Is Google Alert ignoring my posts?
Have you heard of Google Alert? If not, it’s an excellent tool for keeping you informed of new articles published on the web with the keywords you’re interested in. I use it to keep updated on articles published relating to my industry as a Virtual Assistant, but also if anyone writes about me in some way. I also use it to keep informed on topics of interest to my clients, thereby providing additional service to them.
If you don’t understand how it works, rather than me explaining here, you can go to GoogleGuide to read about it.
So I probably have between 20-30 Google Alerts set up and receive a compiliation of listings for most of those keywords or phrases every day and I can scan through them quickly for items of interest.
However, over the past few months I’ve noticed that none of my posts written on my VA blog get picked up on one of my alerts. Other alerts pick up on posts I’ve published if my name is included or if other keyword phrases I use are included but for my Virtual Assistant blog they do not show up. Why? I have no idea and I’m on a search to try and figure that out.
If I’m not receiving them then I’m not convinced others are too and it means that I’m losing potential audience who might want to know about new blog posts relating to this industry. I have tried contacting Google about this but, as yet, with no response. If you have any idea I’d love to hear about it!
Great content! Keep up the good work!
This Blog reminds me the reason I like bloging so much, the interaction is very important with readers and you guys have it right. Looks great too, will be back for more posts, David the mover. : – )
I’ve noticed the same thing recently. My Google Alerts on “Blogger” get picked up occasionally–while the Google Alerts from my WordPress blog get pciked up ALL the time. When you find the answer, please let me know.
I’d be interested in knowing the answer to that one myself.
Excellent content…keep up the good work!
I think the answer is both keywords, as you’ve identified, but also ranking, a much squirrelier issue. I’ve posted some thoughts here, with a link back to your post.
Thanks for flagging this issue.
Cheers,
Rob
Interesting thought thank you Robert. My VA blog has a good PR and it used to show up in the Google Alerts but hasn’t done so for a few months now – I can’t fathom why and requests to Google asking about it seem to go unnoticed or ignored at this stage.
i am curious about When you find the answer, please let me know.
I’d like to know the answer to this also. My blog is called “Licorice Lover”; nearly every post has the word “licorice” in it; nearly every post title has the word “licorice” in it. Yet my blog posts never show up in my google alerts for “licorice.” Is there anything else I can do to get google to pick up my blog?
And you’re with Blogger! You shouldn’t be having problems. Is there any way you can check stats to see who is linking to you?
I can’t be sure and my site is now showing up in Alerts again (after many months) but I believe it may have been due to some who were using part of my domain name in their spammy domain address and linking to my site – they showed up in my stats but I couldn’t get them removed.
This is a great point and one that I’ trying to find an answer to as well. Were you able to things resolved? Looking forward to hearing more.
Chris
No and I wish I did. I thought it was working again but it was simply a once-off affair and since I write to that blog 3 times a week it is rather perplexing. And the site is indexed by Google.
I have managed to get my posts recognized by google alerts. I’m not sure what did the trick. I entered my blog on some “ping” sites and also on Entireweb. Maybe that helped. At any rate, my posts are showing up now.
I haven’t – one did about 2 weeks ago and none since. I’ve checked at Google and it’s definitely listed and verified so I can’t work it out. Being a blog it pings all the directories on a regular basis every time I post (3 times a week) and this has been happening for many, many months now.