Google Alerts is certainly a useful service for Internet users, but it is an invaluable resource for businesses. It gives you the opportunity to receive notifications for keyword phrases of your choice from news, web, blogs, video and discussion groups. This allows you to stay up-to-date on any topic without having to do a search every ten seconds to make sure you’re not missing anything.

Google Alerts are useful for:

  • Monitoring a developing story
  • Keeping current on a industry or competitor
  • Learning where your company is mentioned
  • Getting the latest news/mentions on a topic or event
  • Finding links to your site (setup an alert for www.yoursite.com)
  • Discovering new websites on a certain topic

The information you need for your business is delivered to you when and how you want to receive it. You have the choice to receive notifications either via email or directly to your newsreader (RSS Feed), if you use one.

Creating a Google Alert:

1.  Go to the Google Alerts home page. google alerts

2.  The top box is where you indicate what you want to be alerted about. You can fill in your domain name, company name, keywords you want to monitor, or anything else you’d like.

3.  Select what type of alert you want.  Your choices are:

  • Everything
  • News
  • Blogs
  • Video
  • Discussions
  • Books

In most instances, you can use the default setting of “Everything.”

4.  Select how often you want to be notified.

  • As-it-happens – Receive your alert as soon as Google finds an instance of your keyword/phrase.
  • Once a day – Receive a Google alert once a day.
  • Once a week – Receive your Google alert once a week.

5.  How Many – Select how many alert results you would like to receive at a time. You have 2 choices:

  • Only the best results
  • All results

Select “all results” to get a comprehensive list of notices. Alerts with “only the best results” selected deliver far fewer mentions your keyword/phrase. If you are using Google Alerts for checking backlinks or reputation monitoring, “all results” is the better selection.

6.  The last box to complete before submitting your alert is for the email address or RSS Reader you would like your alerts sent to. Enter your email address in the box provided. It does not have to be a Gmail email address.

7.  Check over your selections and click the “Create Alert” button at the bottom of the form.

You will now start receiving Google Alerts in your email or directly to your newsreader. You can add more alerts or revise your existing alerts at any time by visiting www.google.com/alerts and clicking “Manage Your Alerts.”

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About IGM Creative Group 

IGM Creative Group provides advertising solutions, marketing strategy and web development for Fortune 500, mid-market and small businesses.
166 Main Street, Suite 202, Lincoln Park, NJ, 07035.
Contact by phone at 973.709.1126 

Send an email to  creativeteam@igmcreativegroup.com
Visit our website at www.igmcreativegroup.com