Boolean Keyword Search Formatting

Boolean Keyword Search Formatting

Trigify uses Boolean keyword searches to monitor social platforms. Getting your search formatting right is key to finding relevant results without drowning in noise.

What Is a Boolean Search?

Boolean searching lets you combine keywords with operators like AND, OR, and NOT to create precise searches. This helps you find exactly the posts you're looking for.

Boolean Operators

OperatorWhat It DoesExample
ANDBoth terms must appearsocial listening AND B2B
OREither term can appearTrigify OR social listening
NOTExcludes posts containing the termsocial listening NOT Instagram

Examples

Brand Monitoring

Trigify OR trigify.io

Finds any mention of your brand name or website.

Competitor Tracking

(Sprout Social OR Meltwater OR Mention) AND (switching OR alternative OR looking for)

Finds people talking about switching from competitor tools.

Industry Topic Monitoring

social listening AND (B2B OR SaaS) NOT Instagram

Finds B2B social listening discussions while excluding irrelevant B2C content.

Job Change Signals

(new role OR excited to announce OR just started) AND (VP OR Director OR Head of)

Finds senior professionals announcing job changes.

Tips for Better Searches

  1. Add each keyword directly. Type a keyword or phrase in the relevant field, then press Enter to add it.

  2. Start broad, then narrow. Begin with a simple search and add filters as you review the results.

  3. Use NOT to reduce noise. If you're getting irrelevant results, exclude common false-positive terms.

  4. Keep it to 6 keywords per search. Trigify supports up to 6 keywords per social listening search.

  5. Create multiple searches if you need to track more than 6 keywords.

Search Limits

  • 6 keywords per search (business network constraint)

  • Unlimited searches on all plans

  • Each post returned by a search consumes 1 credit

Need Help?

If you're not sure how to structure your search, reach out through the in-app chat and we'll help you build the right query.