How do I use keywords?
In this article:
- What is a keyword?
- How do I order a keyword?
- How to receive SMS?
- Delete keyword
- Use cases
- Important note on keywords
What is a keyword?
In our case, a keyword is a word, a number, or a combination of letters and numbers that you can set yourself. Most of our customers use this keyword to test our inbound gateway. A third person can send an SMS with this keyword to one of our shared inbound numbers and you will receive the SMS.
How do I order a keyword?
You can order up to three keywords in the webapp. To do this, call up the "Settings" item in the left-hand menu and then select the "Inbound SMS" tab.
Click on "Order keyword or phone number". Select "Keyword" in the pop-up window and click "Next".
Now you can enter your desired keyword. Here's a reminder: It must not be more than 50 characters long, can contain the letters a-z (no umlauts or ß) and the digits 0-9. The special characters _ and - (underscore and hyphen) are also allowed. Remember that simple, short keywords are less prone to errors.
After that, click on "Next".
If your keyword is already taken, this will now be displayed. Otherwise, check your entries and click on "Order Inbound Gateway".
On the settings page for inbound SMS you will now see your new keyword. You can choose to receive responses via HTTP API (URL), email or SMS. If you do not select any of the options, you will receive responses only in the webapp.
How to receive SMS?
If you want to receive a reply about your new keyword, the person who sends you an SMS must follow these instructions:
- The SMS must start with your keyword.
- The SMS must be sent to one of the shared inbound numbers.
For example, if your keyword is "MyKeyword", an SMS could read:
MyKeyword I would like to receive more information.
For example, the SMS could be sent to +491771783130. You can find an overview of our shared inbound numbers here.
Delete keyword
Did you order the wrong keyword or do you no longer need your keyword? Delete your keyword by clicking on the red trash can at the end of the line of the respective keyword.
The keyword will be available to other customers immediately after the deletion.
Use cases
You can use SMS reception via keywords for testing our inbound gateway.
Smaller and short-term use cases are also conceivable, in which there is no need for a conversation between receiver and sender.
Important note on keywords
For communication with customers, we strongly recommend using your own, dedicated inbound number. It is more reliable and much more serious.
We offer different dedicated numbers for your SMS reception.