What it does
It notifies you when new pages with the chosen words appear.
Google Alerts
A free alert, well written.
To set up a Google Alert, open google.com/alerts, type the name to follow, choose frequency, sources, language and country, and decide whether to receive results by email or in an RSS feed. Find out how to write precise alerts and what they cannot see.
In brief
Google Alerts: a notice when a name appears.
Google Alerts is a free Google service that sends new search results for the words you choose. It is the simplest way to start following a brand, a product or a competitor.
Where you receive it
In your inbox or in an RSS feed, at the frequency you set.
What it costs
Nothing: a Google account is enough.
Step by step
How to set up a Google Alert.
Setting one up takes a minute. The options that matter are few, but they change the quality of what you receive a great deal.
The five steps for creating a Google alert on a name, from the service page to choosing where to receive the results.
Open the page
google.com/alerts, with the Google account you will use to receive them.
Write the search
The name in quotation marks, with exclusions for namesakes.
Open the options
Frequency, sources, language, country and number of results.
Choose delivery
Email for a few alerts, an RSS feed to collect them elsewhere.
Check after a week
If noise arrives, narrow the search; if nothing arrives, broaden it.
The options
The settings that make the difference.
The default options are fine for trying it out. For work use it is better to decide them one by one, knowing what changes.
The options available when creating a Google alert, what each controls and the recommended choice for following a brand.
| Option | What it controls | Recommended choice |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency | As it happens, at most once a day or once a week. | Once a day for the brand, once a week for the sector. |
| Sources | Automatic, news, blogs, web, video, books, discussions, finance. | Automatic to begin with, then the sources that matter. |
| Language and country | Which language and region to search. | Those of your markets, one alert per market. |
| Quantity | Only the best results, or all of them. | All results for the brand name. |
| Delivery | Email address or RSS feed. | An RSS feed if there are many alerts. |
The operators
Writing a precise alert.
Google’s search operators also work in alerts. Three or four symbols are enough to remove namesakes and focus on useful sources.
Four search operators that make a Google alert on a fictional brand more precise, each with an example and its effect.
Example alerts · Northstar Audio, demonstration brand
- Quotation marks
- "Northstar Audio" searches for the two words together and in order.
- Minus
- "Northstar" -telescope excludes the namesake’s pages.
- OR
- "Aurae 2" OR "Aurae Pro" follows two products with a single alert.
- site:
- "Northstar" site:example.com limits the alert to one site.
The limits
What a free alert cannot see.
Google alerts report what the engine indexes and considers relevant. They are enough for a first round of monitoring; to make decisions you need other sources.
The scope of Google’s free alerts compared with what is left out when following a brand: social media, reviews, AI answers and history.
| Covered | Left out | |
|---|---|---|
| Web and news | New pages that Google indexes and considers relevant. | Pages that are not indexed or considered of little relevance. |
| Social | Some public content reachable through search. | Most social media conversations. |
| Reviews and AI answers | Rarely, only if they become indexed pages. | Reviews on profiles and assistants’ answers. |
| History and comparisons | A list of alerts in your inbox. | Time series, shares of voice, tone by aspect. |
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about Google Alerts.
Why an alert does not arrive, how many alerts to create, how to follow competitors and whether Google Alerts is enough to monitor a brand.
Why does my Google Alert send nothing?
Often the search is too narrow, the frequency is weekly or only the best results are selected. Try the search on Google and broaden the options.
How many alerts should you create?
One for the brand, one for each main product and one for each competitor, separated by market. A few precise alerts are worth more than many generic ones.
Can I follow competitors with Google Alerts?
Yes, with one alert per name. Use the same options as yours, so the results stay comparable.
Is Google Alerts enough to monitor a brand?
To begin with, yes. It does not cover most social media, reviews on profiles or AI answers, and it does not keep comparable series.
Related paths
After “Google Alerts”, the next step.
The guides explain the concepts with examples on fictional brands. From here you continue with the other guides, the methodology and the features that apply them to your brand.
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