Imagine if there was a way where you could find out if someone mentioned your name, business name, product or service on the Internet.
Now you can with Google Alerts! Why do you need to know? Before I tell you how to setup a Google Alert, I need to let you know why it is so important to monitor this kind of activity.
The Internet is such a powerful tool for consumers.
They are able to research your company and products before they deal with you.
This has never been possible before the Internet - unless the customer knows someone personally that has dealt with you before.
Word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool on the planet.
Today with the use of the Internet, customers are taking their opinions between their friends into the online world.
The problem has been, how do you know if someone is talking about you? Today, I am going to teach you how! Google Alerts This tool, provided for free from Google, allows you to monitor all the pages indexed by Google.
I have a number of Google Alerts setup that monitor my name (Nigel Burke), my business names (AVS Networks, CartXpress, Website Mechanic) and other products and services.
I also monitor a number of industries such as web design, search engine marketing, search engine optimisation and internet marketing.
This allows me to monitor my reputation online and keep up with industry news.
Each day, I receive a report by email with a list of all the websites added to Google that include my alert words.
Social Media Websites If someone mentions you on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, any online forum, in the news, or anywhere else, Google usually indexes these pages and will let you know when you have been talked about.
If a customer is not happy with your service, you can act very quickly to resolve their situation.
Customers love being treated special and this allows you to pro-actively resolve their problems.
How do I setup one up? It is very easy to setup.
Visit this web page and fill in the form - http://www.
google.
com/alerts You will now receive alerts everyday for your chosen keywords.
Read the email everyday and monitor your name and industry with very little effort.
Act quickly to say thanks for that nice comment or resolve any issues of an unsatisfied customer.
Wrap Up Do you have any questions about how this works? Please let me know in the comments box below.