10 Google Alert Setups for Link Building

Do you know that a top-ranking page on Google has 4X more backlinks compared to pages ranking in positions 2 to 10?

Despite the speculations in the SEO community about Google downplaying links, backlinks have a long-standing history of complementing Google rankings and still haven’t lost their charm.

That said, if you’re aiming to boost your site’s visibility and climb to the top of search results, link building should be at the forefront of your SEO strategy. 

Ready to build more backlinks? Enter Google Alerts.

Imagine being notified every time people talk about your brand and industry, and even better, translating those conversations into backlinks. With Google Alerts, that’s exactly what you get. 

In this blog, let’s explore 10 Google Alert setups that can help you supercharge your link-building efforts and secure high-quality backlinks that can make a significant difference in your SEO game.

What is Google Alerts?

Google Alerts is a free tool that allows you to monitor the online space for new content that matches specific keywords or phrases based on your predefined alert setup. It’s like having a personal assistant constantly scanning the web and bringing relevant content straight to your inbox.

Many people use Google Alerts for simple tasks like tracking the latest news or keeping tabs on mentions of their brand. However, Google Alerts can help you in multiple other ways, especially if you are looking to up your link-building strategy.

You can set up alerts for anything from brand mentions to industry keywords, and every time something new pops up on the web, you will get an email notification. This kind of real-time information is incredibly useful for link building because it allows you to act quickly on new opportunities.

How to Use Google Alerts for Link Building

Here are 10 ways Google Alerts can complement your link building efforts.

1. Brand Mentions

Do you know that your brand’s online presence is a goldmine just waiting to be unleashed?

With Google Alerts, you can keep a tab on where and how your brand is being talked about. The best part is you can turn these brand mentions into powerful backlinks.

Set up Google Alerts for your brand name and its different variants. Also, consider creating alerts using the names of top executives in your organization.

This way, you can maximize your potential to identify your brand mentions across the web.

Once you create a custom alert, you will get an email notification every time your brand is mentioned online.

If you come across a mention of your brand without a backlink, reach out to the site owner with a convincing pitch and ask them to link back to you.

It’s a win-win because you get a backlink and the webmaster can get an SEO boost by linking to the direct source.

2. Competitor Monitoring

Link building isn’t always about focusing on your own brand. It is also about keeping an eye on your competitors. You can discover new link building opportunities by monitoring your competitors’ activities.

So, how do you watch your competitors using Google Alerts?

Set up alerts for your competitors’ brand names, key products and leading executives. This way, you get notified when they get brand mentions online.

This allows you to develop an idea about how they get more online exposure and, more importantly, where they earn their backlinks.

By analyzing your competitors’ mentions, you can pinpoint specific sites or platforms that are linking to them. These are places that may be open to linking out to your content as well.

For instance, if your competitor is getting mentioned in a guest post or featured on a resource page, you can reach out to the same site and contribute a guest post that can be featured alongside or in place of your competitor’s content. 

Apart from helping you build backlinks,this also allows you to position your brand as an alternative to your competitors.

3. Industry Keywords

Staying ahead of the curve in your industry is crucial for tapping into fresh link building opportunities at the earliest. 

Google Alerts can help you monitor keywords and phrases that matter most to your niche.

Start by shortlisting your keywords. These can be broader industry topics, your products or services.

Set up Google Alerts for each keyword. This way, whenever new content published online includes your keywords, you will get a heads-up.

Think of it as your trump card to the trending topics in your industry. If you notice a new blog post covering a topic closely related to your business, perceive it as a link building opportunity.

Reach out to influential bloggers in your industry and suggest contributing high-quality content to their site that’s relevant to the trending topic.

In addition to fetching you a backlink, this approach will also help you transform into a thought leader in your industry in the long run.

4. Content Marketing Opportunities

Content marketing is one of the best ways to acquire backlinks. However, finding the right opportunities can be a Herculean task. That’s where Google Alerts can come to your rescue.

You can create alerts by coupling your key terms with phrases like “guest post guidelines,” or “write for us,”,

For more refined alerts, you can use a search operator like this. “Your keyword” +intitle:”write for us”.

Alternatively, you can set up guest post alerts using the names of influential contributors in your industry. This will help you identify sites to which they have recently contributed. This often means that those sites are open for guest contributions.

When you receive an alert, take time to review the site’s content and guidelines thoroughly. Tailor your pitch to align with their style and audience, highlighting how your content can add value to their readers. 

Once your content is published, it can serve as a gateway for more opportunities. If readers find your guest post insightful, it is likely to attract user engagement and social shares. This ripple effect can amplify your link-building efforts and help strengthen your overall content marketing strategy.

5. PR and Newsjack Opportunities

One of the most effective ways to secure high-quality backlinks is by leveraging breaking news in your industry. This strategy is called newsjacking.

Think about the kind of news your audience will find relevant and how you can offer a unique perspective or actionable insights based on the same.

Set up alerts for emerging news stories and trending topics that can lead to a potential shift or breakthrough in your niche. For example, a Google Core Update can mark a paradigm shift in the SEO industry.

Newsjacking is all about being timely. So, the sooner you can produce content related to the trending news, the better. Once you receive an alert, it’s time to act.

Whether it’s a blog post, a press release or a social media update, your goal is to provide a fresh take that adds value to the hot topic.

6. Resource Page Link Building

Resource pages are goldmines for link-building. But finding these pages before everyone else can be pretty challenging. Enter Google Alerts.

Create alerts for keywords like “top [industry] resources,” “[industry] toolkit,” or “best [industry] guides.” Alternatively, you can use search operators like “your keyword” + useful links, “your keyword” + recommended resources and more.

Each time a new resource page is published, you will get a notification.

When you spot a new resource page, the next step is to reach out to the webmaster and suggest your content as a valuable addition to their list. Explain how your content can complement what’s already listed or how it fills a gap in their current offerings. 

Whether you have a comprehensive guide or an in-depth article, positioning it as a resource that will benefit their audience can get you a backlink.

7. Monitoring Niche Forums and Q&A Sites

Monitoring niche forums and Q&A sites through Google Alerts allows you to tap into ongoing conversations where your expertise is needed. 

With Google Alerts, you can track these conversations in real-time, offer valuable insights and, in turn, earn backlinks.

Start by setting up alerts for specific questions, topics, or keywords that align with your expertise. 

For refined alerts, you can use this operator: [keyword] + site:[forumname.com] intitle:(who|what||how).

For example, I used this alert- [keyword] + site:www.quora.com intitle:what- to generate the below responses.

By offering genuine answers to relevant questions and naturally linking back to your content, you can boost your SEO performance.

Being active in niche forums and Q&A sites can boost your visibility and reputation within your industry. As you consistently provide valuable insights, others in the community may start looking for your content.

8. Tracking Influencers

Google Alerts can help you keep track of these influencers and ensure that you never miss a beat when they publish new content or get mentioned.

Set up alerts for the names of top influencers in your industry. They can be thought leaders, prominent bloggers or social media influencers related to your industry.

With these alerts in place, you will be notified whenever they post on social media, get featured in an article, or get mentioned on discussion forums.

When you receive an alert, start engaging with their content in meaningful ways. You can leave thoughtful comments on their posts or write a response post on your blog that links back to their content. Such genuine interaction helps you get on their radar and boost your authority in your industry.

Consider suggesting a collaboration, including creating a joint webinar, conducting an interview or creating a podcast. 

This can help you generate more organic backlinks, especially because your content is link-worthy.

9. Discovering Broken Link Opportunities

Broken links are a common issue on many websites, and they represent a fantastic opportunity for savvy link builders like yourself. By helping site owners fix these broken links, you can earn valuable backlinks in return. With Google Alerts, you can easily discover these opportunities and turn them into link-building wins.

To get started, set up alerts for your niche keywords paired with terms like “404,” “page not found,” or “broken link.” These alerts will notify you whenever content related to your industry contains a broken link or references a page that no longer exists. This gives you a direct path to reach out and offer a solution—your own content.

When you discover a broken link on a relevant site, take the opportunity to suggest replacing the broken link with a link to your own high-quality, relevant content. This can improve your chances of earning a backlink placement, especially because broken link building brings mutual benefits.

By suggesting relevant content as a solution and offering value to the host site, you can turn broken links into powerful assets that boost your site’s SEO and visibility.

10. Tracking Guest Post Performance

Monitoring the performance of your guest posts can help you gain valuable insights into how they’re resonating with audiences and whether they’re generating additional mentions or links. Google Alerts can simplify the process for you.

To start tracking your guest posts, set up alerts for the titles of your published guest posts.

[Guest post title] + site: [host site]. This is the format I used. 

Alternatively, you can add the author’s name to track your guest posts efficiently.

These alerts will notify you whenever your guest posts are mentioned, shared, or referenced across the web. For instance, if your guest post is cited in another article, you will get to know about it right away.

By understanding the reach and impact of your guest posts, you can identify what resonates with readers and where you might have opportunities for further engagement. If your guest posts are gaining traction, you are likely to get more backlinking opportunities from the host sites with minimal effort.

How to Set Up Google Alerts?

Here’s your step-by-step guide to create, edit and delete Google Alerts.

Creating Google Alerts

1. Go to the Google Alerts page.

2. In the search box at the top, enter the keyword for which you want to receive alerts. Then, click on the Show options drop down menu to personalize your alert.

3. At this point, you can customize the alert using the drop down button in each field

• Alert Frequency: Choose how often you want to receive alerts: as it happens, at most once a day or at most once a week.
• Sources: Choose between receiving alerts based on all online resources or limiting your sources based on categories including, News, Blogs, Web, Video, Books and Discussions.
• Language: Opt for receiving alerts in different languages, including English, French, Russian, German and more.
• Region: Get notified about new resources from all regions or choose specific countries based on your preference.
• Alert Quality: Choose between seeing all results or only the best results.
• Delivery: Select the account in which you want to get Google Alerts.

4. Once the customization is done, click Create Alert.

Editing Google Alerts

1. You can edit an existing alert by clicking on the pencil icon against it.

2. You can also edit an alert from the email notification you received from Google Alerts. Both the methods will take you to the Google Alerts page containing your existing alerts from where you can make changes.

3. Once the editing is done, click on the Update alert button and the changes will be implemented.

Deleting Google Alerts

1. You can delete an existing alert by clicking on the delete icon against the corresponding alert.

If you know where to tap, Google Alerts can transform what might seem like routine notifications into powerful link-building opportunities. Remember, every backlink matters in SEO.

Implement the Google Alert setups appropriately to track fresh link building opportunities and invest in them at the earliest to beat your competitors in style.