· find out what is being said about their company or product
· monitor a developing news story
· keep up to date on a competitor or industry
· find out if a particular person has been mentioned
Many of you will have set up Google alerts on topics, people, events and it occurred to me that you might not be aware of the useful features on there. It may be that the search is too broad, or the location isn’t specific enough or you may even feel that you want to narrow the source to one website.
· Go to the advanced search
· Fill in the boxes as required and click search
· Click on the link to create the search alert and follow the instructions, filling in the box as required.
· Ensure you have the right email account – you will be asked to verify the alert.
For more information generally on advanced Google searching.
Updated 1/8/13
Worrying developments regarding Google Alerts have been mentioned here 'Google Alerts' Are Broken