Using labels on your help center articles

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">Labels are a single word or a multiple-word phrase you can add to a specific article in your help center. You can use labels to influence articlesearch relevanceor tocreate a list of related articlesbased on labels.</p>
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<p class="p">Labels are a single word or a multiple-word phrase you can add to a specific article in your help
center. You can use labels to influence article <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408894061338#h_88432433111547663753531" target="_blank">search relevance</a> or to <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408837776666" target="_blank">create a list of related articles</a> based on labels.</p>
<p class="p">You can add and remove labels on individual articles or you can change labels on multiple
articles at once.</p>
<div class="p">This article covers the following topics:<ul class="ul" id="topic_zny_ltm_n1b__ul_yvv_fy4_n1b">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_uqx_5v4_n1b">Adding and removing labels on individual articles</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_jq3_lns_y2b">Changing article labels in bulk on multiple articles</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_ytf_5v4_n1b">Understanding why to use labels</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_i4p_vv4_n1b">Best practices for adding labels</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_slr_sv4_n1b">Using the help center API to filter articles by labels</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_uqx_5v4_n1b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Adding and removing labels on individual articles</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Labels are a single word or a multiple-word phrase you can add to an article in your help
center. You can add articles labels for multiple purposes, including influencing search and
bot results or creating article lists (see <a class="xref" href="#topic_ytf_5v4_n1b">Understanding why to use labels</a>).</p>
<p class="p">You can add and remove labels on individual articles or you can <a class="xref" href="#topic_jq3_lns_y2b">change labels in bulk for multiple articles</a>
at once. </p>
<div class="p">
<strong class="ph b">To add or remove labels to an article</strong><ol class="ol" id="topic_uqx_5v4_n1b__ol_efk_pw4_n1b">
<li class="li">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9041943683354#topic_dzz_4wn_s2c" target="_blank">help center</a> or <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9041943683354#topic_b5q_nwn_s2c" target="_blank">Knowledge admin</a>, navigate to the article where
you want to change labels, then click <strong class="ph b">Edit article</strong> in the top menu bar.</li>
<li class="li">If the <strong class="ph b">Article settings</strong> panel is not displayed in the sidebar, click the
<strong class="ph b">Article settings</strong> icon (<img class="image" id="topic_uqx_5v4_n1b__image_ptq_c4n_xbc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/guide-art-settings-icon.png" width="25">) to expand the panel.<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_uqx_5v4_n1b__image_gf4_f4n_xbc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/guide-art-settings-panel.png" width="350"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">Placement</strong> card to expand the Placement panel, then scroll down to the
Labels section.</li>
<li class="li">In the <strong class="ph b">Labels</strong> field, start typing the label you want to add, then select <strong class="ph b">Add
as new label </strong> or select the matching label, if it exists. <p class="p">Article labels are
not case-sensitive. However, be aware that if you filter on labels when searching for
articles (for example in the Manage articles view), the filter is case sensitive. See
<a class="xref" href="#topic_i4p_vv4_n1b">Best practices for adding
labels</a>, below.</p>
<p class="p">You can add a maximum of 50 labels. You might have to
scroll down to see labels. See <a class="xref" href="#topic_i4p_vv4_n1b">Best practices for adding labels</a>.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_uqx_5v4_n1b__image_yzn_tmf_p1b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/hc_article_labels.png"></p>
<p class="p">Labels live on the
default language article and not on translations of the article. If you have
translations, you can add labels in multiple languages to the default
article.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Add multiple labels as needed.</li>
<li class="li">If you need to remove a label, click the x beside the label name.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p class="p">You must manage labels on each individual article or <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/rest_api/docs/help_center/article_labels" target="_blank">using the API</a>. There is no global management for
article labels. </p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_jq3_lns_y2b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Changing article labels in bulk on multiple articles</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You can add or remove labels on multiple articles at once.</p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9041943683354#topic_b5q_nwn_s2c" target="_blank">Knowledge admin</a>, click
<strong class="ph b">Content</strong> (<img class="image" id="topic_jq3_lns_y2b__image_ant_xcx_s2c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/guide_icon_manage_articles.png">) in the sidebar.</span></li>
<li class="li">Find the articles you want to update by browsing, searching, or <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408837776666" target="_blank">using a new or existing articles list.</a>
</li>
<li class="li">Select one or more articles to change labels.<p class="p">You can select a maximum of 30
articles at a time.</p>
<p class="p"><img alt="Articles bulk action change labels" class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_jq3_lns_y2b__image_igb_wdz_fnb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/article_bulk_actions.png" width="550"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">Article settings</strong> menu at the bottom, then select <strong class="ph b">Change
labels</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Do any of the following:<ul class="ul" id="topic_jq3_lns_y2b__ul_lyn_dps_y2b">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Add a new label:</strong> Enter the label, then click <strong class="ph b">Add as a new
label</strong>.<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_jq3_lns_y2b__image_phn_xbz_cfb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/bulk_labels_add_new.png" width="400"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Add an existing label:</strong> Search or browse to find the labels you want to add,
then select any empty checkbox or any checkbox with a minus.<p class="p">The minus sign
(<img class="image" id="topic_jq3_lns_y2b__image_wms_ddz_cfb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/bulk_labels_minus.png">) indicates that the label appears on some but not all
of the selected articles. When you select it, it changes to a checkmark (<img class="image" id="topic_jq3_lns_y2b__image_l34_cfz_cfb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/bulk_labels_checkmark.png">), indicating that it will be added to any selected
article that doesn't already have that label. </p>
<p class="p">You can select multiple
labels to add to the selected articles.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_jq3_lns_y2b__image_sr4_ccz_cfb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/bulk_labels_select_existing.png" width="150"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Remove an existing label:</strong> Search or browse to find the labels you want to
remove, then deselect one or more labels.<p class="p">The checkmark (<img class="image" id="topic_jq3_lns_y2b__image_wgq_t2z_cfb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/bulk_labels_checkmark.png">) indicates that the label appears on all of the
selected articles. The minus sign (<img class="image" id="topic_jq3_lns_y2b__image_wry_z5s_mgb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/bulk_labels_minus.png">) indicates that the label appears on some but not all
of the selected articles. When you select a checkbox with a minus sign, it changes
to a checkmark.; click it again to deselect the checkbox.</p>
<p class="p"> You can select
multiple labels to add to the selected articles.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_jq3_lns_y2b__image_lmn_2cz_cfb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/bulk_labels_remove.png" width="150"></p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Change</strong>.<p class="p">The label changes are applied to the selected
articles.</p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ytf_5v4_n1b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Understanding why to use labels</h2>
<div class="body">
<div class="p">Labels have the following uses and impacts:<ul class="ul" id="topic_ytf_5v4_n1b__ul_hdr_gw4_n1b">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Influence article search relevance</strong><p class="p">Adding labels can make your articles more
search friendly. They are not designed to be used for fine-grained control of ranking.
For example, if I have two articles about making waffles, one with the word
"temperature" in the body of the article, one with the label "temperature", the
labeled article will be ranked higher if a user searches for the word
"temperature".</p>
<p class="p">Labels are indexed for search with a bit less weight than the
article title, but multiple labels with similar words can outweigh the title and body
of the article. Use labels carefully as you can significantly impact the relevance of
your search results and usefulness. If you are considering using labels to impact
search relevance, consider that efforts to do so could end up with inferior ranking
performance for your users. The best way to have your article perform well in search
is to create a short and focused article, where the title and body include keywords
and clearly connect to each other. </p>
<p class="p">To learn more about search, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408894061338-About-Help-Center-end-user-search" target="_blank">How end-user search works in your help
center</a>.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b"> Influence article recommendations</strong>
<p class="p">Labels can influence the results for recommended articles. You can define a whitelist
of articles that are allowed to be used when looking for relevant matching results.
You are able to add up to ten labels that serve as an OR filter, allowing you to
expand the whitelist to any articles containing any of the defined labels. Keep in
mind that if you have an advanced AI agent, that functionality might override the
influence of labels on help center articles.</p>
<p class="p">To learn more, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408883075098" target="_blank">Best practices for using labels to optimize your article
recommendations</a>.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Create article lists </strong><p class="p">Article lists enable you to get an overview of all your
published and unpublished knowledge base content, and then refine that view by using
search and applying filters to build article lists. For example, you can find articles
that have a specific article label, such as out-of-date.</p>
<p class="p">To learn more about
article lists, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408837776666" target="_blank">Using article lists for different views of your
knowledge base content</a>.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="topic_i4p_vv4_n1b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Best practices for adding labels</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Labels can help boost the search relevance of an article. However, you should use labels
carefully and sparingly. It's more important to make sure the article title and body contain
the relevant keywords.</p>
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_i4p_vv4_n1b__ul_fm2_5w4_n1b">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Use single word labels where possible, instead of multi-word phrases</strong><p class="p">It is
possible to add labels as single words or as multiple words or phrases. In general,
it's more efficient to use single word labels. If you add a multi-word label, the
search engine breaks it into individual words to perform the search. For example, if
you have a label of "late delivery," it gets broken down into "late" and "delivery"
for search.</p>
<p class="p">Avoid using long phrases as labels to boost an article's ranking
with respect to a query. For example, "Can I return something I ordered online to my
local store." Instead, you should modify the article's title or content to make it
literally relevant to the query. </p>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Do not include variations of the same word, including different tenses or plural
forms</strong><p class="p">You do not need to include multiple labels for variations of a word. For
example you do not need a label for "return" and "returns" or "update" and
"updated."<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408894061338#01H8CT7K00NCBBYKZX0EVR1SKX" target="_blank"> Fuzzy search</a> allows different forms of the
same word to match. In particular, the singular and plural forms of a word will
generally match.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Use a limited number of labels, instead of overloading an article with labels</strong>
<p class="p">Use labels sparingly. Adding lots of labels might actually diminish any matches on
labels. This is because it is assumed that matches with a fewer number of labels beats
matches with more labels. And too many labels might outweigh the relevance of the
title and body. </p>
<p class="p">For example, if article 1 has the labels “car,” “automobile,”
and “transport” and article 2 has only the label “car,” all other things equal, if the
end-user searches for “car,” the article that has only the label “car” will rank
higher. That is because, as a general principle, an article that is about one specific
thing is more relevant than an article about many things, when a user is looking for
that one specific thing.</p>
<p class="p">Your best bet is to look at the top ranked search
queries and make sure that they exist in either (but not both) the title or the
labels. You don't give content an extra boost if you match a term across the title,
body, labels, and comments.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Avoid using variations of the same word with different capitalization</strong><p class="p">In
general, labels are case insensitive. This means that you can create the labels
"automobile" and "AUTOmobile" and although they will exist as two separate labels,
users will be able to do a text search on "automobile" and receive results for
articles with either label attached. This is because help center search normalizes the
label capitalization prior to searching and delivering results. However, since filters
require an exact match, using a label filter in the Manage articles view to locate
articles with the "automobile" label will not display articles with the "AUTOmobile"
label. Therefore, it is good practice to keep the capitalization of your labels
consistent so that users can easily find and filter on the label they need.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested1" id="topic_slr_sv4_n1b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title6">Using the help center API to filter articles by labels</h2>
<div class="body">
<div class="p">There are two ways you can filter articles by labels using the <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/rest_api/docs/help_center/article_labels" target="_blank">Help center API</a>: <ul class="ul" id="topic_slr_sv4_n1b__ul_pk3_vy4_n1b">
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/rest_api/docs/help_center/articles#label-names" target="_blank">Article</a>:
/api/v2/help_center/en-us/articles.json?label_names=foo​</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/help_center/help-center-api/articles/#label-names" target="_blank">Search</a>:
/api/v2/help_center/en-us/articles/search.json?label_names=foo</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p">These two endpoints behave differently and will return different article results. They are
programmatically different and query different data sources for their results. The Articles
endpoint queries the Help Center database, whereas the Search endpoint uses native Help
Center search. As a result, relevancy matching determines which articles are returned by the label
query for the Search endpoint. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408894061338-About-Help-Center-end-user-search" target="_blank">About Help Center end user search</a> for more
information about how native Help Center search works.</p>
</div>
</div>
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