Is Your Google Alert Set Up?

“Awareness is Empowering.”
-Rita Wilson, American Actress.

A quick flip through the back entries of this blog will show some bizarre information about- among other things- bars, restaurants, clubs, shops and other establishments. Most entries are diary-style blogs about what I do there. Some are constructive, glowing reviews. Others are damning criticisms. Well guess what? There's more of this to come.

If you own a business like the above examples, and if you're smart, you will know I've reviewed your establishment the moment I upload the writing to the Net. This is because you've already set up your Google Alert.

Google offer you the option of entering a search term into their engine and to be notified whenever this word or phrase is used, anywhere on the web. That way, you can keep a tab on what people are saying about you. In the social media spheres- like this one- you can quickly enter a dialogue, if you so desire, through comment systems. You can defend yourself against criticisms and offer thanks for praise. I'm not a businessman, but I'd imagine that level of communication and awareness would be a massive benefit to your business.

http://www.google.com/alerts

Alerts can also be filtered by type of content. Want comprehensive results from the whole web? Choose “everything”. Want to know what only the journalists are saying? Select “news”. You can also specify “updates”, “blogs”, “videos” or “discussions”.

If you've not done this yet, set it up quick, my friend. It could be your place I drop into next, pen-in-hand.