Google alerts are emails sent to you automatically when
there are new results based on your search terms. Instead of going to Google everyday and
typing in what you are interested on, Google will email you when new results
are available based on your search term.
All you have to do is type your search term once and create a Google
Alert. So what type of alerts can you
sign up for? Google currently offers 6
types of alerts:
- News
Alert – email of the latest news articles that contain the search terms of
your choice.
- Web
Alert – email of the latest web pages that contain the search terms of
your choice.
- Blog
Alert – email of the latest blog entry that contain the search terms of
your choice.
- Video
Alert – email of the latest videos that contain the search terms of your
choice.
- Groups
Alert – email of new posts that contain the search terms of your choice.
- Comprehensive
Alert – aggregate of the latest results from multiple sources ( News, Web,
& Blog) into one email to provide maximum coverage on the topic of
your choice.
So how often will you receive alerts? It depends how you set up the alerts. If you specify to Google to check for new
results once a day, you’ll get a maximum of one email per day. If you specify that you want emails as new
results happen, Google will check for new results continuously and alert you
every time it finds something new.
How do you sign up?
Go to Google Alerts, type in the search term of your choice, the type of
alert you would like (News, Web, Video, etc.), how often you would like Google
to check for results, your email address, and Google will send you a
confirmation email. Clicking on the link
on your email will activate your alert.