Posted By Industrial Web Solutions Marketing Team on January 25, 2010

If you don’t have a Google Gmail account yet you are definitely missing out on all the great tools Google offers for free. I have found so many of these tools extremely useful that I actually purchased an Android phone (HTC Hero – great phone with excellent features that seriously compete with iPhone) in order to have integrated access to them with just a touch of my finger!

Google Alerts is a handy little tool that allows you to use your Gmail account to receive email updates of the latest relevant Google results for things like news and web activity based on your choice of query or topic.  As Google points out, “Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:

• monitoring a developing news story
• keeping current on a competitor or industry
• getting the latest on a celebrity or event
• keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams”

Set Google Alerts

You start by entering a topic you wish to monitor: for example, it may be a search term for which you have just optimized your website and you want to know how you are performing up against your competitors.  Enter the search term in the space provided. The next set of options can be customized for each separate alert request you enter.

Select the Type of result you desire (where it is showing up on the web): Comprehensive, which includes everywhere and is generally what I select, or News, Blogs, Web, Video, or Groups (online communities established by users with like interests).

Depending on how eager you are to receive the information, you can elect to receive an alert Once a Day, As It Happens, or Once a Week. Next you will select either 20 or 50 results to be included in a single email for the Email Length. Lastly, you enter your Gmail account you want results delivered to or you select Feed to have them delivered to your Google Reader or your customized iGoogle homepage if you have one.

Receive Results in Your Gmail Inbox or Feeds to Your Google Reader

Finally all you have to do is check your Gmail inbox or your Google Reader to see the results for the alerts you have set up. The results appear in the form of links that contain the information you are looking for.

Google Alerts are easy to set up and offer you a great way to follow your competitors or other topics on the web that interest you.

Categories: google, industrial marketing, online marketing, search
Tags: google alerts, monitor competitors on the web, seo website, website re-design