Google Alerts: Get Updates on Any Topic

I was talking to my friend Denise about a new medical procedure we were both following closely. I mentioned that I just looked at a YouTube video about the procedure from a presentation given at a medical convention the previous day. She was stunned. “How’d you know about that?”

“Google Alerts,” I told her.
“What’s that?”

I told her about the application that sends you an e-mail alert when there are new Google search results that match the keywords you’ve selected. It’s a snap to set up.

Go to: http://www.google.com/alerts

• Enter your search terms.
• Select what you want Google to monitor (web, videos, comprehensive—everything).
• Select the notification frequency (once a day, once a week).
• Choose how many results you’d like (up to 20; up to 50).
• Enter your e-mail.
• Click the “Create Alert” box.

You’ll get an e-mail asking you to verify that you’ve set up the alert. Then you’ll start receiving alerts by e-mail. You can create up to a thousand alerts.

How I Use Google Alerts

I use Google Alerts to monitor

• New information about medical conditions or treatments I’m interested in, such as  osteoporosis.
• Sales. I’m from a don’t pay full-price family. So when I want to make a purchase at the best price, I enter “Sale+item.”  For example, my cousin has the Wedgwood China Silver pattern listed in her bridal register at a hefty $165 a place setting. I created a Googe Alert  for “sale+wedgwood silver” to let me know when the china goes on sale.
• Information about my company E-WRITE. What are people saying about us?
• Information about our competition. What are they up to?
• Travel information. I was planning a trip to Scotland. I set up an alert to learn about travel deals.

No longer interested in that topic? Just click “remove this alert” at the bottom of the Google alert e-mail.