Google Email Alerts – Why & How I Use Them….

In one of my earlier posts, I had mentioned how I use Gmail as email and content management tool. I love my Gmail account – and almost everything I need for my business is stored in here. One other thing I use almost on a daily basis is Google Alerts.

I have alerts set up for all the keywords I am targeting at any given time – these alerts get forwarded to my Gmail account.

Let me now dive into what these alerts are and how they can help you and how I organize them…

What Are Google Alerts

Assume you are targeting a keyword for good rankings in search engines – Google Alert will alert you of every new mention of this keyword on the internet. You set up your alerts here – http://www.google.com/alerts.

Setting up alerts is quite straightforward. Under ‘Search terms’ enter the keyword you are targeting. Under ‘Type’ you have to select what type of mentions you want to be alerted for. If you are only after videos then select that, if you are only after blogs then select that. I usually select ‘Comprehensive’ because I prefer to be alerted of every mention of the keyword I am targeting.

Under ‘How often’, I usually opt for ‘once a day’. I find ‘as-it-happens’ a bit too much and disruptive. Set up your ‘Email length’ next and finally select where you want the alerts to be delivered – I get them delivered to my gmail account.

Filters In Gmail

If you don’t set up filters in your gmail account then your inbox will be over flowing with these google alerts. Set up labels and filters in your gmail account, so that the alerts get delivered into a different folder (and skip your inbox). This way they are not in your face distracting you. You can look at them in your own time.

Why Do I Use Google Alerts

Mainly to comment on my keyword related articles/blogs/videos – When commenting, I add a link back to my keyword related post. Google alerts are excellent for link building. And it should be a part of every Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plan.

There is one keyword though that I have an alert for but I am not interested in any link building for this – and this keyword is my name. Yes, I have an alert set up for ‘Sandy Naidu’. Again, anyone (not just internet marketers) interested in tracking if they are being mentioned on the internet, should set up an alert for their name.

By the same logic, you might also want to set up an alert for your company name. In my case, my company name is irrelevant – most people don’t even know what my company name is and I use this name only for billing.

If you want to keep track of your competitors, then you can set up alerts for their names/company names as well – especially if you are running a physical product company, keeping track of what your competitor is doing might be very essential for you.

Make sure google alerts is a part of your SEO efforts. Every morning I spend around half an hour to a hour going through my alerts and commenting on the various articles.

Do you use Google Alerts – do you find it useful ?

Best,