Google Alerts are a great way to monitor your online reputation, keep an eye on keywords you are looking at and monitor your links around the web.

Google Alerts is one of the Google services that does not require a Google account to use but you can access it through after logging into your Google account.

This article covers how to create a Google alert without a Google account and after logging into your Google account.

What is a Google Alert?

A Google alert is a notice sent to you from the Google alert system via email when Google has found an instance of the keywords you have setup to monitor. You can send this notice to any email address. It does not have to be a Gmail email address.

You set what areas of the internet you wish to monitor. It can be just news articles, just blogs, the web, a comprehensive report covering all instances, just videos or just groups.

The frequency that you receive your Google alert is set by you. The alert can be sent as Google finds the phrase, once each day or once a week.

In one session you are allowed to create up to ten alerts. Once confirming your alerts, you are allowed to create more. The maximum number of alerts you are allowed per email address is 1000 alerts.

Create a Google Alert Without a Google Account

The steps below are how to create a Google alert without using a Google account.

1. Go to the Google Alerts home page.

   Over on the right is a series of boxes (form) to fill in.

2. The top box is where you fill in what you want to be alerted about.

   You can fill in your domain name, company name, keywords you want to monitor, or anything else you want.

3. The second step is to select what type of alert you want.

   Your choices are:

   • News – top ten results in Google News
   • Blogs – top ten results in Google Blog search
   • Web – top twenty results in Google Web search
   • Comprehensive – Everything (selected by default)
   • Video – top ten results in Google Video search
   • Groups – top fifty results in Google Groups search

   For the most instances leave the default of Comprehensive.

4. Next is how often you want to be notified.

   The choices for the frequency you receive your Google alert are:

   • as-it-happens – Receive your alert as soon as Google finds an instance of your alert.
   • once a day – As it says, you receive a Google alert email once a day. (selected by default)
   • once a week – Again, as it says, you receive your Google alert email once a week.

   If you want to keep right on top of when your phrase is found, select as-it-happens.

5. Email length is how many results in the emailed alert to you want at a time.

   You have 2 choices:

   • up to 20 results (selected by default)
   • up to 50 results
6. The last box before submitting is for your email address you want the Google Alerts sent to.

   Enter your email adddress in the box provided. It does not have to be a Gmail email address.

7. Check over your selections.
8. The last step is to left click the Create Alert button at the bottom of the form.

   That’s it, you are done!

Now you will start receiving Google Alerts in your email.

Create a Google Alert After Logging into Your Google Account

If you have a Google account already, you can access Google Alerts from your account home page. Entering Google Alerts this way you can also edit your existing alerts.

1. Go to any Google page.

   Up in the top right of most Google pages there is a link to log into Google. Left click it.

2. Complete the sign in process to log into Google.

   Once you do this, you will be taken back to the Google page you logged in from.

3. Up in the right corner is a link called Settings. Beside the link is a down arrow which exposed some choices. Left click it.

   Select the Google Account Setting option from the dropdown list.

4. You are now in your Google account page.

   Scroll down a bit to the Try something new section.

5. Left click the Alerts link (it’s on the left side).

   You are taken to the Google Alerts home page.

6. The rest of the process is the same as described above under Create a Google Alert Without a Google Account starting at step 2.

   The email portion of the form is already filled in with the email address associated with your Google account.

Now that you know how to create a Google alert without a Google account and if you already have a Google account you can start monitoring things like your business name, your name, your blog mentions or anything else you want. There’s tonnes of things you can monitor with Google Alerts!

Other Google Alerts Information

Google Alerts Help – Frequently asked questions at the Google Alerts site.

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