared by members of an organization. When keywords have synonyms and associated Best Bet links, they also become handy tools for guiding users toward recommended resources.

In this article:

Displaying the Manage Keywords page

Adding keywords

Managing Best Bets

Reviewing keywords and Best Bets

Displaying the Manage Keywords page

To access the Add Keywords page and define keywords and Best Bets there, a site collection administrator goes to the home page for the top-level site in the site collection and uses the Site Actions menu to display the Manage All Site Settings page.

Display the Manage Keywords page

  1. Log on to the home page of your top-level site with site collection administrator permissions.

  2. Click the Site Actions menu, and then click Site Settings.

  3. On the Site Settings page, in the Site Collection Administration section, click Search keywords. This displays the Manage Keywords page.

  4. To define a new keyword and add Best Bets to it, click Add Keyword, and then follow the steps listed in the Adding keywords section.

    Note

    To add Best Bet links to an existing keyword, move the cursor over the keyword, expand the menu that appears, click Edit, and then follow the steps in the Managing Best Bets section.

Adding keywords

Keywords provide definitions for common terms that are used within your organization. Each keyword entry also can include a list of synonyms and the Web addresses (URLs) for several Best Bet links to recommended content.

Add keywords

  1. Follow the steps in the earlier section Displaying the Manage Keywords page.

  2. Click Add Keyword to display the Add Keyword page.

  3. In the Keyword Phrase box, type a word, name, acronym, or phrase to be defined as a keyword.

    Tip

    Terms that are often used in searches make good keyword terms. When defining keywords, work from a list of popular sites, processes, and tools used by your organization.

  4. Type terms with a similar meaning in the Synonyms box. The definition of the keyword and its Best Bets is featured above the search results when any synonym of the keyword is used in a query. Separate synonyms with a semicolon (";").

  5. In the Definition box, provide a definition to display above the core search results whenever the keyword is used in a query.

  6. To feature Best Bet links above the search results, click Add Best Bet, and then follow the steps in the Managing Best Bets section.

  7. To store contacts for the keyword, for example reviewers, type an e-mail alias in the Contact box. Click Check Names to verify the alias, or click Browse to select a name using a directory service.

  8. In the Publishing section, you can set a Review Date for keyword reviewers, a Start Date when the keyword's definition and Best Bets begin to appear in search results, and (if wanted) an End Date when the keyword ceases to be active. Click the calendar next to each date that you want to set.

    Note

    The current date appears as the default Start Date. If you leave the End Date box empty, the keyword does not expire.

  9. Click OK to finish defining the keyword.

    Note

    Keywords and their Best Bets are stored in their own database tables and become effective immediately.

Managing Best Bets

Best Bets can link to recommended Web sites, data stores, and documents. When a user includes a keyword or one of its synonyms in a query, the search results page features links to its associated Best Bets above the core results, along with its definition. This enables the administrator to guide users toward recommended locations and authoritative pages.

Note

Keyword terms in queries must match the keyword or its synonym exactly. Partial matches won’t work. Keywords can only be used within the site collection where they are defined. Keyword definitions and their Best Bet links (if any) are displayed when the Search box sends its query results to a search results page that is within the same site collection, and includes the Best Bets Web part.

For example, you might define payroll as a keyword and include the URL for the home page of your Payroll department as one of its Best Bet links. When a user types the keyword term payroll in the Search box, the search results then includes a link to your company's payroll site.

Manage Best Bets

  1. Follow the steps in the earlier section Displaying the Manage Keywords page.

  2. To add a Best Bets site to an existing keyword, move the cursor over the name of a keyword, expand the menu that appears, and then click Edit to display the Edit Keyword page.

    Or to create a new keyword with Best Bets, click Add Keyword, and then follow the steps in the earlier section Adding keywords.

  3. In the Best Bets section of the Manage Keywords or Add Keyword page, click Add Best Bet.

  4. If you have already created other keywords with Best Bets, the Add Best Bet dialog box offers options to Select existing best bet or to Add new best bet.

    To reuse an existing Best Bet:

    1. Choose Select existing best bet.

    2. Select one or more Best Bets from the list. This adds these Best Bets to the present keyword.

    To create a new Best Bet:

    1. Choose Add new best bet.

    2. In the URL box, type its Web address.

    3. In the Title box, type the link text for the Best Bet link.

    4. In the Description box, type text to display beneath the Best Bet link.

    5. Click OK to finish creating the new Best Bet.

  5. Each Best Bet entry that is associated with a keyword includes links to Edit, Order, or Remove the Best Bet.

    1. To change the URL, Title, or Description of a Best Bet, click Edit, and then type the new information in the box. Click OK to save your changes.

      Note

      When you edit a Best Bet that is shared among several keywords, it is changed for all of the keywords that use it.

    2. If a keyword includes multiple Best Bets, use the Order list to set the order in which they appear on the search results page.

    3. To remove a Best Bet from a keyword, click Remove.

      Note

      A Best Bet can be added from the Select existing best bet list only if it is in use in at least one keyword. When a Best Bet is no longer in use in any keyword, it is deleted.

Reviewing keywords and Best Bets

In the Publishing section of the Add Keyword page, you can set a Review Date for keyword reviewers. To do so, follow the procedures in the earlier section Adding keywords.

Keyword reviewers must be a site collection administrator for the site collection to use the Manage Keywords page. They can then use the Keywords Requiring Review link to filter the page to display the keywords that require review, or the Expired Keywords link to display the keywords that have expired.

See Also

Concepts

Manage settings to improve search results (Search Server 2008)