Google Alerts is a free service from Google that notifies you via email about online news and information, which Google search crawlers have found, that match the keywords and keyword phrases you select.
It will send you a summary, or an “alert,” of what it found as well as a link to the source.
Pretty cool stuff and very powerful Internet marketing research – all for free.
Say you’re a big fan of the Boston Red Sox. You might use Google Alerts to keep you informed of things on the Internet that talk about the “Boston Red Sox.”
If you want to keep up-to-date on the wedding industry you would use the keywords:
“wedding industry”
“wedding industry trends”
“marriage statistics”
“marriage trends”
Keywords/phrases in quotes tells Google Alerts to send you alerts that are inclusive of the EXACT match.
Keywords without quotes are broad searches.
So if you used:
wedding industry
… you would get alerts when Google finds something with the word “wedding” and the word “industry” in the source document.
By the way, this is exactly how search works from the main search box at GOOGLE.COM as well as at most search engines.
If you want to keep up-to-date on wedding statistics use the keywords:
“wedding industry statistics”
“wedding statistics”
wedding industry and marriage statistics
Learn what people are saying about your company:
“your company name”
Your website address (http://www.yourdomain.com)
Learn what people are saying about you:
“your name”
Learn what people are saying about your category of services (your city and category of services):
“Pittsburgh wedding DJs”
“Pittsburgh wedding disk jockeys”
“Boston Wedding Bands”
“Chicago Bridal Shows”
“bridal shops in Atlanta”
Learn what is being said about your competition:
“Your competitor’s business name here” (in quotes)
Your competitor’s business name here
Your competitor’s website address
Google alerts can be configured to include information from websites, blogs, news sources, online video, and Google Groups. When you configure Google Alerts you choose an option.
NEWS: A news alert is an email aggregate of the latest news articles that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google News search.
WEB: A web alert is an email aggregate of the latest web pages that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top twenty results of your Google Web search.
BLOG: A blogs alert is an email aggregate of the latest blog posts that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google Blog search.
COMPREHENSIVE: A comprehensive alert is an aggregate of the latest results from NEWS, WEB, and BLOG(s) all together in a single email.
VIDEO: A video alert is an email aggregate of the latest videos that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google Video search.
GROUPS: A groups alert is an email aggregate of new posts that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top fifty results of your Google Groups search.
Give it a try.
It’s free and anyone serious about keeping their finger on the pulse of the industry, as well as what people are putting online about their company or their competition, will find Google Alerts incredibly valuable.
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