How to set up Google Alerts

Setting up Google Alerts is a great basic way to monitor what the internet is saying about you, your loved ones and your business.

Not only is it a free tool, but it also takes less than 5 minutes to set up. You will, however, need a Google account to receive the alerts. Create a Google account if you haven’t already before setting up the alert notifications.

Here are 8 easy steps to start with:

1. Type “Google Alerts” into your browser or go to google.com/alerts.

2. Enter your name or the search term you’d like to monitor. You will see an overview of the types of results you will receive beneath the search box. Using “quotations” to search for exact phrases instead of individual words could also be a useful option.

3. In the “Show options” box, you can choose how often you’d like to receive alerts: once a day; as it happens; once a week.

4. Choose a source for your alerts: web, blogs, news, video, etc. You can also leave this as the default automatic option.

5. Select the language and region.

6. Pick how many results you want to see: “all results” or “only the best results”.

7. Enter the email address you’d like Google to send your alerts to.

8. And click “Create alert” ! You will then be alerted via email whenever Google finds new mentions on the web.

Drawbacks of using Google Alerts

Google alerts can’t catch all mentions, so it is good to occasionally do a quick Google search to double check. Nor can it fully track mentions across social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. There are many media monitoring tools you can subscribe to if you would like a more comprehensive view of what is being said about you on the web. Another thing to bear in mind is that Google Alerts won’t show results from de-indexed pages; meaning that your name or company could still be mentioned on webpages that have been removed from search results due to low traffic, harmful content, or by request.

Burden of policing and monitoring for abusive content

For any victims of online harassment, we understand the mental struggle of having to search one’s name over and over again, dreading whether a new article has popped up. We understand how worried you might be for anyone googling your name. We’ve experienced first-hand the damage the production and distribution of malicious online campaigns causes - and it’s this true understanding and empathy that sets us apart.

We highly recommend you set up Google alerts to spot digital attacks before they go viral across mainstream and fringe social platforms. It could happen to anyone.