Ever wanted to monitor all the web content within your business’ niche? We have great news! Google Alerts provides you with the ability to watch all the new web content on any given topic of your choosing.
You can use it to help grow your business by monitoring trends in your niche, finding mentions of your company, and keeping an eye on the competition.
Today, we’ll go over some of the best tips and practices to stay on top of your market with Google Alerts and by the end you’d have learned how to set up your Google Alerts yourself. Are you hooked already? Read on!
Okay, but how does Google Alerts work?
Google Alerts detects content changes on the internet. Once you set up your notification, it will automatically let you know when Google notices those changes, which is usually immediately.
Launched in 2003, Google Alerts allows users to pick specific keywords or search terms and notifies them when those words appear online in articles or websites and will direct them to the site that publishes them.
Why is it beneficial for my business?
If you wanted to know, for example, when someone writes about your business and what they are saying about it, you could set up a Google Alert that will notify you every time this happens. These notifications are sent to your email account, and you can set up the desired frequency you want to receive them in.
This will keep you one step ahead of your competitors! Here are some of how it can further help you:
Monitoring industry trends
Using Google Alerts gives you a vast opportunity to monitor terms related to your business niche so that you are up to date with every single trend and new idea coming up.
For example, if your eCommerce website sells watches, you can set your alerts to notify you when Google finds new content with the term “wooden watches.” You could receive email notifications of recent blog posts featuring the Top 5 Websites to Buy Wooden Watches or 10 Best Wooden Watches on the Market.
This monitoring will keep you up-to-date with the latest trends, and current statements and which aspects of your niche are getting the most — or least — attention.
Company mentions
Keeping tabs on the popularity of your brand and any negative associations to it will ensure that you are aware of *everything*: not only the most positive but also the things that have room for improvement. After all, you can’t fix something you don’t know is broken, and you can’t expand on your best qualities without your customers’ perception of what those are.
With Google Alerts, it will be much easier to keep tabs on the public’s opinion of your brand. This also gives you a chance to respond to customers swiftly, improve your company image, and get your brand conversation going. Indeed a win-win situation here!
Title mentions
Every time you write an article or blog post, a good idea is to set up an alert to notify you if anyone mentions the title of your work on the Internet. That way, you will be able to know if someone is taking your work as a reference so that you can interact with the people who have genuinely taken an interest in what you are posting online.
Competitor analysis
Just as you keep tabs on your company brand, you can use Google Alerts to watch the competition. Yup. That’s a giant heads up that you shouldn’t be missing. After all, you never know if your competition is keeping tabs on *you*!
Receive notifications when Google finds new content that mentions competing companies using their company name as your alert term.
If they’re releasing a new product or making headlines in any way, our friend Google Alerts will let you know. You can also see what people are saying about them, what they’re doing good and what they’re not so good at. It’s like being a fly on the wall, but better.
Client research
Google Alerts is ideal for researching your clients — and potential ones! Choose the correct search term and get an alert for every mention of people in your client base or even clients you are pursuing for the future. That way, you will understand all the needs and wants of your clients – they’ll be wondering how you know that first!
Step by step: How to set up your Google Alerts today
Setting up an alert on Google Alerts is not only free but easy-peasy. And the best thing is you don’t even need to have a Google account to use the service. Simply follow these steps to get started:
- If you have a Google account, log in. If not, no worries – you can proceed and skip this step.
- Go to the Google Alerts webpage.
- Find the search bar and type the keywords for which you wish to receive your alerts.
- If you are using Gmail, you will receive alerts in your Gmail inbox. If you are not using Gmail, you can select another email address to receive the alerts.
- Click on ‘Show options.’
- Go ahead and customize your alert!
- Click the ‘Create Alert’ button. Done!
Afterward, if you wish to change the email frequency, you will do so on that same webpage.
It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3, and it can be a handy tool for your eCommerce business! You’ll be able to participate in all the online conversations, and you’ll be aware of every little thing anyone says about your services or products. Plus, you’ll no longer be kept in the dark when your colleagues talk about the latest industry news!
Now that you know how to set up Google Alerts yourself, you can get the most out of them! But to really maximize tehir potential, get in touch with our experts for more information on using Google Alerts to gain a competitive advantage and help grow your business.
