This is Project 1 of The 12-Project Hit List (a series where I build 12 AI and automation projects in public and document everything, including the parts that don’t go as planned). You can grab the full Hit List PDF here and build alongside me.

What You Are Building

A scenario that monitors any keyword across the web using Google Alerts and sends you one formatted daily digest email via Gmail. Five modules, no AI required, free forever.

Time to build: 2 to 3 hours Cost: Free Tools: Google Alerts, Make.com, Gmail

A Quick Note on Tool Choice

I originally planned to build this in n8n. It is the tool I use daily and run on my own server. But when I looked into recommending it for a beginner walkthrough I discovered n8n no longer has a permanent free tier on its cloud version. You get a 14-day trial then it goes behind a paywall starting at around 20 euros a month.

So I switched to Make.com mid-build. Make has a genuine free forever tier — 1,000 operations a month, two active scenarios, no time limit. For a workflow running once daily that is more than enough. The logic is identical to what I had planned in n8n. Only the interface is different.

This kind of pivot happens in real builds. Tools change their pricing, platforms lock down features. Getting comfortable with that is part of learning automation.

Part 1: Set Up Your Google Alerts

Google Alerts monitors the web for any keyword you choose and packages the results as an RSS feed that Make can read.

Step 1: Go to google.com/alerts and sign in with your Google account.

Step 2: In the search box type your first keyword. For example:

• “artificial intelligence Africa”
• “remote marketing jobs”
• “Ghana tech news”

Step 3: Click Show options and set the following:

• How often: At most once a day
• Sources: Automatic
• Language: English
• Region: Any region
• How many: All results
• Deliver to: RSS feed

Step 4: Click Create Alert.

Step 5: Back on the Google Alerts homepage click the RSS feed icon next to your alert. Your browser will open an XML file — that is completely normal. It is just what an RSS feed looks like in raw form. Copy the URL from your browser address bar. It will look something like this:

https://www.google.com/alerts/feeds/16871934794216185125/10665890337190913104

Save it somewhere. This is your first RSS URL.

Step 6: Repeat Steps 2 to 5 for each keyword you want to monitor. For this build I used three alerts. Each one becomes a URL you will feed into Make.

Note on job alerts: Google Alerts can be used for job searches but requires very specific search syntax to return useful results. Something like (“Software Engineer” OR “Full Stack”) “London” (intitle:job OR intitle:hiring) tends to work better than a vague keyword. Even then results can be inconsistent. For reliable job listings most major job boards like Indeed and LinkedIn have locked down their RSS access. Boards that still offer open RSS feeds like We Work Remotely only provide broad category feeds rather than keyword searches. For Project 1 we are keeping this as a news and keyword monitor. A dedicated job alert system is a separate build worth its own walkthrough.

Part 2: Set Up Make.com

Step 1: Go to make.com and sign up for free. No credit card required.

Step 2: Once inside click Scenarios in the left sidebar, then Create a new scenario, then Build from scratch. You will land on the scenario editor canvas.

Part 3: Build the Scenario

Before you start, a quick note on structure. Each Google Alert URL gets fed into the same single RSS module via an Iterator — you do not need a separate RSS module for each alert. Adding more alerts later just means adding a URL to one list. No rebuilding required.

Your scenario has five modules in a straight chain:

Set Variable → Iterator → RSS → Text Aggregator → Gmail

Module 1: Set Variable

This stores all your RSS URLs in one place.

Step 1: Click the large plus button on the canvas. Search for Set variable and select it from the Tools section.

Step 2: In the settings:

• Variable name: rssURLs
• Variable value: Enter your URLs using this formula exactly, replacing with your own URLs:

{{add(emptyarray; “https://www.google.com/alerts/feeds/16871934794216185125/14926565408712331563“; “https://www.google.com/alerts/feeds/16871934794216185125/16514242141971118864“; “https://www.google.com/alerts/feeds/16871934794216185125/10665890337190913104″)}}

Each URL sits inside quotes separated by semicolons. This specific formula syntax is important — the standard JSON bracket format does not work reliably in Make’s variable fields.

To add more URLs later simply add a semicolon and another quoted URL inside the formula.

Step 3: Click the clock icon at the bottom of the module to set the schedule:

• Run scenario: Every day
• Time: 08:00 (or your preferred time)

Click OK.

Module 2: Iterator

The Iterator loops through your list of URLs one at a time, passing each into the RSS module.

Step 1: Click plus from the right edge of the Set Variable module. Search for Iterator and select it from the Tools section.

Step 2: In the Array field open the variable picker and select rssURLs.

Step 3: Click OK.

Module 3: RSS — Retrieve Feed Items

This fetches the actual articles from each URL the Iterator passes through.

Step 1: Click plus from the right edge of the Iterator. Search for RSS and select Retrieve RSS feed items.

Note: This is different from Watch RSS feed items which we used in an earlier version of this build. Retrieve fetches on demand, which is what we need here since the Iterator is controlling the loop.

Step 2: In the settings:

• URL: Open the variable picker and select the value output from the Iterator
• Maximum number of returned items: 5

With 3 alerts set to 5 items each you could receive up to 15 results in one daily email. Adjust this number up or down based on how much you want in your inbox.

Step 3: Click OK.

Module 4: Text Aggregator

This collects all results from every loop and combines them into one formatted block for the email.

Step 1: Click plus from the right edge of the RSS module. Search for Text aggregator and select it from the Tools section.

Step 2: In the settings:

• Source module: Select the Iterator module
• Text: Enter this HTML using the variable picker to map each field from the RSS module:

<h3>{{title}}</h3>
<p>{{description}}</p>
<p><a href="{{url}}">Read more</a></p>
<p><em>Published: {{date}}</em></p>
<hr>

Step 3: Click Save.

Note: Results from all your alerts will appear mixed together in the email rather than grouped by source. This is a known limitation of this setup. A more advanced version using separate modules per feed would allow grouping but adds complexity that does not belong in a beginner project.

Module 5: Gmail

Step 1: Click plus from the right edge of the Text Aggregator. Search for Gmail and select Send an email.

Step 2: Connect your Google account via OAuth when prompted.

Step 3: Fill in:

• To: Your email address
• Subject: Your Daily Alert Digest
• Body type: Raw HTML
• Content: Select the text output from the Text Aggregator using the variable picker

Step 4: Click OK.

Part 4: Test the Scenario

Step 1: Click Run once at the bottom of the canvas.

Step 2: Watch each module light up. Green tick means success. Red exclamation means something needs attention.

Step 3: Check your inbox. You should receive one email with all your alert results formatted with titles, descriptions, links and dates separated by horizontal lines.

Common issues:

• No results from RSS: Your Google Alert may be too new. Alerts can take a few hours to populate after creation. Try a broader keyword and test again
• Iterator shows 0 bundles: Check the rssURLs variable is using the add(emptyarray) formula syntax correctly
• RSS module URL error: Make sure the URL field is mapped to the value output from the Iterator, not typed manually
• Gmail auth error: Go to Connections in the left sidebar, delete and reconnect your Google account

Part 5: Activate the Scenario

Toggle the scenario from Off to On at the bottom of the canvas. It will now run every day at the time you set.

Part 6: Adding More Alerts

Step 1: Go to Google Alerts, create a new alert and copy the RSS URL.

Step 2: Open your Make scenario and click the Set Variable module.

Step 3: Add the new URL to the formula:

{{add(emptyarray; “existing-url-1”; “existing-url-2”; “your-new-url-here”)}}

No new modules needed. The Iterator handles however many URLs are in the list.

What Comes Next

This is Project 1 in the Automation pillar of The 12-Project Hit List. Project 2 is a Read-it-Later system with AI summaries — you save a link, an AI reads it for you and stores a clean summary somewhere you can actually find it later. Project 3 is a Personal Morning Briefing Bot that sends your weather, a news headline and your top task for the day via Telegram before you get out of bed.

Get the full Hit List at augustwheel.com/projects and subscribe at newsletter.augustwheel.com to get notified when each walkthrough drops.