By, 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?