Link building is one of the most important and most difficult tasks in SEO. The most difficult thing to do is to get others to talk about your site and publish a link to your site, hopefully with anchor text, or alt element for image links, that contains a keyword that is important to your SEO campaign.
There are a lot of things that can be helpful in finding the right type of sites to seek links from, but there are some activities that are easier than others. Google offers a really great tool that is overlooked by a good number of people, Google Alerts.
Welcome to Google Alerts
Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:
- monitoring a developing news story
- keeping current on a competitor or industry
- getting the latest on a celebrity or event
- keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams
How to use Google Alerts to identify link building opportunities:
Set up an alert for all of the relevant search terms that you could be used in reference of for your site including misspellings.
If your company is Acme Inc. and your website is http://www.acme.com, you might set up a few like this:
- acme inc
- “acme inc”
- acme
- acem
- acme.com
Specifying the way that you want to receive the alerts, RSS or email, gives you the ability to get them how, when and where you want it.
Now, when you begin receiving the alerts, it will give you the ability to see who is talking about you online. Now you have the ability to find out your best opportunity to get links to your site, from the people that already know about you, your site and what you have to offer.
Doesn’t it make sense that you get a link from those who are already talking about you?
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{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
Great article, you can also use advanced search queries, particularly useful at the moment for me as Justin March is also an American football player. I also have a problem with results being returned due to the March part of my name, my solution is something like the following:
“Justin March” OR “justinmarch” -vickings -field -pitch
Well you get the idea.
Justin,
Thanks for the comment. I run into something similar, as Stephen Pitts is an artist, college football player and even a politician in the UK.
@kolchakA – as well as putting your own company name into your Google Alert, you can put your competitors’ names in there too. As well as finding new relevant places that may also reference your own website, you’re also keeping an eye on what your competitors are up to at the same time.
Thank you so much for the tip. I have a brand new home decor online website and there is so much to learn. I have signed up and have emails instantly all about the home decorating industry. Do you suggest I make contact with relevant business’ to share links? I will definately RSS your blog. Thank you very much. Kat
I think that this strategy might work well for a site that already has a reputation. I’ll give it a shot with mine but appart from a few client’s sites I doubt that anybody really talks about me!
Thank you for your article. I’ve been using Google Alerts for some years now and also with this approach.
I’ve one objection to your last parragraph: if somebody is already speaking about you and Google Alerts captured it, there already is a link coming through. Why to ask them to add the link in their website?
A very informative and clear post. I will definitely start using Google Alerts – any tool that can help improve SEO has got to be worth a look. Cheers!
I used google alerts for a little while, but I found they would send me alerts whenever the terms even remotely appeared in anything. So I ended up with tons of worthless emails. I ended up unsubscribing to everything. Maybe I needed to filter it better.
I have used this technique before with some success. One thong I have observed is that when I first started building links to my site, it disappeared off the serps for a few days. I just kept adding links as usual and it came back to a highest position. I think Google does this to test it the link-building is organic or artificial.
Hi there I’m new to the web game, starting a new biz in the rent area, only want to be known in Aussie land at the moment been reading so much about adwords,links to raise my listings but HOW please can you fill in the blanks , but please in english as I lose interest if I cant follow.
Good piece of advice. Although I think it takes a lot of patience before you see results from natural links made from other peoples comments. It takes years! But they will come if you offer something good and special. Google alert is a great way to keep an eye on the opportunities in this regard. Thanks for sharing!
I would agree that it may well be easier to get backlinks from those who are talking about your specific keyword(s), although it may well be difficult maybe more so than the usual methods of creating backlinks such as directory submissions etc.
Google alerts is very useful, Twitter hashtags # have become equally as useful for me.
Didn’t even know about this Google Alerts until now when I read your blog. I’m gonna try this and see what happens. Yeah still a bit new in the business, learning a few things one day at a time.
I’ve seen Google Alerts on my account panel but I’ve never checked it out. I guess I’ll be doing that today. Thanks.
I love the post and the comments, the post makes a great argument for utilizing Google Alerts and the comments are wonderful ideas to extend that.
Thank you for your views, gives me something to think about.
Is Angela’s backlink method useful or harmful to the site SEO? Many people are discuss in the forums and I just confused!
Very useful tool and of course the price is right – free. Well written post. Thanks for the insights. You have given me some additional ideas.
One of the most important tools to have is Firefox with the “do follow”/”no follow” extension. Then you know to what blogs to contribute to. This one is great for that. We supply the owner of the blog with content and in return we get a link back. But the question is? Do blogs really offer any kind of page rank?
I’ve never heard of Google alerts before.
Very handy for keeping track of niche markets methinks!
No way what a cool tool.
I think I’ll keep an alert on my site and see how my SEO is going!
Yes.. it was really good tool. It just was my favorite tool. And thanks for the how to write the term tips.
Nice post need to work on a tool for seo
i find the alerts are usually full of trash… any suggestions for how to get cleaner results?
i agree. well, basically, not really talking about you but you’ll get to see those sites/people who are talking the same subject as you. not necessarily they will talk about you because obviously you are new, just starting to make a name for yourself (your brand/product) and most of the people in your niche still don’t even know you exist. just my two cents.. ^^
great post, I’ve never thought or heard of anyone using the google alerts method but it makes perfect sense and seems something worthwhile trying, thanks.
I think that this strategy might work well for a site that already has a reputation. I’ll give it a shot with mine but appart from a few client’s sites I doubt that anybody really talks about me
I think I need to be at least a little famous before this strategy works for me. However it’s a good and fresh idea.
Should it also be noted to make sure that the site allows a do-follow for all links that you place in the comment field? Or, is it still noticed as a reference by the S.E’s even without the do-follow link?
Great SEO tip. I have created a google alert for some of my sites.
I agree with some of the comments above about alerts spamming you and full of junk…I would use some strong email filters and maybe a different address just in case.
I’ve found that using Google Alerts on important keywords is helpful in keeping up with news and developments in one’s area of interest/business. It’s better I think to try to use keywords that are not too general in this, to help minimize the amount of useless results that may come back.
Hi thanks for this artical, it is very imformative and I am new to the web design world and SEO so every bit of advice really helps and will be reading alot more from here.
Thanks Gavin
Great advice! I’ve been using Google Alerts to find business opportunities by setting up alerts for business openings, relocations, and events going on in my regional area but I would have never thought about doing this. Good stuff!
Its a great way of finding any discussion on your neiche. I have alerts for my top 10 key phrases with the words like forum so i can join in but in a helpful and positive manor.
That messages will never end.But in fact Spam filters helps greatly.
Cheers for the tip, I have been working day and night trying to get my site ranked better and I may have been barking up the wrong tree so to speak.
Thanks
Google Alerts is the best tool for… monitoring your competitors.
When a new company appears on the market (which means: in Google SERPs) or issues a press release – you will be notified.
I have been using it for about a year and I really recommend it.
One of the most effective no-cost research tools I have use and recommend to my clients is Google Alerts.