How to Use Google Alerts to Generate Articles for Associated Content

My boss is often astonished when I am the first to tell him about critical news about our clients or our company. I finally told him that my apparent omnipotent knowledge of what's going on in the news each day can be credited to a nifty free Google tool.

Google Alerts allow you to set up automated instant email alerts on any subject you want and it's very simple to use. I leverage Google's alert tool to keep up to date on corporate press releases and many other topics that interest me. Those include pit bull advocacy, gun legislation, politics, and many others. I often get creative ideas for new articles after reading hot news alerts from Google. One example of this is my hilarious Nintendo Wii Acquisition article that has been featured on the humor section front page at Associated Content for several days now. Since I have a Blackberry, I get my Google news alerts immediately, and that's a great advantage for getting articles written and submitted as quickly as possible when hot new topics arise.

Here's how you can set up Google Alerts to help you stay updated on information and news that's important to you:

1. Go to http://www.google.com/alerts

2. Enter your search terms in the form just as you would for a standard Google search

3. Choose the type of alert you would like (I generally choose "comprehensive" so I can get alerts on any information appearing on the web regardless of whether it is a news, blog, video, web, or group entry)

4. Choose how often you want alerts sent to you on the topic (for search items I consider to be time sensitive I choose "As it happens", otherwise I choose "Once a day" which results in a email alert with a list of all alerts occurring in the previous 24 hours)

5. Type in your email address

6. After you click the "Create Alert" button, you will receive a confirmation request email from Google to verify that you are the owner of the email account and that you really want the alerts

That's it! You are set for Google alerts on your topic. Repeat this process for any other topics that interest you.

If you are like me, you will find that many of the Google Alerts you receive give you ideas for new articles to write for Associated Content. You'll also learn more about your favorite topics and be better informed for debates and discussions with others who share your interests.