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I often joke with my clients and tell them that "I know everything".  This is meant as a joke.  Of course I cannot and do not know everything.  But sometimes, it seems like I do.

Why?

Sometimes it's because I keep my digital ear to the ground and do my best to keep tabs on my clients and their industry.  But as a busy guy of the 21st century digital age, circuit overload is always just one more click away.

So what's my secret to keeping tabs on my clients?

Google Alerts!

What is it?  Google alerts is another nifty function brought to us by the good folks at Google that does an automated search on a daily, weekly, monthly or to-the-minute scan of the internet, looking for content that fits your search terms.

It sounds completely overwhelming and I know many of you are already seeing the junk mail pile up in your mind's eye.  And you have good reason to be leery.  However, there are a couple of features to this service that make it work and stay manageable.

  1. It is only new results - you won't constantly be scanning only the old content out there
  2. You can broaden or narrow your results by making proper use of quotes in your keyword string e.g. "search term" vs. search term
Just try one out by setting up an alert about your company (and/or your competitors).  It's a great way to keep a handle on what's going on, when you get mentioned, when your competitor is being talked about etc.
Think about it.  If your business is ever being talked about, wouldn't you want to know?