---
title: "Track a keyword"
description: "Start tracking a word or phrase. Matching, classification and delivery begin on the next poll. A funded workspace tracks up to 500 keywords; each costs $5 per month, deducted daily from the balance. `matching` narrows what the term matches (required and excluded terms, excluded authors, case) before a mention is stored, so a rejected post is never billed; `context` is a sentence the classifier reads for this keyword only."
canonical: https://docs.mentio.dev/api/keywords/create-keyword
markdown: https://docs.mentio.dev/api/keywords/create-keyword.mdx
---

# Track a keyword

`POST /v1/keywords`

Start tracking a word or phrase. Matching, classification and delivery begin on the next poll. A funded workspace tracks up to 500 keywords; each costs $5 per month, deducted daily from the balance. `matching` narrows what the term matches (required and excluded terms, excluded authors, case) before a mention is stored, so a rejected post is never billed; `context` is a sentence the classifier reads for this keyword only.

## Body

- `term` (required): The word or phrase to track, matched case-insensitively as a phrase.
- `kind`: brand: your own names. competitor: theirs. topic: the space. Drives share of voice and segments.
- `platforms`: Platforms to track it on; omit or null for every platform.
- `context`: A sentence the classifier reads for this keyword only, on top of the company profile (at most 300 characters): what the term means here, what to ignore. "Arc is our browser; ignore the geometry word." Null clears it.
- `matching`: Omitted fields are untouched; an empty list clears one.

## Responses

- 201: The created keyword
- 401: Missing or invalid API key
- 402: Not enough balance for one more keyword-day (insufficient_balance), or the 500-keyword ceiling is reached (keyword_limit_reached)
- 409: A keyword with the same normalized term already exists

Full schemas: https://api.mentio.dev/v1/openapi.json. Conventions: https://docs.mentio.dev/conventions.mdx