How to Create Google Alerts?

It is often tedious job to follow up bunch of topics on the web and be up-to-date with those. Say for example, if you would like to follow a news story or keep an eye on a competitor or simply want to get the latest updates about your favorite celebrity then Google alert is for you. Provide list of keywords of your interests and Google will search the web for you and send the top ten results straight to your inbox.

To get most relevant updates for your chosen topic or keyword, six varieties of Google alerts are offered. These six types of Google alerts are Web, Blogs, News, Video, Groups and Comprehensive alerts. By choosing the type of alert, you are actually specifying where your topic needs to be searched. Say for example if you like to follow Do-It-Yourself videos about installing Linux operating system on your PC, you would choose video alert.

Google searches for the topic or keyword which you had specified earlier during the alert setup. Alerts are sent as email to your inbox or feeds. The email contains the top ten results that appear on Google web, news, video, groups and blogs search. Comprehensive Google alert is the aggregate of search results from Web, blog and news etc. to provide broad coverage of the topic.

1. Visit Google Alerts.

2. In the homepage enter the keyword or topic you would like to monitor.

3. Select the type of alert you would like to create from the drop down menu.

4. Choose how often you would like Google to search the web for your choice of topic or keyword. This does not necessarily denote how frequent you will receive your alert. If you choose “as it happens” Google may search the web continuously and send alert if any new results are found.

5. Enter your email to receive the alerts and hit “Create Alert” button! Voilà! You have successfully created a Google Alert!

Google will send a verification link to the email you had provided during the alert setup. You need to click the link on the verification email to confirm the request for the alert.

Try to check the type of results you get with search terms of your choice on Google. If you are satisfied with the results, use those search words to get Google alerts. You may also try advanced Google search and include search operators in your queries. Apart from these tips, check if you have spelled the search queries or keywords correctly and use fewer keywords.