Google Alerts - A Must Have Tool!
Blogging, Google, Internet Marketing, Webmaster/Website Optimization, Website Tools Do-Follow CommentsBy, JR
If you have a blog you know that you get trackbacks, which are alerts, whenever anyone is linking to your site’s content, and that is some of the best information you can get, to see who and what’s being linked to. If both the linker and linkee are using Wordpress then the trackback comes to you automatically. However, if the linker blog is not using wordpress, and is using another blogging platform then you may not get the alert, unless the trackback url was specially added and with Blogger, for instance, I do not believe that function even exists. For static websites these auto trackbacks do not exist at all.
This is where Google Alerts comes in. One of the best free webmaster tools, Google Alerts will notify you via email whenever a backlink to your sites/blogs shows up on another site or blog.
These alerts include everything:
1. Links directly to your website pages/blogs
2. When articles you write get republished on other sites that include backlinks to your sites in the resource box. This is also a great way to make sure that the republishers are following the article republishing rules by keeping your articles and links intact, as they are supposed to.
3. Whenever someone social bookmarks your sites and blogs.
4. Virtually any mention of your site’s on the web.
Set Up a Google Alert:
1. Go to Google Alerts and either log in to to your Google Account or set up an alert directly from the landing page.
2. Search Terms - Add the search terms for your alert, the best option for this is the HOME PAGE URL of your site. Also, you can set up a separate alert for your site name if you want, but then you will get emails when ANY word within your site name appears on the web.
3. Type - Choose COMPREHENSIVE
4. Choose How Often you will receive emails, I choose AS IT HAPPENS.
5. Enter your email
Repeat for each site and blog you own!!
That’s it, takes 2 minutes and you will be getting some very useful info!!
Do you guys use GA? Any tips for search terms?
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October 15th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Nice find JR! I didn’t know about that tool at all and I’m usually fairly up to date with Google stuff
Thanks for sharing this!
Ben@frogstr.coms last blog post..SEO-Quake: website analysis in half a second
JR reply on October 16th, 2008 12:39 am:
Hey Ben, I debated writing this post cause I thought everyone would think that’s old so I am glad to hear that.
October 16th, 2008 at 10:53 am
It’s good tool in theory but I find results very unreliable. It doesn’t report lots of stuff and thost that do get reported are repeated numerous times. I get alerts for few pages each week.
It’s better to create bookmark/button with search on term and use that.
Rarsts last blog post..Why is spam better than spam-filter
October 16th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Arg. I’ve been meaning to do this forever!
Dennis Edells last blog post..Contest Over: Prizes Coming - Link Love First!
October 16th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Wow that’s a nice tips. It surely deserves a mention and I’m going to provide a link back from my blog.
Blog Designs last blog post..Thanks to everyone - one final call!
October 17th, 2008 at 10:21 am
This is indeed a nice little tool I’ve been using to keep track of who is linking to me or quoting my blog almost instantly..
Yan
Blog for Beginnerss last blog post..The Art of Writing Catchy Articles
October 18th, 2008 at 8:58 am
As a begginer blogger I’m finding your blog the most useful of any I read. I use Google Alearts as a learning tool but until I read this post I didn’t realize Google Alearts value in tracking backlinks. Thanks Larry W
JR reply on October 18th, 2008 3:16 pm:
@ Larry
Thank you very much, welcome and I am glad that you are getting what you need. I hope to interact with you more often.
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:09 am
am just install Google alert.i hope this tool can give me alert on my trackback link. beside am using Google analytic to track my blog stat.tumbs up for the post.
hidayah@Usa People Searchs last blog post..Sterling background check
JR reply on October 22nd, 2008 1:37 am:
Thanks Hidayah! Google Analytics is great!
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:10 am
hello thanks alot man…………..Google alert is valuable tool for trackback.As soon as am install it ..today i have alert……..and it is ok ..tumbs up my friend.
hidayah@Usa People Searchs last blog post..Sterling background check
JR reply on October 24th, 2008 12:21 am:
@ Hidayah,
You are welcome…pretty cool tool, I love it!
October 24th, 2008 at 4:45 am
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October 28th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Google Alerts is great. I can’t believe it is free, there must have been software that charged you for this before!
November 19th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Hi JR,
I heard about Google Alerts in my forum a couple of days ago but your post explained in more detail. I’ll definitely be using it that’s for sure. Thanks for sharing.
Peter Lee
Peter @ Online Business Ideass last blog post..How Blog Commenting Got Me 1200 Backlinks in 5 Days
JR reply on November 19th, 2008 11:18 pm:
Thanks Peter, I love G alerts!
December 30th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
thank you for sharing your information
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January 27th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Hi JR,
Good informative post on Google Alert. I think if you are a top commentator at someone else’s blog or have exchanged blogroll with a blogger, you may receive an incoming link on your blog admin, so this would not be a real trackback. I like the idea of Google Alert informing me via an email alert whenever there is a linkback.
Peter Lee
work from home ideass last blog post..Breaking The Mental Block In Blogging
JR reply on January 27th, 2009 2:43 pm:
@work from home ideas
No you are right, G alerts tracks all types of incoming links to your sites and that is why it’s good, especially for static sites.
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