We are flooded by information every day. Filtering out the noise and focus on the necessary information has become a very need. The good news is there are plenty of free and powerful tools available online to help us. Today I would like to share a common one: Google Alerts.
Step 1: Open the Google Alerts page
Accessing this useful utility is easy: just type in “google.com/alerts” in your browser. You will get to the start screen. Just like Google Search, the interface is extremely simple with an input box, where you could input your search term or keyword.
Step 2: Specify the keyword
For example, I would like to keep track of the recent typhoon approaching Tokyo. So I type in “Tokyo typhoon”. A list of related news and web entries are displayed. Unlike the common Google Search function, advertisements are not included here.
Step 3: Fine-tuning
You may notice that there is drop-down arrow for “Show options”. You can customize the results to suit your needs. Say I just need the news in Traditional Chinese, I could select in the “Language” box accordingly.
Step 4: Input email address
Finally, I want the alerts be sent to me automatically. I could then input my email address and specify the frequency in the “How often” box. Then I can simply check my inbox to stay updated with the typhoon news. Of course you can add multiple terms or keywords to help you stay updated.
That’s it! Give it a try and enjoy this free service by Google!