Google Alerts is a great way to stay up to date with the latest updates on the world wide web. It works great with RSS readers like Feeder because you can get all updates in one place.
Adding a Google Alert feed is simple, just follow these steps:
Make your search in the search box.
Before pressing “Create alert” press “Show Options”
In the “Deliver to” option you need to change from your e-mail to “RSS Feed”.
Press “Create Alert” to save your alert.
In the list of your alerts, press the RSS icon.
This will take you to the RSS Feed page. If you have the RSS Feed Reader extension installed you will get a prompt to follow instantly on your account. If not, you simply copy the URL in the URL bar and paste it into the add feed page of feeder.
“Deliver to” option grayed out? Can’t change to RSS?
Does your “Deliver to” option on your Google Alert look grayed out and you can’t change it to RSS?
Make sure that the “Delivery time” and “Digest” options are disabled. On the main page (google.com/alerts), there is a settings icon (
). Click that to reveal the digest options. Make sure that these are disabled.
Also, when you are editing a Google Alert you need to make sure that the “How often” option is set to “As-it-happens”. Then it should be possible to change “Deliver to” to “RSS”.
Why is my new alert empty?
A new alert's feed can be empty, or have only a few posts, until Google finds new pages that match it. Feeder checks the feed and shows new posts when they appear, so follow it anyway. If an alert stays empty for days, make its keywords broader. See The feed is empty.
Why did my Google Alert feed stop working?
If you deleted an alert in Google Alerts, its feed stops working too, and Feeder can no longer update it. An alert you make again gets a new feed address, even with the same keywords. To get it back:
- Open Google Alerts and check that the alert is still in the list. If it isn't, make it again with Deliver to set to RSS Feed.
- In the list of your alerts, press the RSS icon and copy the address from the URL bar.
- Add that address in Feeder, then unfollow the old feed.
Any questions? You’re welcome to send us a message at support@feeder.co