# Keyword checks

A keyword check requests a URL and looks for a keyword in the response. Use it to catch a page that answers but shows the wrong content.

:::tip[New to Uptime?]
Start with [Get started with Uptime](/docs/uptime/).
:::

## Adding a keyword check

In **Add check**, choose one of these under **Alert us when…**, then enter the URL and the **Keyword to find on the page**:

| Alert us when… | Down when |
| --- | --- |
| URL doesn't contain keyword | The keyword is missing from the response. |
| URL contains a keyword | The keyword appears in the response, for example the text of a maintenance page. |

Either way, the page must also answer with a 2xx status. Any other status is down, whether or not the keyword is there.

## How matching works

- Case doesn't matter.
- The keyword is matched against the raw response: the HTML source or the JSON text, not the rendered page. So `Add to cart` doesn't match `Add <b>to</b> cart`.

Keyword checks have the same [request settings](/docs/uptime/website/#request-settings) and [redirect, TLS, and expiration options](/docs/uptime/website/#redirects-tls-and-expiration) as website checks.