This Cool Tool is really a Google tool and therefore available to anyone on any computer. Still, I wanted to share this tool with you because it can be very useful.

With Google Alerts, you can set up a search term and Google will watch the web for you. When Google Alerts finds a result that matches your search query, it sends you an email to let you know.

Some uses for Google Alerts could be:

• 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

For example, I have a Google Alert set up for Basics4Mac so I can find out when my site is mentioned on the web.

When I wrote a tip about off-site backups, I mentioned CrashPlan as one of the options. Within a few hours of the tip being published, I had an email from the folks at CrashPlan thanking me for including them in the tip. I'm sure that it was Google Alerts that tipped them off.

To set up a Google Alert, go to www.google.com/alerts

You don't need a Google account to set up an Alert, but if you do have a Google account, you can sign in to Google and be able to manage your Alerts.

Related Items: Google