A great Google social media intelligence tool for business is Google Alerts. It provides the most up-to-date information on specific topics globally. By entering keywords like “insurance” or “car insurance,” an online insurance  company could use Google Alerts to identify new blog entries, web pages, and even Twitter updates that indicate a need for its service or a potential online partner. Google’s robots crawl and index millions of websites and RSS feeds daily. Every time a website is updated and Google finds new content related to your search, Google Alerts sends you an e-mail with a brief description and a link to the original site. You can also opt to subscribe to Google Alerts as an RSS feed.

• Knowing when new and relevant information is posted us vital to online social media marketers.
• Being able to respond quickly, while an opportunity or topic is still hot, is vital to your success.

Key topics you must monitor with Google Alerts:           

• Client names including both the company and key staff
• Competitor names including both the company and key staff
• Your company, service, and product names
• Key terms that relate to industry trends or events

Keywords that indicate a need for a product or service:

• A hotel in Miami: “going to Miami”
• Authors and Speakers: “annual conference”
• Building Supply Company: “renovations”
• A Restaurant: “(Restaurant Name) + Review”
• Any search term combined with the name of a region to monitor specific mention of a topic in a certain city, region, or country.