Editor’s note: This article was first published in December 2010, and describes the Google Alerts interface as it was in 2010; it has changed since, and Twitter is now X.
What people say about you or your business on the street matters, and with new technologies, what they say about you, your brand, your company or your business on the internet matters too. That’s why it’s essential to know in real time when someone starts a comment thread or edits an article that could damage your online reputation. Today that’s possible thanks to Google Alerts.
How Google Alerts works
It’s very simple: just go to Google Alerts and, in the “search terms” box, enter the name of your brand, your business, or any word you want to be notified about by email whenever it’s “mentioned” on the internet.
This way you can keep track of your online reputation: if a comment is negative, you’ll have the chance to step in and respond to it in real time. And if it’s positive, it’s always nice to say thank you.
There’s also a similar service for Twitter that lets you track every time someone mentions you and find out in real time what’s being said about you. It’s called Twilert.
Featured image: Rawpixel Ltd, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
