Which of the following strategies is recommended when conducting keyword searches?

The correct answer is A. Use nouns instead of verbs for keywords. Nouns are the best keywords because they represent concrete concepts, topics, and entities - the actual subjects databases and search engines index. Verbs (B) describe actions and are too vague or common to narrow results meaningfully. Using as few keywords as possible (C)…

CIW Internet Business Associate

Question

Options

AUse nouns instead of verbs for keywords.
BUse verbs instead of nouns for keywords.
CUse as few keywords as possible.
DInclude at least one preposition such as "the" or "an" in your list of keywords.

How the community answered

(50 responses)

A
92% (46)
B
2% (1)
C
2% (1)
D
4% (2)

Explanation

Nouns are the best keywords because they represent concrete concepts, topics, and entities - the actual subjects databases and search engines index. Verbs (B) describe actions and are too vague or common to narrow results meaningfully. Using as few keywords as possible (C) produces an overwhelming flood of irrelevant results rather than targeted ones. Prepositions like "the" and "an" (D) are stop words that search engines typically ignore entirely, adding no value.

Memory tip: Think of keywords as labels on filing cabinet drawers - they're always things (nouns), not actions (verbs). You'd label a drawer "climate change," not "changing climates."

Topics

#keyword_selection#search_strategy#information_retrieval#query_formulation

Community Discussion

Fatima Z.Jun 14, 2026

The answer is A, use nouns for keywords, and here is why that sticks in my brain forever. Think of it this way: NOUNS are the NAMES of things, and search engines are basically librarians sorting books by NAME TAGS, not by the action words written inside them. Verbs like "find" or "create" are so common they show up on every page of every document ever written, so searching with verbs is like yelling "do something!" in a crowded mall, you will get noise, not answers. Prepositions like "the" and "an" are what we call stop words, most engines throw them right in the trash before they even start indexing, so option D is a trap that will send you home empty-handed. Lock in the mnemonic NOUN = NOW YOU'VE NAILED IT and you will never flip this one on exam day.

Toby R.Jun 26, 2026

Honestly I kept second-guessing myself and almost went with C thinking fewer keywords meant more precise results, but then I remembered that search engines index content words and nouns are the ones that actually name things, actions and prepositions get filtered out as stop words anyway. A is the right call, nouns carry the meaning that indexes are built around.

Carlos M.Jun 20, 2026

Went with C first because I figured fewer keywords keeps the search broad and gives you more to work with, but that is exactly backwards. Broader searches just flood you with noise and make you dig longer, which defeats the whole point. The reason A is right is that nouns name the actual things you are looking for, so search engines can match them to indexed content, while verbs describe actions and are too vague to pin down a specific topic. D is a trap too since words like "the" and "an" are stop words that most engines ignore anyway, so adding them does nothing.

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