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How Can Google Alerts Help My Content Marketing?

Blog Social Media How Can Google Alerts Help My Content Marketing?

by Beth Gasser

A Free, Easy Source of Fresh Ideas for Your Blog and Social Media

Google Alerts helps your content marketing by delivering blog ideas, content to share on social media, competitive research, and customer insight straight to your inbox. The free Google tool emails you the latest relevant results for the search terms you choose, so you always have something timely to write about or share. Once you start using Google Alerts, you may find that you simply cannot do good content marketing without it!

Here are a Few Ways to Use Google Alerts to Your Marketing Advantage:

Blogging Ideas & Inspiration – Google alerts are great for brainstorming ideas for blog topics, especially when you find yourself stuck in writer’s block. Find out what people are saying on forums, blogs, and news sites about specific terms, people, or events to get your creative juices flowing.

Content to Share via Social Media – If you are not sure what to post on your Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn page, look to your Google Alerts for inspiration. Google Alerts can be a quick way to find content to share via your social media sites.

Trends & Opportunities – Every industry has trends that come and go, and spotting them early gives you a head start. Try setting an alert that pairs your industry with words like “trends,” “new regulations,” or “survey results.” When the same topic keeps showing up in your alerts, write about it or bring it up with your customers before your competitors do.

A glowing light bulb in front of a wall with hand-drawn sketches of graphs, buildings, formulas, and creative ideas, symbolizing innovation and inspiration—much like the spark that comes from discovering new insights when you know why set up Google Alerts.

Now Go Set Up Your Alerts

Go to Google Alerts and enter the search phrase, name, or term that you want to monitor. Then click Show Options to choose how often you get results, which sources to include, and how many results you want. How you fill out these settings will really depend on your industry and how popular the search terms are (you will want to be as specific as possible). You may find after a week or two that you will want to tweak your time, how often you get the alerts, and your phrases, so that you get more or less information.

BONUS TIP

If you find that your Gmail Inbox is getting too cluttered with Google Alerts, set up an email filter that will send emails from [email protected] to a separate folder so all your Google alerts bypass the inbox and are organized in one spot. You can also use the settings gear in Google Alerts to combine all your alerts into a single daily digest email.

Beth Gasser

Owner | Vivid Image

Beth Gasser is the Owner of Vivid Image with more than 30 years of experience in content writing, small business ownership, and marketing strategy. She is trained in StoryBrand messaging and helps businesses clarify their message, connect with the right customers, and create marketing that drives measurable results. Beth writes to help businesses get more from their existing marketing assets, make smarter business decisions, leverage social media, and achieve better results without wasteful spending.

About Beth Gasser

Beth Gasser is the Owner of Vivid Image with more than 30 years of experience in content writing, small business ownership, and marketing strategy. She is trained in StoryBrand messaging and helps businesses clarify their message, connect with the right customers, and create marketing that drives measurable results. Beth writes to help businesses get more from their existing marketing assets, make smarter business decisions, leverage social media, and achieve better results without wasteful spending.