QUICK TIP: How To Use Google Alerts

Do you want to know when your shop is mentioned on a blog, or in the media?

Or maybe you want to keep an eye on your competitors whenever they are mentioned online.

All you need is a Google Alert!

Once you set up one or more Google Alerts, you’ll start to receive email messages each time the designated keyword or phrase is mentioned online. It’s a pretty cool tool to take advantage of.

Here’s what you need to do.

Set Up a Google Alert

1. Sign in to your Google Account, if you aren’t already signed in
2. Go to Google Alerts
   
3. Type a keyword, phrase, or topic that you want to be notified of in the Create an alert about box.
   When entering a phrase, make sure to put it in quotes – for example “Etsy to Shopify”.
4. Click the Show Options menu to choose the settings you want to use for the alerts, such as how often to receive them and how many results you want to see.
   If you are using Google Alerts to track your business, you might want to set How Often to As It Happens – this way, you’ll be able to respond immediately to any negative mentions.
   
5. Click the Create Alert button
   If you selected Deliver To your email address, you’ll start receiving emails from Google whenever a match is found.
6. Repeat these steps to create as many alerts as you need
   You can have up to 1,000 alerts created.

Edit or Delete an Alert

You can edit an alert at a later time if you need to make changes to it. You can also delete an alert if you no longer need it.

1. Sign in to your Google Account, if you aren’t already signed in
2. Go to Google Alerts
   A list of all your alerts will appear.
3. To edit an alert, click the Pencil icon, or to delete an alert, click the Trash Can icon
4. Click Update Alert to save your edits

NOTE: Google Alerts are notifications of keywords and phrases found on the internet only. They do not find mentions within social media platforms (so you should be monitoring those platforms separately).

For more information, visit Google Alerts.

• Create a Google Alert to monitor your business online. Use your business name (or your personal name) as the keyword or phrase (remember to enclose a phrase in quote marks). By having an alert for your business, you’ll be able to see when people are mentioning your store online (either good or bad comments). I like to use this to find when my shop is mentioned in a blog post somewhere. When that happens, I can thank the person for including my shop.
• If you create an alert with your business URL, you can find out which websites are linking to your website. Make sure to enter your URL without the “www.”.
• Set up Google Alerts to keep track of your most important store products, and to see what people are saying about them.
• Use Google Alerts to keep tabs on your competitors!
• Google Alerts can also help you find content you want to share on your social media platforms. Just enter the keywords or phrases of content you are looking for, and Google will let you know when something new is posted online.
• Use this tool to find new customers! For example, create an alert for a popular item you sell using a phrase such as “Where can I buy a vintage widget online?”. When you get notification of this kind of alert, you can go to the source and provide an answer – your shop!
• Here’s a little secret: you can also use Google Alerts to find coupon codes and discounts from your favorite shopping venues!
• Use Google Alerts to find blogs in your niche that you can comment on (commenting on blogs can be a great way to form relationships with influencers, and to get more exposure for your shop).

How do you use Google Alerts? Share in a comment below!