How to Set Up Google Alerts to Monitor Mentions (& Use Cases)

8 min readSep 14, 2022

How to set up google alerts is a very common question, that’s why we decided to create this step-by-step guide to help you with taking your first steps into the world of mentions tracking and monitoring.

We will present to you a detailed guide on how to create a google alert in 3 simple steps and of course why it is necessary to do so. So, let’s have a closer look into the potential of google alerts, and search queries.

4 Reasons to Use Google Alerts

Let’s take a closer look at the main reasons why someone should use google alerts.

Reason #1: Track mentions

First things first, the most common use case of google alerts is to monitor brand mentions and be aware all the time of online conversations around your brand. Tracking and monitoring brand mentions give you an insight into what your audience likes and what not, so you can evolve your services and build a strong brand voice. Online reputation management is a powerful monitoring tool you should take advantage of to improve your position in the industry concerning your competitors.

Social mentions give excellent brand-building opportunities. Based on a Mention Me study, 71% of customers are more likely to discover brands on social channels based on recommendations from friends. So, being on the lookout for your mentions is vital for your company’s well-being, as mentions have the power to influence customer purchasing decisions. Online conversations about your brand help you enhance your brand’s credibility and reputation.

Reason #2: Find sources

Google alerts can be very useful for writers looking for sources before writing a topic. The perk of google alerts is that it’s a free tool and saves you a lot of time. When searching online in a search engine it is crucial to find credible sources, so your content can be more powerful. Identifying which sources are trustworthy is essential so you don’t hurt your band’s reputation. Of course, this requires an in-depth understanding of the information you have in front of you, and more specifically of objectivity, currency, authority, and purpose.

In other words, evaluating your sources is as important as finding them, to make sure of the quality and authenticity of your research. You need to eliminate any inaccurate, biased, out-of-date, and false information to provide top content to your followers and build your image as a credible expert in your industry.

Reason #3: Identify plagiarism

Even without a blog page, much of the text on a website is proprietary work, so people don’t want others to copy it without giving proper credit to the original writer. Users can simply put key phrases from their work into google alerts to track them for free. Trying to copy any type of writing is considered theft and so it removes the authenticity and reliability of the content.

On that note, it is important to cite your sources as it enables you to recognize your dependence on ideas or words that come from someone else and to differentiate your work from that of your sources. Receiving credit for the research you have done equals giving credit to someone else’s research and work.

Reason #4: Monitor competitors

Monitoring competitors is another reason why someone should use google alerts. You can simply create an alert about a competitor and be notified every time they are mentioned online. Monitoring your competition provides you with more actionable insights than simple industry awareness. Checking out on your competitors can also help you create a strong digital marketing strategy and at the same time boost content curation. Competition can help you identify your competitive advantage and disadvantage related to other brands in the market, and of course, you will be aware of their future actions. Additionally, monitoring your competitors allows you to avoid potential business errors by understanding where they did wrong and making sure you learn from their mistakes.

Understanding their strategy and how they approach consumers is fundamental for your company’s existence and development. You will get a clearer picture of what the audience needs and therefore lure them to follow you.

How to Set Up Google Alerts in 3 Simple Steps

In this part, we’re going to explain how to set up google alerts in 3 simple steps. Setting up Google Alerts can be done in 3 steps:

Create an alert
Customize alert
Adjust settings

Let’s get started.

Step #1: Create an alert

You’ll receive email notifications when new results come up in google search, news, and forums. For instance, you can get insights and information concerning products, news stories, or mentions of your brand name.

So, after visiting the google alerts page you enter the search term you want to receive notifications about, in the search box. Make sure you choose the right search operators. For this example, we’ll use “Mentionlytics” as the keyword/term we want to track.

Then click create an alert. If you want to modify your settings, click “show options”.

Your alert is set! If you want to edit or delete it click on the pencil icon or the trash can icon on the right side; below we explain in detail how to do that.

Of course, you can create a google alert without having a Gmail account. Do you want to know how? Well, first go to the homepage of your google account (myaccount.google.com) and log in. Click on the “Personal Info” option, select the “Email” option and then select the “Alternate Email” option and type your email.

To delete an alert you have to visit google alerts and select “delete” on the alert you wish to delete. You can also delete an alert by pressing unsubscribe at the end of an alert email, but it’s optional.

Of course, you can add new alerts anytime you want.

Step #2: Customize alert

Google enables you to customize your alerts in the way you want. When writing the keyword you want to track instead of creating an alert, you choose show options. Then adjust the filters accordingly and press “create an alert”.

You can customize your alerts based on:

Frequency: Choose how often you want to receive notifications for an alert.

Sources: Choose the sources from which you want to receive notifications.

Language: Select a language or choose to receive notifications from all languages.

Region: Select the regions or a specific country from where you want to receive notifications.

Quantity: Select how many results you want to receive. You can choose between “only the best results”, or “all results”.

Delivery method: Select the email in which you will receive your alert notifications.

Then click on the “update alert” button and you’re all set!

P.S If you want to turn off an alert:

Click “news settings”.
Then click on notifications, which is under “alerts”. To get notifications, turn on get notifications.
To stop all notifications, turn off get notifications.

Step #3: Adjust settings

Google allows you to customize when you want to receive notifications; in a few words, you can set the time and the email account in which you want to receive these notifications. All you have to do is follow these steps:

Go to google alerts.
Click on “settings” right next to “my alerts.”
Click on the “delivery time” option to set the time you want to receive notifications.
And then click on the “digest” option to choose the email address and the frequency of your notifications, and save.

Bonus: A Powerful Alternative to Google Alerts for Tracking Mentions

A powerful alternative to google alerts is Mentionlytics. The tool allows you to track your mentions on the entire web and numerous social media channels about your brand, products, as well as your competitors. It tracks mentions, hashtags, keywords, and sentiment in a variety of languages and it equips organizations with actionable audience insights and historical data. Businesses can discover influencers and potential leads which is great for brand growth and for creating a stronger brand voice. Protecting a brand’s online reputation requires being aware of the conversations online in real-time.

The Social Intelligence Advisor feature aims to provide users with customizable advice to help them improve their online presence and reputation by discovering everything said about them online. Personalized brand management is the key to a successful social media strategy. Mentionlytics can also be used for review monitoring, publishing, and creating social media reports. The app is suitable for agencies, hospitality, non-profits, and financial organizations. All in all, all types of companies can use the app, from small to large enterprises, but keep in mind that it also supports individuals and agencies.

Now Over to You

Hopefully, this guide on how to set up google alerts to monitor mentions will help you get started. Tracking your online mentions is vital for your company’s well-being and development; your reputation is what people first come across about your brand. So, make sure you manage it the best way possible. If you want to know what the world is searching for, pay a visit to google trends.

If you have any questions about how to manage your social presence and track your mentions, Mentionlytics is here for you; you can always book a demo whenever suits you the best and your questions will be answered.

Originally posted on Mentionlytics: https://www.mentionlytics.com/blog/how-to-set-up-google-alerts