# Vector embeddings

> A vector embedding is a list of numbers that represents the meaning of a text, so texts with similar content end up close to each other.

- **Check ID:** EMB1
- **Area:** [Tech Stack](https://be1st.ai/glossary/fingerprint)
- **Page:** https://be1st.ai/glossary/fingerprint/vector-embeddings

## Why it matters

Vector embeddings enable semantic comparison of websites: not by keywords, but by content meaning. Two sites with different words but the same focus will have similar vectors.

## In practice

An electronics e-shop and a tech blog about gadgets will have similar embeddings, even though they use different terminology. The cosine similarity between their vectors will be high (>0.8), signaling content relatedness.

## How be1st checks it

Generation of 1024-dimensional vector embeddings from extracted text using the BGE-M3 model via OpenRouter. Vectors are stored in a pgvector database for semantic search.

This is computed in the background for every audited website. It has no tool page of its own.

## Sources

- [BGE-M3 - Multi-Lingual Multi-Granularity Embedding Model](https://huggingface.co/BAAI/bge-m3) (BAAI)

## Related terms

- [Competitor similarity](https://be1st.ai/glossary/fingerprint/competitor-similarity): Competitor similarity is how close the content of two websites is, measured by comparing their vector embeddings.
- [CMS / content management system](https://be1st.ai/glossary/fingerprint/cms-content-management-system): A CMS (content management system) is the software a website is built and edited in, such as WordPress, Drupal or Joomla.
- [E-commerce platform](https://be1st.ai/glossary/fingerprint/e-commerce-platform): An e-commerce platform is the software an online store runs on, such as Shoptet, WooCommerce, Shopify or PrestaShop.
- [JS / CSS frameworks + CDN](https://be1st.ai/glossary/fingerprint/js-css-frameworks-cdn): JavaScript and CSS frameworks are the libraries the front end of a website is built with, such as React, Vue, jQuery or Bootstrap, often loaded from a CDN.
- [Analytics & marketing](https://be1st.ai/glossary/fingerprint/analytics-marketing): Analytics and marketing tools are the scripts that measure visitors and run campaigns, such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager or the Meta Pixel.
- [Payment gateways](https://be1st.ai/glossary/fingerprint/payment-gateways): A payment gateway is the service that processes card and online payments for a store, such as Stripe, PayPal, GoPay or Comgate.