Google Alert is helpful: Try it

Bloggers should be aware of a great free internet tool called Google Alert.



While not affiliated with the Google search engine, Google Alert will track your website’s URL and your chosen targeted keywords. Updates are sent to you via e-mail on a regular basis, as Google is updated, and as new results of your keywords and site’s URL appear.



Google Alert has the advantage of being entirely withing Google's Terms of Service. Most search engine optimizers consider that to be an important feature for any internet or search engine optimization tool.



The use of any tool outside of Google's TOS can get your blog penalized or banned from Google. We don't want that to happen to you. Fortunately, Google Alert is not one of those.



Google Alert can also send your results through html, RSS 1.0 or 2.0, or by TrackBack feeds. These are new options that have just been added very recently. For websites and blogs with an RSS feed, this is a great new addition to the service.



Search updates also contain a direct link to the page cache (snapshot of the page) where the update happened. That is very handy for finding where your URL was mentioned, or where your keywords appeared.



Signing up for Google Alert is very easy. Simply go the the Google Alert web site Google Alert.



Simply provide a user name, a personal access password, and a working e-mail address to receive your updates. After that simple process, your desired keywords, website titles, and URLs are part of the Google Alert tracking system.



Once you log in, you just fill in the blanks of the URL and keywords you want to track. Be sure to be specific about the keywords you are following. For example "sports football Chicago" is much more specific than "sports" or "football".



By following the appearances of your keywords, you can check their popularity. If your website's specific search terms are being found on many other sites, and not on yours, it's time to add them to your content.



The best way to provide that valuable content is to add some articles that highlight those keywords. They will get your blog noticed when Google searches are conducted for those search terms.



The higher your blog is listed in the search engine result pages (SERPs), the more likely your blog will be seen. It’s often said that most searchers don't look beyond the first two or three pages of results.



An advanced search feature lets you limit your results by geography. If you are only interested in placements in England, you can specify that in the search. For different languages, the same narrowing of the advanced search also applies. You can set the results, to only include French language search terms, if you like.



A great feature you certainly want to include is the "Link Search". Found at the bottom of the advanced search page, it enables you to keep track of who is linking to your blog. You can also keep tabs on who is linking to another blog if you choose. You can find some great new blogs that way.



Be sure to add Google Alert to your blog toolbox today.