Why Google Alerts Is Your Most Important Free Tool

Yesterday, I talked a little bit about online reputation management and why that is important. Today I want to share with you one of the most important tools you can use to manage your reputation online – and it’s totally free.

Google Alerts is indispensable for anyone wanting to business online. Just Google “Google alerts” and you’ll find it. The tool allows you to type in any keyword or phrase and be notified, literally within minutes, of any new information that has been published about you or your company. I recommend that you monitor all content that consists of your real name, any business aliases that you use, your online nickname, your company names, and the names of your partners. You should also include any company brands, product lines, individual product names, and various labels associated with your business.

You can choose to be notified immediately, once daily, or weekly for any key terms that you want to track. This is an important measure for online reputation management because it allows you to stay on top of all the ways that people are talking about you. Until you can do that effectively, you cannot really do any serious reputation management.