A thesaurus, also known as a dictionary of related ideas, is a list of words with similar meanings within a specific field of knowledge.

By definition, a dictionary of related ideas is restricted. It should not be seen simply as a list of synonyms, since the purpose of a thesaurus is precisely to show the minimal differences between words and help the writer choose the exact word. Thesauri do not include definitions, at least not very detailed ones, about vocabulary, since that task is the responsibility of dictionaries.

This type of dictionary is a documentary language characterized by the specificity and complexity inherent in the relationships between the terms that communicate specialized knowledge.

Ontology is a model for representing knowledge that, like a thesaurus, is used to represent and retrieve information through structures ontology , the means of action is computer-based).1

What is a thesaurus and what is its purpose?

“A thesaurus is a structured list of associated terms used by information analysts and indexers to describe a document with the desired specificity at an entry level, and to allow researchers to retrieve the information they are looking for” – CAVALCANTI, 1978. ²

The use of thesauri in SEO.

Using this type of informational artifact as the starting point for a website is one of the most correct actions a SEO description characteristic , this artifact serves as a starting point for retrieving the correct information at the end of the project, whether through an search (site search), an external search tool ( Google ), or through navigation, thanks to the information architecture applied in the project.

Sources:

• ¹ Librarian's Portal
• ² Thesaur: A Tool for Representing Knowledge in Information Retrieval Systems