Leveraging and Optimizing Search in SharePoint 2010 : Keywords and Best Bets

Keywords are special words or expressions to be marked as more relevant and displayed more prominently in the search results. The properties of keywords in SharePoint 2010 are as follows:

• Keyword Phrase

• Synonyms

• Best Bets

• Keyword Definition

• Contact

• Publishing Date

FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint also gives the capability of Visual Best Bets, Document Promotions, and Demotions to Keywords. Moreover, user contexts can be assigned to the keywords.

Keywords and all their properties can be customized at the site collection level, by following these steps:

1.	Go to the Site Settings of your site, and choose the action Search Keywords from the group Site Collection Administration.
2.	Here you can find the list of the existing keywords and can edit them or create a new one. Click the link Add Keyword.
3.	Provide the Keyword Phrase; for example, SharePoint.
4.	Enter the synonyms separated by semicolons; for example, SPS; SPF; MOSS; WSS.
5.	Add Best Bets by clicking Add Best Bet, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Defining Best Bets for keywords.
6.	Providing a keyword definition is optional but can be useful for further reference.
7.	The contact person will be informed when the keyword is past its review date.
8.	As Publishing Date, there can be three values provided: Start and End dates to set the availability of the keyword (for example, because of a marketing campaign). The Review date defines the deadline of the keyword’s review by the contact person.
9.	Click OK and save your changes. Your keyword is ready to be used and presented in the search results, such as what is shown in Figure 2. Figure 2. Viewing Best Bets in the search results.