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Keyword Matching - Complete Guide

This guide explains exactly how keyword matching works in Reddit Mentions, so you know what to expect when setting up your keywords.

Written By Kurt

Last updated Over 1 year ago


Keywords can be added in the Tracking section of RedditMentions, as seen below

RedditMentions uses exact phrase matching with word boundaries.

✅ It WILL match when your keyword appears as a complete word or phrase
❌ It will NOT match when your keyword appears as part of another word


RedditMentions uses advanced regex patterns with word boundaries to prevent false positives while maintaining accuracy:

  • Word Boundary Matching: Uses \b regex boundaries for standard keywords

  • Smart Punctuation Handling: Handles common possessives, punctuation, and special characters

  • Case Insensitive: "CEO" matches "ceo", "Ceo", etc.

  • No Substring Matching: Prevents false positives like "CEO" matching "faceoff"

Best Practices For Setting Up Keywords

1. Use Specific Phrases

Instead of: AI
Use: artificial intelligence, machine learning, ChatGPT

Why: Specific phrases reduce noise and give you more relevant matches.

2. Add Common Variations

For a brand like "McDonald's", consider adding:

  • McDonald's

  • McDonalds

  • Maccas (slang variations)

3. Include Possessive Forms

Don't worry about possessives - they're automatically handled:

  • Keyword: Apple

  • Matches: "Apple", "Apple's", "Apple."

4. Consider Punctuation Variations

For compound terms, you might want both:

  • real-time

  • real time

Common Questions With Examples


NO - All matching is case insensitive.

The keyword Liverpool will match:

  • ✅ "liverpool"

  • ✅ "LIVERPOOL"

  • ✅ "Liverpool"

  • ✅ "LiVeRpOoL"


YES - We handle common punctuation.

The keyword Liverpool will match:

  • ✅ "Liverpool's victory"

  • ✅ "Liverpool!"

  • ✅ "Liverpool."

  • ✅ "Liverpool?"

  • ✅ "(Liverpool wins)"

YES - We support programming languages and technical terms.

These keywords work perfectly:

  • ✅ C++ matches "C++ programming"

  • ✅ C# matches "C# development"

  • ✅ .NET matches ".NET framework"

  • ✅ real-time matches "real-time system"


NO - You need separate keywords for different variations.

If you set up the keyword haiku, the robot (with comma), it will ONLY match:

  • ✅ "I love haiku, the robot"

  • ✅ "Haiku, the robot is amazing"

  • ❌ "I love haiku the robot" (missing comma)

If you set up the keyword haiku the robot (without comma), it will ONLY match:

  • ✅ "I love haiku the robot"

  • ✅ "Haiku the robot is amazing"

  • ❌ "I love haiku, the robot" (has comma)

Recommendation: Add both variations as separate keywords if you want to catch both.


When monitoring a subreddit, we check:

  • Post Title: The main headline

  • Post Content: The body text (for text posts)

  • Comment Text: The full comment body

Example

For this Reddit post:

Title: "Liverpool's victory was incredible!" Content: "The team played amazing football tonight. Arne Slot must be thrilled."

  • Keyword Liverpool ✅ matches (in title)

  • Keyword Slot ✅ matches (in content)

  • Keyword football ✅ matches (in content)

  • Keyword soccer ❌ doesn't match (not present)


NO

Our word boundary matching prevents false positives:

  • ✅ "The CEO announced..."

  • ✅ "CEO's decision..."

  • ✅ "Meet the CEO."

  • ❌ "faceoff" (CEO is buried inside)

  • ❌ "archaeological" (CEO is buried inside)

Troubleshooting Common Issues

  1. Check for exact spelling: colour vs color

  2. Check for punctuation: real-time vs real time

  3. Add variations: Include common misspellings or alternate forms

  1. Be more specific: Instead of apple, use Apple Inc or iPhone

  2. Add context: Instead of bank, use investment bank or World Bank

  3. Review your keyword list: Remove overly broad terms

  1. Check for variations: McDonald's vs McDonalds

  2. Include common nicknames: Maccas for McDonald's

  3. Add possessive forms: Usually handled automatically, but if you have spare keywords in your plan test out using them



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Reach each out to me at hello@redditmentions.com any time.

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