Boolean search in BrandMentions lets you build advanced search queries using special operators like AND, OR, NOT, quotes, and brackets.
Instead of relying on simple keyword matching, Boolean search gives you more control and precision, helping you:
Include specific word combinations
Exclude unwanted terms
Control how close words appear to each other
Build complex search logic that matches exactly what you need
When should I use Boolean search instead of a simple search?
Use Boolean search when you need a high level of customization. It’s especially helpful when:
You want to narrow down your results and remove noise
You need to broaden your search to cover different variations of a topic
You want to define strict search criteria to eliminate irrelevant mentions
You work with complex topics, multiple brands, or ambiguous keywords
If a simple keyword search brings in too many irrelevant mentions or misses important ones, Boolean search is recommended.
Boolean operators
Below are the main Boolean operators you can use in BrandMentions, with examples and explanations.
Operator | Example | Functionality |
"" - Quotation marks | "Brand Mentions" | Quotation marks are used when you are searching for a specific word combination or an exact phrase. In this example, you will not receive data containing "Mentions of brand" but only data containing exactly the expression "Brand Mentions". |
AND | Brandmentions AND "competitor spying" | AND means you are searching for mentions that contain BOTH keywords (Brandmentions + "competitor spying"). Mentions containing Brandmentions only or competitor spying only won't be reported. |
OR | Brandmentions OR marketing | OR means you are searching for mentions that contain either of the keywords (either the keyword Brandmentions or the keyword marketing). All mentions containing either brandmentions, either marketing or both keywords, will be reported. |
AND NOT | Brandmentions AND NOT marketing | AND NOT will exclude all the data that contain the keyword Brandmentions together with the word marketing anywhere in the mention. |
AND NEAR | Brandmentions AND NEAR online | AND NEAR specifies the closeness of your keywords to each other. This means that only the mentions where the keyword online is in the proximity of the keyword Brandmentions will be reported. |
AND NOT NEAR | Brandmentions AND NOT NEAR online | AND NOT NEAR specifies the closeness of excluded and main keywords to each other. This means we will only exclude the mentions where the keyword online is in the proximity of the main keyword Brandmentions. |
() - Brackets | "Brand mentions" AND (marketing OR spying OR "media") | Brackets are used to group terms together, so that operators like AND can be applied to all the terms in the brackets. |
++ | ++BrandMentions | The ++ operator takes into account case sensitive exact data, lower and upper cases of your keyword. In this example, mentions that contain brandmentions or Brandmentions won't be reported. |
How to set up Boolean Query Tracking
Within the Project Settings area, go to Keywords to track section and click on the Activate Boolean Query Tracking box.
Keep in mind that once the Boolean query tracking is switched on, your previous keywords settings will not be active anymore.
You can add only one Boolean expression using as many operators as you want and need.
Don't forget to click on Save and Rerun once you're done with the the search query.
If you want to switch back to the default keyword tracking mode, simply deactivate the Boolean query tracking.
The importance of the Brackets operator
Brackets are one of the most important parts of complex Boolean expressions. They:
Help you group search phrases
Tell the app which parts of the query to evaluate first
Prevent ambiguous or unintended results
Think of them like math parentheses: what’s inside the brackets gets processed before the rest.
Example without brackets
BrandMentions OR brand monitoring AND social listening
This is ambiguous. Do you mean:
Mentions that have either “BrandMentions” or “brand monitoring” and also have “social listening”?
Or mentions that contain “BrandMentions”, or the combination of “brand monitoring” AND “social listening”?
Without brackets, the app cannot “know” which logic you intend.
The same query with brackets
(BrandMentions OR brand monitoring) AND social listening
This means:
Find mentions that contain BrandMentions or brand monitoring,
And also contain social listening.
BrandMentions OR (brand monitoring AND social listening)
This means:
Find mentions that either contain BrandMentions,
Or contain brand monitoring and social listening together.
These are two very different queries that produce very different results, even though the words are the same.
Best practices for using Boolean search in BrandMentions
Start simple, then add complexity gradually.
Always use quotes for exact phrases.
Use
AND NOTto remove obvious noise.Use
AND NEARwhen the relationship between words matters.Use brackets whenever you combine multiple operators (
AND,OR,NOT) in one expression.After editing your Boolean query, always click Save and Rerun to update your data.
Boolean Expressions Examples
Let's take for example the Boolean query from the screenshot below. What you are telling BrandMentions through this expression is that you want to get all the mentions containing the exact name Rafael Nadal plus any of the following tennis tournaments: Australian Open, Roland Garros, US Open or Wimbledon, but only if those mentions do not contain any reference to Roger Federer. To keep it short, a mention having the title: Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer head to head at US Open, won't be reported.
When it comes to Boolean Queries, expressions can be as long and as complex as you need. As long as you are using the operators correctly, the sky is the limit when it comes to the elaboration of the string.
In the screenshot below, we are telling the app to report all the mentions containing the keyword London + the exact phrases: Hyde Park + horse riding + good weather but not the ones including the word winter, or the ones including the exact phrases: horse riding + lessons + London.
In the example below, we can see a string that we can create if we want to get a report of mentions that are related to the "apple" as a fruit, and not the technology company from Los Altos.
Boolean Query might come in handy when you're into the recruiting industry as it can give you very targeted mentions that can lead to finding candidates, jobs, projects, etc. In the screenshot below, we are asking the app to return only those mentions that contain the keyword "developer" in the proximity of the keyword "job" plus any of the words "Java" or "PHP", but not the words United States (and variations of writings the state). Therefore, if you were to look for developer jobs with skills in Java or PHP from anywhere except US, here's a string that might come to help.
Let's take the example of another tennis tournaments related query. We know that the string below may look long and may be overwhelming, yet, what we are looking for here are the mentions that contain the names of the big tennis tournaments (written in different variations) and the winner for the year 2021 : Wimbledon + US Open + Australian Open + Roland Garros + winner + 2021. The string might look complex, yet, the results will be as straightforward and on point as they can be.
With Boolean search, you can create extremely targeted, powerful queries. As long as the operators are used correctly, your expressions can be as long and detailed as you need, the more precise the logic, the more accurate your mentions.