Monitor What Others Say About Your Business Online With Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a free search tool that can help manage what others online are saying about your business, or about your competitors. This is not a full-blown reputation management tool, but as a freebie, it ain't bad to start with.

It only takes a free Google Account to save your alerts and have new alerts emailed to you every time Google Alerts finds something online that matches the keywords you selected. For example:

1. I logged into my Google Account and then went to: http://www.google.com/alerts

Click image to enlarge

2. Type in the Google alerts text box the desired keywords, such as your business name. For this example I used my business name "webstream dynamics" (highlighted in yellow above).
3.For Type: I selected on wanted "Everything" that Google crawls.
4. For How Often: I selected "As it happens" (So I only get an email alert as it is found by Google.
5. For Volume: I selected "All results". I want it totally unfiltered.
6. For Deliver to: I left it go to my Google Account email address.
7. You should notice a sampling of results on the right side of your screen based on the keywords you typed in the Google alerts text box. You can also click the blue-colored Preview results button located to the right of the alert text box.
8. Last, if satisfied, click the red-colored Save Alert button.

Now when ever Google finds something new said online that contains the keyword phrase you will be notified. Later on if you want to remove any Google Alerts you just log in and delete the ones you don't want to receive emails for any more.

TIP: If you want to create an alert and fiilter out some results you can append "negative keywords" after your keyword phrase.
For example: carpet -red -cleaning -cleaners