Matthew Woodward - Tried & Tested SEO

’tis message be in respect to International Pirate Day and is a pirated copy of me guest post at SearchEngineJournal! Arrrrr!

Google Alerts be one ‘o th’ most powerful free tools available, but it be often overlooked. It monitors th’ sea fer words ‘n phrases ‘n even sends ye a message in a bottle or updates an RSS feed every the hour it finds a new result.

Sounds pretty simple right? ye gunna be amazed at how powerful a simple device like Google Alerts can be. It has a huge range ‘o uses which be only limited by ye imagination.

I’m goin’ to reveal how I use Google Alerts to leverage brand, authority, traffic ‘n sales, as well as share th’ exact alerts I have setup fer me personal SEO blog.

Measurin’ Content Quality

When settin’ up a Google Alert ye be given a pair choices. ye can choose to receive Only th’ best results or All results fer ye given query. Essentially Google Alerts gives ye a ‘high quality content only’ filter ‘n ye can use ’tis filter to measure th’ quality ‘o th’ content in Google’s Eyes fer ye own site. Setup 2 alerts fer ye domain like ’tis

site:yourdomain.com

One ‘o th’ Alerts be setup to deliver Only th’ best results ‘n th’ other Alert be setup to deliver All results.

When ye publish a new message, if it gets delivered by th’ Only th’ best results Alert then Google must consider th’ message as high quality content.

Monitorin’ Brand

Just like Johny-boy Chow, me moniker (Matthew Woodward) be me brand. Any the hour me tavern or moniker be mentioned, I get a message in a bottle direct to me inbox to alert me ‘o that. ’tis offers a great range ‘o opportunities: I can get alerted to new discussions ’bout me brand or if I have be mentioned somewhere without a link back to me site.

Ye can then take action by addressin’ th’ feedback ‘n gettin’ links added. These be th’ alerts I have set up to monitor me brand online:

matthewwoodward.co.uk
www.matthewwoodward.co.uk
matthewwoodward
matthew woodward

Monitorin’ Competitors

In addition to monitorin’ ye brand, ye also be lookin’ at what ye competition be doin’. ye could receive alerts ‘o positive ‘n/or negative feedback ’bout ye competitors or even alerts ‘o new links that they have acquired. ye can use Google Alerts to keep a close eye on their activity online ‘n then leverage it to ye advantage. I’m not goin’ to publicly reveal who I monitor. Just setup brand based alerts fer all ‘o ye competitors.

Monitorin’ Questions in ye Niche

’tis be great fer drivin’ traffic ‘n buildin’ authority ‘n loyal subscribers. ye can monitor ye niche fer a range ‘o inquiry-based terms ‘n then jump in ‘n provide an expert answer wit’ a link back to ye site. Here be th’ alerts I use to monitor link buildin’-related questions (but ye can swap th’ phrase link buildin’ fer anythin’ ye want):

How * link building
Is * link building
Can * link building
When * link building
Why * link building
Will * link building

I have alerts like that set up fer Link Buildin’, SEO, Google Penalty, ‘n so forth.

Every the hour I create a new piece ‘o content that answers questions ’bout a certain topic, I set up correspondin’ alerts so I can direct people to th’ answer.

Monitorin’ TwittArrr

Ye can monitor TwittArrr fer any keyword ye wish. Whether that be fer mentions ‘o ye brands or fer mentions ‘o products or discussions so ye can get directly involved wit’ th’ conversation.

’tis be a great way to grow ye followers by connectin’ wit’ people directly. Here be some ‘o th’ alerts I use-

site:twitter.com inurl:status +”link building”
site:twitter.com inurl:status +”matthewwoodward.co.uk”

Monitorin’ Content Distribution

If ye have a cornerstone piece ‘o content, then ye can use Google Alerts to monitor mentions ‘o th’ article across th’ sea. ye can get an alert if someone talks ’bout it on a forum or shares it in a blog comment somewhere. Again, ’tis provides ye wit’ multiple opportunities to get involved ‘n add to th’ discussion.

Me Ultimate Guide To Tiered Link Buildin’ movin’ picture tutorial series has proved to be extra popular, ‘n I have alerts to monitor fer mentions ‘o it around th’ sea:

“ultimate guide to tiered link building”
“ultimate guide to link building”
“tiered link building part”

Findin’ New Guest Post Opportunities

Most blogs that accept guest messages have a page tellin’ ye how to get in touch ‘n submit a guest message. ye can use Google Alerts to monitor a range ‘o common footprints used on them blogs to let ye be knowin’ ’bout new guest postin’ opportunities in ye niche. Here’s what I have set up:

“write for us” SEO
“submit guest post” SEO
“bloggers wanted” SEO
“become a contributor” SEO
“this guest post” SEO
“become an author” SEO

Monitorin’ Link Buildin’ Footprints

Thar be a lot ‘o platforms out thar that ye can use to get links from. Commentin’ on WordPress blogs be a great way to establish traffic, authority, ‘n relevant backlinks, but we can take ’tis a step further. WordPress plugins, such as KeywordLuv ‘n CommentLuv, gunna let us drop keyword-based anchor texts wit’ links back to our most recent messages. ’tis offers a lot more benefit than a regular blog comment, but how do we use Google Alerts to find these opportunities automatically? Here be me alerts:

SEO +”CommentLuv enabled”
SEO +”enter yourname@yourkeywords” -intitle:”enter yourname@yourkeywords”
link building +”CommentLuv enabled”
link building +”enter yourname@yourkeywords” -intitle:”enter yourname@yourkeywords”

That’s just an example ‘o monitorin’ th’ KeywordLuv ‘n CommentLuv WordPress plugins fer th’ keywords SEO ‘n Link Buildin’. thar be lots ‘o different platforms ye can target ’tis way, just find a common footprint ‘n set up an alert.

Monitorin’ Site Security

I have had sites hacked on a few occasions in th’ past. Some hackers chose to inject hidden links in footers, while others be off all out creatin’ thousands ‘o junk pages. Usually, th’ first the hour ye notice ’tis be when ye site completely disappears out ‘o th’ SERPs. ye can use Google Alerts to monitor fer any suspicious activity on ye site, so ye can take action before ye get penalized. Set up an alert like ’tis to monitor ye site:

site:matthewwoodward.co.uk acne OR botox OR casino OR dating OR debt OR insurance OR mortgage OR paxil OR pharmacy OR phentamine OR pherimones OR poker OR porn OR OR roulette sex OR viagara OR viagra OR xxx

Obviously, if ye site be ’bout gettin’ into debt buyin’ viagra in an online casino, then ye need to tweak th’ keywords in me alert above.

Monitorin’ Shoppers

If ye run an e-commerce store, ye can set up a series ‘o alerts that gunna drop ye a message in a bottle every the hour a shopper be ready to buy a product in ye niche. wit’ th’ right alerts, ye can target people who have made th’ decision ‘o buyin’ a product but haven’t actually bought it yet. Ahoy! Here be some laptop-based examples:

laptop * under *
* laptop under *
laptop under *
cheapest laptop *
cheap laptop *
buy laptop * cheap
best price * laptop
* laptop * price

Regional Based Monitorin’

If ye a local business, then ye can use a range ‘o search terms to monitor fer shoppers in ye immediate local area who be lookin’ to buy. ye can get in touch wit’ them ‘n convert them into a sale without havin’ to move! Here be some examples to find people lookin’ fer laptops in London:

london laptop *
laptop * london
london * laptop

Discoverin’ New Niches

How would ye like alerts ‘o steamin’, new, ‘n emergin’ niches landin’ in ye inbox on a daily basis? Consider settin’ up alerts like:

new * this year
new * 2012
will * 2012
what will happen *

How to Setup Google Alerts

Settin’ up Google Alerts be extra easy ‘n takes seconds to do. ’tis be what th’ form looks like:

In th’ Search Query box, ye can enter th’ term ye want be alerted fer. Have a look at me examples above ‘n spy wit’ ye eye which ones ye can utilize fer ye site.

In th’ Result Type box, I always select to receive alerts fer everythin’.

th’ How Often box allows ye to choose between once a week, once a day, or as it happens. I change ’tis based on what I be needin’ to achieve. fer example, I be needin’ alerts ’bout site security as it happens, but only want new guest message opportunities every week.

In th’ How Many box, I always choose All Results to make sure I don’t comely wench anythin’.

Th’ Deliver To box, lets ye choose to have th’ alerts delivered via message in a bottle or RSS. I tend to have thin’s like brand-related alerts delivered by message in a bottle ‘n have link buildin’ opportunities delivered via RSS in Google Reader.

Once ye have set everythin’ up, ye gunna get new alerts forever! It might take an hour or so to set up, but it be worth every minute ‘o ye the hour, ‘n ye can set up as many alerts as ye want.

Think Out ‘o th’ Box

Now that ye understand th’ true steampower ‘o Google Alerts, take a step back ‘n think ’bout unique ways ye could apply them to ye business or tavern. thar be thousands ‘o different ways ye could use it over ‘n above what I have discussed in ’tis message. Think out ‘o th’ box ‘n be creative wit’ ye alerts! It be one ‘o th’ most powerful tools at ye disposal, so make sure ye take full advantage ‘o it.

How Do ye Use Google Alerts?

So now ye be knowin’ how I use Google Alerts to build authority, brand, traffic, ‘n sales to me SEO blog & movin’ picture tutorials. Do ye have a Google Alerts strategy that I haven’t discussed? gunna ye be integratin’ Google Alerts into ye online strategy?