Google offers a service called “Google Alerts” that many marketing professionals use to monitor what is being said about their company online. The services can also be used to monitor your competitors and your industry. By signing up for the free service, you can monitor the web and receive email alerts anytime something is posted online about your business.
Signing up for alerts is easy, go to  http://www.google.com/alerts and fill out the information you want to receive alerts on.
How you can use Google Alerts
- Track Your Company. I have a Google Alert running for “Network in Vegas” and various other businesses that I monitor. I am updated every time something is published about one of my companies.
- Track Your URL. “Yourbusiness.com”
- Stay on top of Industry News – To stay on top of industry news, create alerts for keywords and key phrases related to your industry.
- Track Your Products. Set up alerts for your branded product names. If you have multiple products with different names, set up alerts for each one.
- Track Your employees. You can also set up alerts for key people within your company. If you have employees who speak publicly about your business, it’s a good idea to track their name with an alert.
- Track Your Competitors. You can also set up alerts on your competitors business. Doing this can give you a huge edge on your competition and allow you to respond quickly to their latest sales and marketing efforts.
