Google has a great tool to alert you when they find a new backlink or see content written about you on the web. I was shocked when one of my clients said they didn’t even know this tool even existed. I figured if he didn’t know about the tool, others may be in the same boat. So I did the only logical next step. I jumped on Active Rain and his that magical new post button.
Google Alerts
Notifications directly to your inbox.
Google Alerts allows you to setup notification emails when Google picks up new content related to a specific search term. For example, then name of my web design company is Dakno Marketing. So I have a Google Alert that notifies me every time they index new content that contains the word “dakno”.
The process is easy to setup. Just go to the Google Alerts home page, sign in, and enter your search phase. You will get an email in your mailbox every time Google picks up new content that matches that search phrase.
A Practical Example
Google Found Me a Few Hours Later
On Friday night, I wrote my very first Blog Post on Active Rain. It was a short post about Online Real Estate Buyer Statistics. Saturday Morning, I receive a Google Alert Email letting me know the new information has been added to their search engine. Less than 24 hours and Google picked up my post! Of course this was because I had already setup a Google Alert to notify me of any new content related to me.
Keeping Tabs on Your Competition
Let Google Be Your Spy
Don’t just limit Google Alerts for your own website. Keep up with your competitors by having email alerts sent when Google indexes content that is related to your competition.
If you already use Google Alerts and want more robust information then stay tuned. I will soon be writing about Google’s other tool that gives you even more detail and SEO feedback about your website.
Untill Then,
Brad Carroll
Dakno Marketing - A Real Estate Web Design Company
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