Using Google Alerts More Effectively

 
Google Alerts are an invaluable tool for monitoring your online presence or a very specific topic. 

The most common use of Google Alerts is staying on top of the Web presence of the most important person in our lives – ME!  And on this increasingly humanized Web, that is certainly a recommended practice to take advantage of positive mentions of your personal brand, and also to manage those negative comments.

The Web is a big place and specificity is the key to effectively using this tool.  Here are some tips for doing that.

Getting Started

The first step in using Google Alerts is to get a gmail address that establishes your Google Account.  Then simply go to Alerts in their menu of services and start setting up the words or phrases that you wished to be informed on.  You have a choice for being informed via email or with an RSS feed to your Google Reader, which you can use more easily with iGoogle.

Use ALL of Your Names

You have more "names" than you may realize.  Traditionally, we think of having a legal name and a nickname.  However, the Internet has created a need for more names that you should also be monitoring.  This includes usernames, addresses, and URL's. 

Because you do not know which name will be indexed, or sometimes which portion, you will be wise to establish a complete system of alerts that aims to go fishing for all them.

Your Name

Mostly I go by Jeff Korhan, but my legal name is Jeffrey J. Korhan, so I have alerts set for both. 

If there happens to be a famous persona that shares your name, use the minus sign to exclude them from the data sent to you.  For example, if your name is Bill Gates.

Set the alert like this in quotes to exclude (subtract) the famous namesake by using an associative term, such as: "Bill Gates – Bill Gates Microsoft." 

Social Media UserName

To simplify your life, it is best to choose one username and stick with it on all of your networks.  Mine is jeffkorhan – which is my name without spaces.  Yet, as far as Google is concerned, that one little space makes a difference.

Twitter UserName

Once again, one little symbol makes a huge difference.  @jeffkorhan is my Twitter username.  The key is to include the @ symbol.

Incidentally, Google is not going to index all of your Tweets.  However, once in a while one gets indexed.  You may as well know which ones those are. 

Website Name

For me this is jeffkorhan.com.  The key is the .com.  Because whether  your URL is indexed as http://, or www, or both together, because they are all contiguous, it is going to be the "yourURL.com" – or whatever extension applies, that distinguishes your site.

Company Name

If you are a small business owner, your personal name and company name are practically synonymous.  Setting alerts for your company name keeps you informed on any mentions on the Web so that you can encourage positive comments, and address any negative  talk.  

Plus, if you happen to have a registered or trademarked name or names, you are obligated to respond to infringing uses to protect your rights. 

Related Names

Related to your work as a small business are the products and services you provide, key customers, your competitors and what they are up to, and industry associations you are a member of.

In this area especially, you will have to discriminate and suspend Alerts if the content gets too overwhelming.  While I do a lot of work in the green industry, there is more content there than I have time to digest, so I discontinued those alerts.

Take a Drink

Google alerts just bring you to the trough of water.  It's up to you to take drink.  The important thing is to click through the indexed links and see where they take you.  When appropriate, make a response.  There is one thing other bloggers appreciate, and that is when a mentioned source shows up to participate in the conversation.

For example, I was recently mentioned in a post by the Social Media Club of France.  I discovered the link through Google Alerts and dropped down an appreciative comment, to which they graciously responded.  You won't see the comments in the link above because they have not yet been indexed.

Going beyond analytics to use Google Alerts for human interaction and building community is the highest use of this sometimes tedious work of monitoring your personal and company brands. 

It Works Fast

So, how fast do Google Alerts work?  This post went live at 11:54 a.m. CDT.  As you can see from the image below, at 12:19 p.m. – just 25 minutes later,  this post was indexed and an email sent to me.  Very nice, huh?!

If you have enjoyed this post, please leave a comment below.  Let me know other topics you would like covered and I'll do my best.  And feel free to use the buttons below to share this post with your community.

Photo Credit: Floeschie