How to Write a Good Query

What are Boolean operators? 

Boolean operators are simple words or symbols that in this case give a computer some criteria to use when searching. Words such as AND, NOT, and OR are all Boolean operators. You might be familiar with Boolean logic from your high school math class. A common example is the Venn diagram.

Let's take a look at the most important Boolean operators for writing queries. 

If you have a brand name or phrase you want to track that consists of two or more words, the quotation marks operator comes in handy. Use quotation marks to group them together and indicate that you want the query to search for that exact phrase only.

“mercedes benz” 

You can use the OR operator to list multiple words that you want the query to search for. For example, if you want to search for different products or brand names, including different misspellings, you can use the OR operator to list them in one search string.

holiday OR vacation

The AND operator can add context to your query string when you're looking for something that doesn't have a unique name. A common example is the brand Apple. Without adding context, the query will look for all kinds of mentions that include "apple," many of which will have nothing to do with the brand but with the fruit. 

To avoid this, you can use the AND operator and add different keywords to make clearer what you are looking for. For Apple, the search string might look like this:

Apple AND (mac OR iphone)

The AND operator searches for the two terms anywhere in the mention but, depending on the length of the quote, this may not be relevant enough. The NEAR/x operator is the smarter version of the AND operator. It defines how close the two terms should be and the maximum number of words between them. 

For example, using NEAR/10 will return mentions that contain two terms that are near each other, with a maximum of 10 words between them.

Dominos NEAR/10 pizza 

The average sentence is 10 to 15 words long. Setting the NEAR operator between 10 and 15 can be a good starting point to get mentions that are more relevant to what you’re looking for.

The NOT operator, as its name suggests, tells the query what not to include in the search. This allows you to exclude various keywords. 

For example, you may want to see mentions about your brand, but you're not interested in online conversations around discounts:

Airpods NOT (offer OR discount) 

You can save a lot of time by using the wildcard operator (*). This is useful when you want to see different variations of a phrase without having to type each variation. 

For example, you want to look at online conversations around complaints

complain OR complaint OR complaints OR complaining 

Instead, you can use the wildcard operator to shorten your query string:

complain* 

This saves a lot of time without having to write everything out, and it keeps the query readable and simple.

Another important operator is brackets. They help structure the query string, especially as it becomes more complex. They indicate which terms should be grouped together if the query has multiple operators. Here is an example of a query string with more than one operator:

Dominos AND pizza OR takeaway

Here you have to use brackets to make it clear which terms should be grouped because you can’t have AND and OR at the same time. The above query string will not work. Since you are interested in mentions of Dominos and pizza or Dominos and takeaway, you need to put the parentheses around pizza OR takeaway:

Dominos AND (pizza OR takeaway)

There are other operators you can use to define your queries, such as location or language operators. You can be very specific about what mentions you want to find, so take a look at the other operators available to see if some might be useful to make your query string more relevant.

Quick query writing checklist 

Now you know what Boolean operators are and how to use them. Here is a quick checklist before we take a look at writing queries with Brandwatch. 

1. Define your research question(s). What do you want to answer with your query? What is your use case?
2. Add keywords. Don't forget common typos and misspellings or relevant hashtags, account handles, websites, and products.
3. Add context. Use Boolean operators such as OR and NEAR/x to add context to your keywords.
4. Add exclusions. Exclude keywords, hashtags, sites, etc, that are not relevant to your search
5. Test and repeat. Test your query for relevance and adjust your search string. This might include setting the NEAR/x operator to a lower number or adding more exclusions.

The most common query-writing errors 

Writing queries takes practice, but you will learn from your mistakes. And you will make them, as we all do. Here are some of the most common mistakes to keep in mind: 

• Write operators incorrectly: Operators must be written exactly, including the correct capitalization. Watch out for operators written in lowercase, with too much space, or that have typos.
• Forget to add quotation marks: Without the quotes, the system doesn't know that these words should be grouped together, and the query string as a whole won't work as intended.
• Missing brackets or not closing them: Missing brackets can be an easy mistake to make, especially if you need to use multiple brackets in a query. Without the correct brackets, the system will be confused about what to look for and won't work.

Writing a query in Brandwatch Consumer Research 

There are two ways to create a query in Brandwatch Consumer Research. You can choose to use the Query Wizard, which will guide you step-by-step through the query creation process, or you can choose to use the Query Editor. Here you can choose between blank, where you can write the query from scratch, or use a brand query template. With the brand query template, all you have to do is fill in some brand details and the query is ready to go.

• Query Wizard: Answer questions on what you are looking for and the Query Wizard does the rest. You can choose between a Brand Query or a Campaign Query. It’s great for beginners to get familiar with setting up a query, or if you’re looking for inspiration to improve your query writing.
• Query Editor – Brand Query Template: This provides you with a high-quality brand query template that can be quickly customized with your brand details. It saves time and can give you inspiration for future queries.
• Query Editor – Blank Query: Clicking on the Blank Query option opens a blank query where you can write your query from scratch with the full list of operators and some query writing tips. It will also highlight any mistakes you make in your search string, such as forgetting brackets.