Google Alerts is probably one of the least known, but it's definitely one of the most powerful. It connects to the endless crawling of Google - which is done to turn on its search engine - but marks terms as they are indexed, not when you search for them. Imagine that Google results come to you.

Instead of searching every day to see if your favorite band is on tour, for example, or to find out if there are any new rumors about the next iPhone, you can sit back and go straight to your inbox.

How to set up Google Alert

Setting up Google Alerts is easy and straightforward. Go to your Google Alerts page from your computer or mobile device and sign in with your Google Account, if you don't already have one.

In the Create alert for box at the top of the screen, enter the phrase or words you want to display. Note that you can use common search operators here, the same ones you use when searching on Google - quotes for matching a phrase to an exact phrase; the plus sign in front of it ensures that your search always includes that word, and the minus sign for a word tells Google to return matches that don't. "Dolphins -Miami" will give you results about aquatic mammals, but not about the football team, for example.

As you type, you'll see a preview of the results to see if your search needs to be further refined. If you are notified that you are satisfied, select Show Options. Here you can choose how often you want your alerts to appear and whether you want to see all the results of your query or just the most relevant ones. The second option takes into account many factors, including the page on which it was published and how many times people clicked on it, and so on. This option is especially useful if you are looking for something that returns multiple hits.

If you're lucky, select Create Alerts and the results will start coming to your inbox as often as you like (as shown, once a day or once a week). Once you've created an alert, you can go to the Google Alerts page and edit or delete it.

Some trial and error may be necessary to find the right balance between the weight of the results and nothing, but you need to be able to quickly sense how specific your search terms should be and how often you should receive your variety. Google Alerts.

1. Important news topics

Google Alerts are great for tracking news, especially about topics that don't always appear in headlines. You may be interested in archeological excavations in a certain part of the world, a specific art class or a specific fashion trend - Google Alerts can bring you articles on these topics directly.

2. Your favorite bands, movies and writers

With so much music to listen to today, it can be so easy to miss a new album or a new tour of a band you visited a few years ago - but Google Alerts can keep track of what's new. prevent.

But it's more than just music artists - you can, for example, check out the new seasons on your favorite Netflix show or new books by your favorite authors. Google Alerts can offer you any kind of cultural content you want.

3. Beware of plagiarism

If you or the company you work for is a writer, Google Alerts is a great way to search the web for plagiarism. You can easily make sure that no one else is passing on your work to them, lending you common phrases, or trying to do so by making a warning with your name, the titles of your articles, or some internal text to test. Capture plagiarism (or find out who is quoting your content).

4. Check company discussions

It's about work, but it's still interesting - you can use Google Alerts to control what other people are saying about your business on the web, whether good or bad. Google Alerts are also useful for tracking industry news, and if your employer is a big name in your chosen industry, you should also get a lot of news results. If you do not wish to be notified of your company's online discussions, you may enter your name (this is one of the notices recommended by Google itself). It's a bit of a selfish move, but you'll at least know when others are talking about you (and you'll probably find other people by name).

5. Your personal data

Lost your mailing address or webmail address? This is a simple Google alert. Keep in mind that these warnings will not be seen by anyone else, so your privacy is not compromised here. If you know your email address is available to everyone to see, you may be a victim of hacking or mentioning an online directory - no matter the context, Google Alerts can help you take immediate action.

6. Watch people

who are you interested in Whether it's your long-lost brother or sister, a politician, a celebrity, or a sports star, Google Alerts delivers messages about that person right to your inbox. For the most popular searches, you may need to reduce the frequency of your alerts and leave only the Top Results option, but it will also work for searches that never return more results - if there is a sudden return to your audience. eyes, you will know it first.

7. Local news

We'll end up with the news - a place where Google Alerts are probably the most useful. Finding news about your location isn't always easy in some parts of the world, but a quick Google alert can help - if something important happens in your area, you'll know. If you live in an area with a lot of news, you can be more specific using keywords (such as searching for traffic or crime articles).