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How to "Listen" for Key Information on the Web
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How to "Listen" for Key Information on the Web

Would you like to be sent an email whenever your company is mentioned on the internet? How about when a competitor wins a big contract or issues a press release?

Well there are several ways to make this happen and it’s all about “listening” on the internet.

One of the key tools for digging up these juicy secrets is to use Google Alerts. You can setup a Google Alert for just about anything. Google will send you an alert either daily or weekly with the latest updates on all your alerts.

6 Easy Steps to Setup a Google Alert

1. Go to www.google.com/alerts and register for a Google Account (if you don’t already have one)
   
2. Enter the keyword(s) for the alert that you want to setup.
   
3. Select the type of Alert you want to receive. The comprehensive Alert retrieves news from blogs, news sources, Google Groups messages and websites. You can choose to get results from only one of these sources, instead of all sources.
   
4. Choose how often Google will send the Alerts to you. Google can send your alerts as soon as it finds a match to your keyword, or opt for the daily or weekly digest.
   
5. Click "Create Alert" when you are finished entering your keywords, choices of sources and frequency for messages.
   
6. Review and revise your Alerts if you receive too much or too little information. Log in on the Google Accounts page. Choose "Manage Alerts" to see your saved Alerts. Delete alerts that you no longer need.

Tips for what to listen for:

• Listening for your company name will make you aware when you are the topic of conversation.
  
• Listen for primary competitors names. You’ll be notified when they send a press release, win a new big contract, as they bring on new staff or if they have a layoff.
  
• Listen for your trademarks and service marks to ensure you are on top of any potential legal issues with your protected marks.
  
• Listen for key phrases related to your products or services to keep abreast of your industry.
  
• Listen for mention of your customers to keep up to date with your key accounts
  
• Listen for key vendors to make sure you know about any issues they are encountering

Although this is a great way to keep informed of key events, it’s not 100% reliable. Google catches many conversations and alerts you to them, but some will be missed.

Good Luck Listening,

Malinda Pengelly
President