Managing Keywords

In the land of search, not all words have equal value. At the bottom of the food chain are noise words that are ignored when documents are indexed. At the top of the food chain are words that have special meaning, called keywords . Keywords provide the opportunity for human analysts to make search results better than they would be with just the brute force of full-text searching. Keywords mark items as particularly relevant in search results so they will be more prominently placed.

Administrators create a list of keywords for common searches, defining a hierarchy of terms that can be used for browsing and searching information (Figure 13.19). Internet Information Server (IIS) logs searches so administrators can periodically review the most popular searches and determine whether new keywords should be created.

Figure 13.19. Keywords List

You can associate best bets with keywords so when a searcher enters a keyword in the search box, the best bets are featured with highest relevance and indicated with a keyword best bets icon.

Site administrators can manage the keyword hierarchy or set up users with special roles as keyword managers. If desired, an approval process can be established for keyword management. If there is no keyword approval process, keyword best bets are approved automatically. If an approval process is required for keywords, they go through several stages in the process:

• Pending . Pending keyword best bets must be approved by someone with the correct rights before they are used by search. The status is reset to Pending if a rejected keyword best bet is resubmitted for approval. To change the status of an item to Pending, click the item and then click Undo Approval . This makes the keyword best bet Pending, and allows users with the proper rights to approve or reject the keyword best bet.

• Approved . Approved keyword best bets have been submitted for approval and subsequently approved by someone with the appropriate rights. To approve a keyword best bet, click the item and then click Approve . An archived or expired keyword best bet can also be changed to Approved to reactivate it.

• Rejected . Rejected keyword best bets have been submitted for approval and rejected by a user with the appropriate rights. To reject a previously approved item or an item that is Pending, click the item and then click Reject .

• Expired . Expired keyword best bets are those that are past their expiration date, regardless of whether they were approved. Keyword best bets expire automatically after their expiration date. To change the status of an expired keyword best bet, change its expiration date. You can delete those items that won't be used again or archive those that you may want to use later.

• Archived . Archived keyword best bets are those that are not currently in use, but that you want reserved for the future. Expired items are often archived. To archive a keyword best bet, click the keyword best bet and then click Archive .

To manage keywords, click Site Settings from the portal home page, then Manage Keywords under the Manage Search Settings and Indexed Content section. A list of keywords is displayed (Figure 13.20).

Figure 13.20. Keywords Page

There are six different views of this page that you can choose from the left navigation pane. The default view lists all keywords. The page also lists keywords that are pending, rejected, expired, and archived.

Clicking Keyword Best Bets in the left navigation opens the Keyword Best Bets page (Figure 13.21), which shows items that have been selected as keyword best bets grouped under their parent keywords. Keyword best bets are flagged with icons that show their status. To hide keyword best bets, you can apply a filter or choose keywords only in the toolbar. The second view shows only keyword best bets, and the final four show keyword best bets filtered by their approval status, as discussed above. Here an administrator can check on pending keyword requests and approve or reject proposed keywords.

Figure 13.21. Keyword Best Bets Page

To add a new keyword best bet:

1. Click Keyword Best Bets in the left navigation to show the list of keyword best bets.
   
   
2. Click New in the list toolbar to open the Add Keyword Best Bet page (Figure 13.22).
   
   

   Figure 13.22. Add Keyword Best Bet Page

   

   
   
3. Fill in the name and description of the new keyword best bet.
   
   
4. Select the parent keyword or keywords for the keyword best bet, and enter the URL for the page or document.
   
   
5. Click OK to save the new keyword best bet. The keyword best bet is now displayed on the Keyword Best Bets screen. If you choose more than one keyword parent for the keyword best bet, it will be listed multiple times.
   
   

Creating, Editing, and Deleting Keywords

Keywords are used to mark items of high relevance for a search. They are most important when the text of the document does not directly convey the topic to which it is related . For instance, abstract concepts might not be explicitly mentioned in a document, but the entire document might apply to the keyword. A speech by the chairman of the Federal Reserve might be quite relevant to "economic forecast" or "interest rates," but it might use other terms to discuss these issues. Without keywords, such an item would be missing from the search results. You should create keywords before you create keyword best bets, as the keywords provide the hierarchy in which the keyword best bets exist.

To create keywords, perform the following steps:

1. Click Manage keywords in Site Settings under the Manage Search Settings and Indexed Content section.
   
   
2. Click Create Keyword under Select Action in the left navigation pane. You may also select a parent keyword in the keyword list and then click Create Keyword in the action pane.
   
   
3. On the Create Keyword page (Figure 13.23), enter a title and description for the new keyword. The title is the word typed in the search box that triggers the keyword best bets for this keyword to be displayed in search results.
   
   

   Figure 13.23. Create Keyword Page

   

   
   
4. Enter a start date and expiration date for this keyword. To create a keyword that doesn't expire, leave the expiration date blank.
   
   
5. In the Synonyms section, type potential search words for which you want the keyword best bets for this keyword to appear, separated by semicolons.
   
   
6. Click Change parent keyword. In the Keyword Chooser, select the keyword under which to create this keyword, and then click Save .
   
   
7. Click OK .
   
   

Note that deleting a keyword also deletes the keyword best bets associated with that keyword. Do not delete a keyword unless you also intend to delete its keywords and keyword best bets.