Almost everyone has done it, Googled themselves just to see what comes up. But some people are more guilty than others. Do you find yourself repeatedly Googling your own name just to stay in the loop? Well if this sounds like you, you’re in luck.
Google has recently released a Google Alert widget that will save you from repeatedly Googling yourself. Now if you Google your name, while logged into your Google account, a “Stay in the Loop” widget will appear at the bottom of your screen. This widget will allow you to sign up to receive Google Alerts when your name is mentioned online. Clicking the “Stay in the Loop” link will prompt you to a Google Alerts setup form where your name is the main alert, you can then control things like frequency and level of alerts.
Once you have the settings to how you want them, simply hit “create alert” and you will now be alerted anytime your name is mentioned across the internet. In order for this to work properly, you must allow Google to save your web and app activity in your user account settings.
While Google Alerts has been around since 2003, this new “Stay in the Loop” feature was announced early this summer during Google’s “My Account” announcement. But the widget didn’t launch until just recently.
This new feature can be great if you are in need of reputation management or just need to monitor your name across the internet. Google will alert you via email (or depending on your preferences) each time your name is mentioned online.