If you’re not already doing so, it’s important that you have a process to alert you when your name, brand, or company is being mentioned on the Internet. I use “Google Alerts.” It’s a free service where you use keywords to alert you when your name, brand, or company is being used online. For instance, I am alerted daily on keywords “Dan Weedin” and “Toro Consulting.” I also keyword my brand, “Insurance Go2Guy.” Here are a few reasons why:
- You may have been mentioned in an interview and didn’t know it.
- Someone may be using your intellectual property – with or without permission!
- Someone may be saying something good or bad about you.
- Someone may be giving you attribution.
In addition, if you’ve got a name that might be commonly misspelled, alert yourself to that. I was given this tip by my web designer, Jenn Putnam. Jenn’s advice paid off last week. I was interviewed recently by a freelance journalist on renters insurance for business. I never heard back until I noticed it on Google Alerts. He had inadvertently misspelled my last name – Weeden. Because I used “Dan Weeden” as a keyword it picked it up and I learned I was quoted in an article that appeared in the American Express OPEN Forum for Business Owners. Read the Article Here
Bottom line – make sure you know where you show up on the Internet.
Cheers,
