Yahoo! Search Alerts is a Google Alerts Alternative

Yahoo has launched a new service called “Search Alerts” that lets users keep themselves updated about new developments, “hot-off-the-press information” and mentions on things that are important to them. “All you have do is tell us the topics you want to be alerted about, and we will constantly scour the web for you, emailing you when we find a new hit so that you will always be in-the-know,” Yahoo wrote in a blog post.

Yahoo! Search Alerts functions just like with Google Alerts, sending you email notification whenever a new page or article mentioning your watched keywords appear on the web. Searches for the keywords can be limited to either News or Web or Images or Video. For instance, you may be interested only on new pictures of a celebrity that are published on the Internet, or new videos of a current event.

Initially, users in the U.S will be getting more filtering options such as the ability to limit searches to Fantasy Sports, Horoscopes, Stocks, Travel Destinations, and Weather, over and above those mentioned in the previous paragraph. The additional results filters will be rolled out to other regions in due time.

For each watched keyword, you can choose the frequency of email – you can have alerts emailed to you as soon as it’s found, or have them collect the results and send you only once each day. If your keywords generate lots of volume, the daily email option will help you keep your inbox from overflowing and your sanity in check.

Although Yahoo! Search Alerts do require you to have a Yahoo account to setup and manage alerts, you can, however, send alerts to any email address even those provided by third party email service provider such as Gmail, Microsoft Outlook or emails on personal domains. This can be done by adding additional email addresses to your Yahoo account on the settings page. Once you have added and verified your other email IDs, you can have the search alerts sent to any of these inboxes, which means that you need not use Yahoo email to receive Yahoo! Search Alerts.

Now read: Google Alerts is Dying. Here Are Some Alternatives