Google runs an email news alert service (aptly named Google Alerts) that mostly flies under the radar, but is so handy that you absolutely have to use it if you aren’t already.
To use Google Alerts, you simply enter a search term, like the name of your company, website, or anything else you want to keep tabs on, and then Google will pump out news alerts to your email account about that topic over whatever interval you specify (as-it-happens, every day, or every week). You can even filter by the result type: news, blog posts, video, discussions, books, or all of the above.
Every time I’ve started working for a new company, one of the first things I did was set up a Google Alert for that place, as well as for the competition. Then Google Alerts would let me know of everything from news about the company, earnings reports, new product releases, product reviews, and a whole lot more. All often before I heard about it from where I worked.
If you want to keep up with a news story, where you work, what your competition is doing, any mentions of you online, or you just want to keep tabs on your favorite sports team, you should be using Google Alerts!
