How to Use Google Alerts to Monitor Your Company’s Online Presence

Google Alerts is one of the most resourceful online tools. As companies manage their online presence, it is important to listen to what people are saying and how they are saying it. I am referring to conversations involving you, your brand and even competitors! You want to know if other sites are linking to you, quoting you or even complaining about you. You want to know what your competition is up to and how they are performing.  

If you have a topic of interest or wish to get updates on a particular news, you can search the term in Google several times a day. Alternatively, you can set up a Google Alert which will notify you by email whenever new updates on your topic appears in the search results. This will help you monitor your business closely.

Here are 4 simple steps on how to go about using it:

1. Visit Google Alerts and Complete the Form.

At http://www.google.com/alerts, there is a simple form you can fill out to get alerts emailed to you about new results for different search terms. Start by putting in your company name, selecting “Comprehensive”, “as-it-happens” and your email.

2. Confirm Your Email.

Google will send an email to the address you used for the alert. Click on the link in the email to confirm you want the alert.

3. Repeat for More Alerts.

You can repeat this process to set up additional alerts. See below for some ideas for different alerts to set up.

4. Create a Google Account to Manage Your Alerts.

This step is optional, but recommended. By creating a Google Account, you can see all of your alerts on one screen, and can add more alerts, edit your alerts or delete them easily.

Now that you know how to set it up, here are some tips to use Google Alerts like an expert.

1. Track Your Company.

Have a Google Alert running for your company’s name so you know when new content is published about our company.

2. Track Your Products.

This is a good way to stay informed about how many bloggers are writing about your products. If you have products with different names than your company, set up alerts for them, too.

3. Track Your Executives.

Set up alerts for important people within the organization so you can keep tabs on blogs and news articles that mention them.

4. Use Phrase Search.

If your company, products, or executives have more than one word names, you should use phrase search in the alert – just put quotes around the search term and Google will only match on the phrase.

5. Use Negative Keywords.

Google Alerts will actually track new results for any search terms, including advanced terms. For instance, if your name is Bob Loblaw and you want to keep your email from getting cluttered with results that are about Arrested Development, use the search “bob loblaw -arresteddevelopment”.

So what are you waiting for? Start using Google Alerts and start tracking keywords and phrases to ensure you stay updated and not miss out on important conversations!