[Sigia-l] cross-reference/thesaraus -type question

[frank.shepard at att.net]

Hello List,

I'm working with a team that is developing a large business directory website (approx. 20 million records) and was hoping that someone here might be able to point me to some resources that would help us understand how best to implement the cross-referencing of headings. For instance, if someone does a search for "cell" they should get not only all headings with "cell" in it ("cell phones", etc) but also "mobile technology", etc. Or, likewise, searching for "lawyer" should also bring up "attorney". I think the best analogy would be something like a heading thesaurus, but I'm not a data person so I'm not sure. Anyway, does anyone know if such solutions can be bought on the market, pre-built for specific industries? Or would someone hire a IA firm to do this sort of thing?

Any help would be much appreciated. I hope this sort of question doesn't violate list etiquette.

Thanks!!!
Frank