How to Set Up Google Alerts

Keeping a close eye on industry news can be critical to your company’s success. Setting up Google alerts on hot topics can make it easier than ever. Follow these steps to set up your Google alerts.

1. Go to Google.com/alerts
2. Enter the topic or term you want to follow
3. Click “Show Options” to customize your alert
   1. How often you want alerts (as it happens, daily, weekly)
   2. What sources you want alerts from (auto, news, blogs, web, etc.)
   3. Language
   4. Region (Think location; i.e., only U.S. news)
   5. Do you want all results or only the best results?
   6. Where do you want the alerts delivered?
4. Click “Create Alert”

That’s all there is to setting up a Google alert. Now it’s time to get the most out of your Google alerts and make them work for you.  

• Track Your Competitors: Setting up Google alerts on your competitors can give you an edge by knowing what they are doing as they are doing it.
• Locate Future Clients: Using Google alerts on keywords or search terms your potential customers might use can help you connect with the right prospects.
• Google Search Operators: Use these operators to help refine your alerts and eliminate irrelevant results.
  • Use a hyphen (-) directly before a word to exclude results that include that term.
  • Use a tilde (~) directly before a word to return synonyms and other similar terms.