Instead of running a search every day to see if your favorite band is touring, for instance, or to see if any new rumors have been reported about the new iPhone , you can sit back while those stories get straight into your inbox. Setting up Google Alerts is easy and straightforward. Type the search phrase or words you want to keep tabs on into the Create an alert about… box at the top of the screen.
As you type, sample results will appear so you know if you need to further refine your search. Here you can choose how often your alerts appear, and whether you want to see all the results to your query, or only the most relevant. The latter option takes into account several factors, including the site it was published on, and how many times people click on it, among others. Once you create your alerts, you can go to the Google Alerts page to modify or remove it. Some trial and error might be required to find the right balance between getting overwhelmed with results and not getting any at all, but you should quickly get a feel for how specific you need to make your search terms and how often you need to receive your various Google Alerts.
With so much music to listen to these days, it can be all too easy to miss a new album or a new tour from that band you were really into a couple of years back—but Google Alerts can keep you in the loop whenever something new happens. But this extends beyond musical artists—you can check for new seasons of your favorite show on Netflix, or new books from your favorite authors, etc. It can also help you find and take advantage of other relevant keywords, especially if you start to see patterns in trending topics.
Set up alerts for your main keywords and misspelled alternatives. You can use Google Alerts to find writers and influencers who are likely to write about your industry or keywords. This can be great for outreach; similarly, you can use alerts to track these campaigns and ensure they reach their full potential.
If you want to keep an eye on particular authors, you can even put up an alert for their names online. There are lots of link-building guides but only a few of them mention Google Alerts as a source of doing link building and therefore search engine optimization. Whenever your business, product, or service is mentioned on a blog or a public question-and-answer forum like Quora, you have a valuable opportunity to create a backlink. You can start using Google Alerts as a link-building tool by setting up alerts for queries related to your product or service.
You should have alerts on for brand mentions — not only to keep an eye on your reputation but for link reclamation and other SEO tactics. If you create alerts for your content, you can see the true reach of that content across the web. You should also set up alerts for your domain name, brand name, and any other ways people might refer to your brand without linking to it. If you use Google Apps and can't access Inbox, check with your administrator. Improve your search criteria to improve your alert results.
Don't just search for keywords. Instead, refine your Alert results by:. Since I use an RSS reader and my alerts aren't time sensitive, this setup works for me. But many people will likely prefer Google Alerts sent to Inbox by Gmail and grouped in a bundle. Google Alerts serve all sorts of purposes. I've set alerts to track companies, people, products, and topics. For example, one alert notifies me of any news related to "Google Apps," while another tracks "cloud computing.
I have an alert notify me of new Twitter apps. And I've known human resource professionals and recruiters who set alerts for the names of job candidates.
The bottom line: Set a Google Alert and receive it in Inbox, and you'll never miss news you should know. Delivered Fridays. What's your experience with Google Alerts to Inbox by Gmail bundles been?
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