Even the smallest mention in the press is a great boon to your business. But poring through publications each day can be a job in itself. That's why clipping services have carved their niche - they comb the press for you. And now Internet clipping services do the same job, only on an exclusive medium: the Web.

Internet-only clipping services, also called Internet monitoring services, search online publications and news sites instead of traditional print and broadcast sources. Is it worth searching the Web? Check out these figures: According to study in June by the Pew Research Center, one in three Americans goes online to get news, up from 20 percent two years ago.

You have two options with Internet clipping services: pay for one or sign up for a free service. It may sound like an easy decision, but this is a case where you really do get what you pay for.

Free services offered by search engines like Excite (nt.excite.com) and Yahoo (alerts.yahoo.com) will search about 300 or so news sites for your keywords. Each day via e-mail you'll get a link to the site where your keyword has been found. That's pretty much where the service ends.

Like free services, an Internet-only clipping service with a price tag will e-mail you a link to clip, leading either to the source or to their site where they've stored it. Unlike free services, it doesn't stop there.

Some services will analyze the clippings they pull, using data like how many people have viewed the clipping or visited the site. Others offer human searching and editing (as opposed to automated searching) to guarantee you'll receive only relevant and useful results. Many also search online communities (chat rooms, forums, and mailing lists). On top of this, their publications searches are extensive - their lists usually contain about 3,000 titles.

Internet-only clipping services charge anywhere from $100-$300 monthly, which is comparable to the cost of traditional clipping services without the per-clipping fee (if a service does charge a per-clipping fee, it should be less than $2). Also keep in mind that multiuser licenses are more expensive than single-user. If you want more than one recipient, you're better off just forwarding the e-mails or sharing an in-box.

There are also ways to save. Ask about volume discounts if you want several keywords searched. Or if there's a particular time period you want to search within -- if you just released a new product, for example -- just sign up for a month or so. Or try having clips delivered less often, like monthly or weekly instead of daily, if it's not that time-sensitive. And make sure to find out about setup or cancellation fees before signing any contract.

If tracking your company in the online press is critical to your success, you're far better off leaving this work to the experts and paying a service since your results will be both accurate and comprehensive. But if you're at the stage where you just want to see if your business's name is popping up on the Web, skip the frills and register with a free service.

Quick tips

Dare to compare. If you decide to pay a service, or are already using one, take a few minutes and register for a free service. See how the results compare. Web and print. Larger services often offer both print and Web monitoring from one source - sometimes even as a package deal. E-clipping vs. Internet clipping. An e-clipping is a clipping from a print publication that is delivered electronically - it's different from an Internet clipping! The price of customer service. Can you afford not to have stellar customer service? With a free service, that's one aspect you'll miss out on.