01 Nov 09 How to tell if people are talking about you online
Are Your Ears ringing?
How to use Google Alerts as a method of knowing who is talking about you, and what they are saying.
Google Alerts Screen
First off, go here: http://www.google.com/alerts
You will need a Google account, but you should have one to use Gmail anyway, and it only takes a minute. If you already use Google Docs or Gmail, or Google Analytics, you already have one.
Your Screen should look a bit like this now:
The Key box is “Search Terms:- You want to put, at the very least- the following terms into your search box.
Your Name (in Parenthesis) “John Doe”
If you don’t use the parenthesis, you will get all mentions of John and all mentions of Doe. And this great tool will loose a lot of it’s value very quickly.
Your Business Name “Peace & Love Inc”
And perhaps your employees
But that’s the basics-
What about:
Following your clients?
Following your prospects?
Following specific keywords in your industry?
Do you have a creative use for Google Alerts? Share it in the comments section!
Tags: Google Alerts, Google for Business