A Glossary of Key Terms in Keap Administration & User Management

For HR and recruiting professionals leveraging Keap, understanding the platform’s administrative and user management features is crucial for optimizing workflows, safeguarding data, and ensuring seamless team collaboration. This glossary demystifies key terminology, providing the clarity needed to administer your Keap application effectively and harness its full potential for talent acquisition and management. Mastering these concepts will empower you to streamline operations, enhance data integrity, and ensure your team uses Keap efficiently to drive recruiting success.

Keap CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Keap CRM is an integrated sales and marketing automation platform designed for small businesses. While often associated with sales, its robust capabilities extend significantly into HR and recruiting. For recruiting professionals, Keap acts as a powerful applicant tracking system (ATS) or a vital component of one, allowing for comprehensive contact management, candidate communication, lead scoring, and automated follow-ups. Administrators manage user access, data integrity, and system integrations, ensuring the platform supports the entire candidate lifecycle from initial contact to onboarding. Effective Keap administration is key to transforming manual HR processes into scalable, automated workflows that save valuable time and reduce administrative burden.

User Role & Permission Level

In Keap, a User Role or Permission Level defines what a user can see, access, and modify within the application. These roles are fundamental for maintaining data security, operational efficiency, and compliance. Administrators can assign specific roles (e.g., Administrator, Standard User, Reporting User) to individual team members, granting them appropriate access to features like contact records, campaigns, reports, or billing information. For recruiting teams, meticulously configured permission levels ensure that recruiters only access relevant candidate data and campaign tools, while HR managers might have broader oversight, preventing unauthorized data alteration and ensuring adherence to privacy policies. Proper management of user roles is a cornerstone of effective Keap administration, crucial for preventing errors and protecting sensitive information.

Application Admin

The Application Admin in Keap holds the highest level of access and control over the entire Keap account. This role is responsible for the foundational setup, configuration, and ongoing maintenance of the platform. Key responsibilities include managing user licenses, setting up integrations, customizing system-wide settings, overseeing data imports/exports, managing billing information, and ensuring data backup strategies are in place. For HR and recruiting, the Application Admin ensures the Keap environment is tailored to support complex hiring processes, compliance requirements, and data security standards. They are critical for troubleshooting system-level issues, implementing new features, and scaling the platform to meet evolving organizational needs, essentially acting as the architect of the entire Keap ecosystem.

Campaign Builder

The Campaign Builder is Keap’s drag-and-drop visual interface used to create automated marketing and sales sequences, which are highly adaptable for recruiting. Administrators and users can design multi-step campaigns that trigger based on specific actions, such as a candidate submitting an application, attending a virtual job fair, or interacting with a recruitment email. Components include emails, SMS messages, tasks, and internal notifications, all linked by decision diamonds and goals. In recruiting, the Campaign Builder automates candidate communication, interview scheduling reminders, post-interview feedback requests, and onboarding sequences. Effective use and administration of the Campaign Builder ensure consistent, timely, and personalized candidate experiences, significantly reducing manual follow-up work for recruiting teams.

Tagging Strategy

A Tagging Strategy involves creating and systematically applying descriptive labels (tags) to contacts in Keap, which are essential for segmentation, automation, and reporting. Administrators play a crucial role in establishing a clear, consistent tagging convention to prevent “tag bloat” and ensure data integrity. For HR and recruiting, tags can identify candidate stages (e.g., “Applicant – New,” “Interviewed – Stage 1,” “Offer Extended”), skill sets (“Java Developer,” “Marketing Specialist”), or recruitment sources (“LinkedIn,” “Referral”). These tags act as powerful triggers for automation campaigns, enable targeted communication, and facilitate reporting on recruitment pipeline efficiency. A well-executed tagging strategy simplifies data retrieval and ensures that automation workflows are precise and effective, directly impacting the efficiency of talent acquisition.

Custom Fields

Custom Fields in Keap allow administrators to extend the standard contact record to store specific, non-standard information relevant to their business operations. These fields are vital for capturing detailed data that isn’t covered by Keap’s default fields, such as “Desired Salary,” “Visa Sponsorship Required,” “Start Date Availability,” or “Previous Employer.” For HR and recruiting, custom fields ensure that all pertinent candidate information is housed within Keap, creating a true “single source of truth.” Administrators design and implement these fields, choosing data types like text, numbers, dates, or drop-down menus. Properly configured custom fields are critical for comprehensive data tracking, enabling more targeted searches, better segmentation for outreach, and robust reporting on key recruitment metrics.

Automation (in Keap)

Automation in Keap refers to the system’s ability to perform actions automatically based on predefined triggers and conditions, without manual intervention. This includes sending emails, updating contact records, assigning tasks, or moving contacts between stages in a campaign. For HR and recruiting professionals, Keap’s automation capabilities are transformative. Examples include automatically sending an acknowledgment email upon application submission, scheduling an initial phone screen when a candidate reaches a certain lead score, or triggering a series of onboarding emails once an offer is accepted. Administrators design, implement, and monitor these automations, ensuring they align with recruiting workflows and business objectives. Effective automation significantly reduces administrative burden, improves candidate experience through timely communication, and allows recruiting teams to focus on high-value interactions.

Sequence

In Keap, a “Sequence” is a legacy term for a series of automated actions (emails, tasks, notes) that fire in a specific order and at set intervals, typically tied to a specific goal or event. While the newer “Campaign Builder” offers more flexibility and visual mapping, Sequences are still actively used and managed within Keap. For recruiting professionals, Sequences can be used to nurture candidates over time, deliver drip content related to company culture, or manage post-interview follow-ups. Administrators configure and manage Sequences, ensuring their content is current and their timing aligns with the desired candidate journey. Understanding how Sequences function, particularly when integrating with newer campaign elements, is important for maintaining comprehensive and consistent communication strategies within Keap.

Lead Scoring

Lead Scoring in Keap is a methodology for ranking contacts (or candidates, in an HR context) based on their engagement, demographic information, and fit with predefined criteria. Administrators establish a scoring system by assigning points for various actions (e.g., opening an email, clicking a link, visiting a career page) and demographic attributes (e.g., specific skills, industry experience). For recruiting, lead scoring helps prioritize candidates by identifying those most engaged or best qualified for a role. A high score can automatically trigger an internal notification to a recruiter, move a candidate to the “qualified” stage, or initiate a personalized outreach campaign. Proper administration of lead scoring ensures recruiters focus their efforts on the most promising talent, significantly improving recruitment efficiency and reducing time-to-hire.

Webforms

Webforms in Keap are customizable online forms used to capture information from external sources, typically embedded on a website or shared via a direct link. For HR and recruiting, webforms are indispensable for collecting candidate applications, event registrations (like career fairs), or interest forms for future opportunities. Administrators design these forms, configuring fields to collect necessary data such as contact details, resume uploads, and answers to screening questions. They also set up the automated actions that occur upon submission, such as applying tags, triggering automation campaigns, or sending internal notifications to the recruiting team. Well-designed webforms simplify data collection, ensure data accuracy, and kickstart automated candidate engagement processes, forming a critical entry point for talent into the Keap system.

API Integration

API (Application Programming Interface) Integration refers to the ability to connect Keap with other software applications, allowing them to communicate and exchange data seamlessly. For HR and recruiting, API integrations are powerful tools for creating a unified ecosystem, linking Keap with external ATS platforms, HRIS systems, background check services, video interviewing tools, or specialized assessment platforms. Administrators manage API keys and configurations, ensuring secure and efficient data flow between systems. This capability is vital for automating complex workflows, such as pushing candidate data from Keap to an HRIS upon hiring, or pulling applicant data from a job board into Keap. Proper API administration extends Keap’s functionality, eliminates manual data entry, and ensures a cohesive tech stack for talent management.

Data Import/Export

Data Import/Export functions in Keap allow administrators to bring large sets of contact and company information into the system or extract data for external use. Data import is crucial for migrating existing candidate databases, adding new leads from external sources, or updating multiple records simultaneously. Export is essential for reporting, data backup, or transferring information to other systems. For HR and recruiting, administrators frequently use these functions to onboard new candidate lists, update candidate statuses in bulk, or pull detailed reports on recruitment pipelines. Meticulous execution of data import/export is paramount for data integrity, preventing duplication, and ensuring all information is current and accurate, which is critical for compliance and effective decision-making.

User License

A User License in Keap grants an individual access to the Keap application, determining their ability to log in and interact with the platform. Administrators are responsible for purchasing, assigning, and revoking user licenses based on team growth, changes in roles, or employee departures. Each license typically corresponds to a specific user seat, and managing them efficiently is a key aspect of cost control and access management. For recruiting teams, ensuring that every recruiter and HR professional has an active license with appropriate permissions is vital for maintaining productivity and system security. Effective administration of user licenses ensures that only authorized personnel have access to sensitive candidate data and the tools necessary for their roles.

Billing Admin

The Billing Admin is a specific role within Keap (often held by the Application Admin or a finance department member) responsible for managing the Keap subscription, payment methods, invoices, and any add-on services. This role ensures the continuity of the Keap service by overseeing financial aspects. For HR and recruiting, while not directly involved in daily candidate management, the Billing Admin’s role is foundational. They ensure the platform remains active and that sufficient user licenses are available, allowing recruiting operations to proceed without interruption. Any changes to subscription tiers, additional user seats, or integrated services (like increased email sending limits) are managed by the Billing Admin, making them indirectly critical to the operational support of talent acquisition initiatives.

Data Management & Cleanup

Data Management & Cleanup refers to the ongoing process of maintaining the accuracy, consistency, and relevance of information within Keap. This includes identifying and merging duplicate contacts, removing outdated or irrelevant records, standardizing data formats, and ensuring tags and custom fields are used correctly. For HR and recruiting, robust data management is vital for accurate reporting, efficient automation, and compliance with data privacy regulations. Administrators regularly perform cleanup tasks, often utilizing Keap’s built-in tools or third-party integrations, to ensure the candidate database remains a reliable “single source of truth.” Proactive data cleanup prevents errors, improves search functionality, and ensures that automated campaigns target the right individuals with correct information, enhancing the overall effectiveness of recruitment efforts.

If you would like to read more, we recommend this article: Keap CRM Data Protection & Recovery: The Essential Guide to Business Continuity