Google Alerts is a free service from Google. Its purpose is to continuously inform you when Google indexes a webpage on the internet that contains a keyword you have previously defined in your Alert configuration.
It can sometimes take Google one to three days to index new web pages. But using Google Alerts ensures that you don’t miss any results for your keyword, even if they don’t appear on the first few pages of Google. This alert system notifies you when Google indexes a new webpage and contains a keyword that you specify in advance.
For many marketers, using Google Alerts is almost as good as getting real-time updates on important topics from across the web. If you often search for current and relevant keywords, you can use this tool and achieve marketing goals more efficiently.
Google Alerts – What Can You Do with It?
You can use Google Alerts to find news about your top customers and then congratulate and mention them on social media. Use the alerts to find out what people are saying (maybe complimenting you or your services) to use on social media. It helps you uncover what your competitors are doing and what techniques they’re using, for instance.
Google Alerts has many other potential uses for marketers. Here are a few ways you could use this tool.
1. Keep Track of Important Name Mentions
You may want to keep track of who is talking about you or your company. You can use this powerful tool to set up alerts for the names you want to track. Google informs you promptly about all mentions. This is a great way to keep track of your standing online.
2. Follow Your Brand
Positive or negative, set up alerts with Google Alerts that notify you when people talk about your business online.
3. Keep an Eye on Your Competitors
Always have an overview of new developments from your closest competitors to give your business an edge.
4. Improve Your Marketing Results
Google Alerts helps you strengthen your own keyword strategy by showing you how your competitors use your keywords. This can help you to find and use other relevant keywords.
5. Create Links
Whenever your company, product, or service is mentioned in a blog or a public question-and-answer forum, you have a priceless opportunity to create a backlink with Google Alerts. You can also use it as a link-building tool by setting up alerts for inquiries about your product or service.
For example, if your company sells fountain pens, you should follow the phrases “where to buy fountain pens” and “best fountain pens.”
Steps to Set up Google Alerts
Setting up Google Alerts is quick and easy, even if you’re a novice marketer or business owner.
- Sign up. Visit google.com/alerts and verify that you are signed into the Google account you wish to use.
- Select the best keywords. Choosing your keywords is critical, and uniqueness is key. Brand names like Nike or Amazon won’t pull up anything useful, so make sure your keywords are distinctive. In this way, your brand will cut through all the search result noise.
- Choose the frequency in which you’re notified. You’ll want to receive notification in real-time, as developments are happening.
- Carefully choose your sources. Google Alerts doesn’t cover social media, but you can track news, blogs, videos, and even books.
- Select your language and your region here. You may find this helpful if your company is only present in specific markets or expanding into new industries.
- Google wants to know if the alerts should notify you of every mention of your keywords or just the most important ones?
- Choose an email address for delivery. After all of this, you can return to the set up page if you need to manage or update your alerts. You can delete an alarm or change its settings at any time.
Of course, if none of this sounds like something you want to dive into, the expert crew NuMedia Marketing is standing by, ready to use Google Alerts for you and more. Visit our website or call us at 317-563-7235 today.
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