Spy on yourself with Google alerts

If you have a gmail account, you can set these up today.  If you don’t, get an account and take advantage of the many great, FREE online services Google has to offer.

One of my favorites is “Google alerts.”   And I use it for lots of things but in particular, I track my name and my company’s name to see what is being said about me.  But its more than just that.  I use it to make sure my blog posts are visible, that as I add pages to my website they show up in the Google index, that if I speak or write that organizations are alerting their readership about my activities.  If it appears on Google, then I can promote it myself.

Then there is the dark side:  If someone writes a negative comment about you or someone with your name  you need to be aware and prepared to handle the issue.  Google alerts allows you out front of the issue before others get there before you.

Using Google for legal business intelligence

Susan Cartier Liebel writes on her terrific blog, “Build a Solo Practice @ SPU” about the value of soft intelligence and she rightly suggests setting up a Google Alert on yourself, firm, competitors and relevant practice areas.   I would add to that by suggesting creating alert on your top clients or prospective clients as well key industry terms for those sectors where you looking grow your client list. 

If you are a litigator and want to be aware of potential litigation against a client or prospect, you can set up a search on the client name like this: “Cisco NEAR lawsuit.”   This search isn’t a guarantee that you will be alerted to all litigation recently filed against Cisco but should help with any significant litigation filed against them.