How to Use Google Alerts

Transcription

1

2

3 How to Use Google Alerts Google Alerts is a service that generates search engine results, based on criteria provided by you, and delivers the results to your e mail account. This service is useful for many reasons, such as monitoring the web for specific information about your company, your kids, your online content's popularity or your competition. You can also use it to keep up to date with new advancements, celebrity gossip or current trends. Steps 1 Open the website. Once you have a web browser open, type Google Alerts into your search engine or go directly to the website This will bring you to the Google Alerts home page. 2 Enter your search. Enter the topic you would like to receive alerts on. As soon as you begin typing, a sample of your first Google alert will appear. If you are not getting the results you expected, you can change your input right away. 3 Create the Alert. Enter a valid address, which Google will use to send you the results of your query. Then complete the process by clicking on the red CREATE ALERT button. You will receive an from Google Alerts asking you to confirm or cancel this request. Once you confirm the request, you will begin receiving your alerts. Your first basic Google Alert is now complete. 4 Choose source type. There are some additional options available to tailor your search to your particular needs. For instance, you may choose the type of sources you wish to search from. The default is everything, which is a good choice if you're not sure which to pick. The other options are: News, Blogs, Video, Discussions and Books. If you have a look at this screenshot, the same topic is chosen as in the original example, but the source is changed to video. You can see how this changes the type of results you would receive. 5 Choose the frequency. You can now indicate how often you would like the results to be delivered to your inbox. You have the options of once a week, once a day, or as it happens. The as it happens setting may deliver the results to your inbox multiple times a day, depending on how often the query appears in the news stream. If this is likely to be annoying, don't choose that option. Once a day and once a week will stockpile the results and only deliver them on your schedule. The default for this option is once a day. 6 Select 7 Click 8 If search volume. The last choice you have is to set the volume. This allows you to switch the volume between only the best results, in which Google filters your results for relevance to the topic, and all results. the CREATE ALERT button. Enter your details to login. you wish to add a new search while logged in, simply type in a new search in the search bar and follow the previous steps. 9 Modify current searches. While signed in, you can also modify any current searches you have. Beside each alert is an Edit button (see black arrow). This allows you to modify your keywords as well as the volume and frequency of how alerts are delivered. You also have the choice of having the alert delivered to your inbox or directly into an RSS feed (see red arrows). Once you're done, you must either save or cancel the changes you have made. 10 Delete the alerts you don't want. If you wish to delete one or more of your alerts, check off the box directly to

4 the left of it (see red arrows). Once a box is ticked, the Delete button will become available (see black arrow). Once you click delete, your search will be removed. If you want it back, you'll have to re create it. Can you answer these readers' questions? Refresh On How to Get a Job in Indian Railways, a reader asks: What are the age requirements to work on an Indian railway job? Your answer... Reply On How to Care for a Dendrobium Orchid, a reader asks: Initially how much quantity of fertilizer do I put into soil when I plant the seed? Your answer... Reply On How to Wipe Clean an External Hard Drive, a reader asks: How do I format an external backup hard drive for my new computer? Your answer... Reply Tips The same rules apply here as when you enter a search in a normal search engine. For example, you can use quotes to receive searches that only include the exact words given or use a negative sign to exclude certain results. Broad searches will provide lots of results; you may want to narrow them down. If your query is really specific, you may not get a result every day. If you're not receiving any results, check to make sure they're not being directed to your spam inbox. You may need to add Google Alerts to your contacts if this is the case. Warnings If you decide to use the advanced features, you will have to accept Google s user agreement. It is advisable that you read this contract before you accept it. Google Alerts is a free service; if you enter you will enter a different site not affiliated with Google. It provides similar services for a fee. Things You'll Need Internet access Valid account Google account (to access the advanced features)

5

6 (/) SMS follow Want to get updates but don t want to create a Twitter account? No problem! Use SMS follow to receive Twitter updates without having to sign up or add your phone to a Twitter account. Note: Message and data rates may apply. To get started: SMS follow allows you to get great content, directly from people you choose to follow, straight to your phone. Send Follow [username] to your Twitter shortcode (/articles/14226), and you will start receiving Tweets from that user on your device. Example: sending follow Twitter to on a US-based AT&T phone would mean I'd start getting SMS updates posts a Tweet. Some notes on SMS following: As a SMS follow user, you will only be able to receive updates from accounts you follow. SMS follow users have a limit to how many updates they can receive daily. If you have hit your limit, you will receive the message You've reached your daily limit for Tweet notifications. If you would like to receive more updates just reply with your full name and follow the instructions to create a full Twitter account. As a SMS follow user, your phone number (or any other personal information) will not be included in the follower list of users you choose to follow. If you have a Twitter account with a username and profile (not an SMS follow account), any SMS follow user who chooses to follow you will be reflected in your overall follower count. Have a SMS follow account but want to experience all Twitter has to offer? Learn how to create a Twitter username and profile here: Visit twitter.com ( and follow the sign up flow on the homepage.

7 Or, text your full name to your mobile provider's shortcode (/articles/14226). More instructions can be found here (/articles/14589). Remember, even if you don't have a profile, your use is subjected to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. ( policy-rules-terms-violations) Fast follow mobile commands: Below you ll see all of the SMS commands you can use as a fast follower. All other SMS commands, including those for registered users, can be found here. (/articles/14020) Follow [username] - allows you to receive updates from that user. OFF or STOP or LEAVE - turns off receiving updates from the users you are following. ON - will turn on device updates and you will start receiving tweets again. WHOIS [username] - retrieves the profile information of the user. STATS - returns the number of people that you are following. GET [username] - retrieves the latest update that user has posted. To remove your phone and SMS follower list from Twitter: Sending STOP twice in succession to your shortcode (/articles/14226) will delete your follower list and remove your phone number from Twitter. You will no longer receive updates from us. You can send Follow [username] anytime and start receiving updates again! Need help? Contact Support (/forms/apps). Was this article helpful? Tweet

8 QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE CREATING AN ALERT The Alerts feature on Westlaw increases your ability to access important information by streamlining the process for creating alerts, enhancing options for delivering results, and consolidating all of your alerts into one, easy-to-use interface. Accessing Westlaw Alerts On the Westlaw home page, click Alerts in the upper right corner. The Alerts page is displayed. The Alerts page consolidates all of your alerts into a single list. Options for viewing your alerts include: View by Alert Type Create a newsletter Create a new alert of alerts Display in list Filter alerts View alert history view or grid view Sort alerts View more or less detail Create and manage alert groups Delete selected alerts Resume selected alerts, or run selected alerts immediately Pause selected alerts Creating an Alert To create an alert, complete these steps: 1. Click Create Alert and select an alert type from the drop-down menu, e.g., WestClip.

9 WESTLAW QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE 2. The WestClip Alert page is displayed. In the Basics section, enter a name for the alert. If desired, change the default Client ID and add a description. Then, click Continue. The process for creating an alert is similar for each type of alert. 3. In the Select Content section, select the content you want to search. For example, to select news content, click Add next to News. You can select up to 20 different types of content. Click Continue. 4. In the Enter Search Terms section, enter a Boolean Terms and Connectors query in the Search box. If you are searching news content, use Smart Terms to specify an industry, subject, company, or location. Click Preview Results if you would like to preview your result and verify that your search terms and other settings yield the result you want, at no charge. Click Continue. CREATING ALERTS 2

10 WESTLAW QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE 5. In the Customize Delivery section, select a delivery method, e.g., , HTML, XML, RSS, or Portal, and select the settings for that method. Click Continue. 6. In the Schedule Alert section, set the frequency for the alert. Select the time zone and time of day the alert will run and whether you want to be notified when there are no results. 7. Click Save Alert. A confirmation message and the new alert summary are displayed on the Alerts page. LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION? Westlaw is available on the Web at next.westlaw.com. For assistance using Westlaw, call WESTLAW ( ). For free reference materials, visit legalsolutions.com/westlaw-support Thomson Reuters L /6-16

11