Google Alerts: How to Use the Search Engine's Notification Service for Lead Generation

When you think of sales lead generation tools, Google Alerts may not be at the top of your list. After all, there are dozens of other software and services that are designed specifically for generating leads -- and Google Alerts isn't one of them. It's simply a notification service that allows you to identify newly indexed web pages containing a particular word or phrase. With the search engine's notification service, however, you can generate high-quality sales leads for your B2B company; you just need to know how to use it.

What Is Google Alerts?

Google Alerts is a free-to-use notification service offered by the search engine of its namesake. You can access it by visiting www.google.com/alerts. On the Google Alerts homepage, you should see an "Alerts" field at the top. Typing a word or phrase in this field and selecting the "Create Alert" option will allow you to receive notifications for the respective word or phrase. When Google indexed a new web page containing your specified word or phrase, it will simultaneously send you a notification to your email account.

You can further refine your notifications by selecting the "Show Options" in Google Alerts. Google Alerts allows you to customize the following criteria of your notifications:

• Frequency of notifications
• Sources used for notifications (e.g. news, blogs, websites, videos, books)
• Language
• Region
• Best results or all results
• Email address to which notifications are delivered

Find Mentions of Key Accounts

With Google Alerts, you can find mentions of your B2B company's key accounts. Key accounts are those that either currently spend more than regular accounts or have the potential to spend more than regular accounts. They are a fundamental component of account-based marketing (ABM). ABM is a personalized marketing strategy that prioritizes key accounts.

You can find mentions of your B2B company's key accounts using Google Alerts. Assuming you enter the name of a key account in Google Alerts, Google will send you a notification when web pages that feature the account's name are indexed. You can then review the web pages to determine whether it's the right time to engage with the account with a sales offer.

Find Press Releases of Target Businesses

Another way to use Google Alerts for sales lead generation is to find press releases of target businesses. Businesses often publish press releases during internal changes. Maybe a business is appointing a new chief executive officer (CEO), or perhaps a business is launching a new line of products or services. When a business undergoes a major internal change, it may spread the word by publishing a press release that's available to view online. Google will often pick up these press releases by adding them to its index.

Like with key account mentions, you can use Google Alerts to find press releases that include a target business's name. Press releases can often yield new sales leads. You'll need to find them, however, to leverage them in your B2B company's lead generation efforts. To find press releases published by a target business, simply enter the target business's name.

This tactic is particularly useful for finding trigger events. Trigger events are internal changes within a target business that indicate it's ready to make a purchase. Even if a target business isn't currently ready to make a purchase, it may undergo an internal change, in which case you can engage the business with an offer. With Google Alerts, you can find trigger events in press releases and other forms of online content.

Identify Pages With Relevant Keywords

You can also use Google Alerts to identify web pages that contain industry-relevant keywords. Regardless of what your B2B company sells, there are probably keywords that are relevant to its industry. When these keywords appear on new web pages, they may yield new sales leads.

If your B2B company sells commercial construction equipment, for example, you can use Google Alerts to identify web pages that contain keywords like "commercial construction equipment." Businesses in need of this equipment may publish content online that includes this keyword, which Google will index. Google Alerts can help you identify these web pages for sales lead generation purposes.

Tips on Using Google Alerts for Lead Generation

Keep in mind that Google Alerts supports many of the same search operators as Google's main search engine. You can place a phrase in quotation marks, for instance, to receive notifications for web pages that contain the exact passage. Quotation marks aren't needed for single-word notifications. If your notification contains two or more words, though, you may want to use quotation marks. With quotation marks, Google will only send you notifications for web pages in which the exact phrase is mentioned.

There are more advanced search operators that you can use when generating sales leads through Google Alerts. The wildcard operator, for instance, acts as a placeholder. When setting up a notification, you can use the wildcard operator in place of a specific word. The wildcard operator consists of the star (*). If you set up a notification for "commercial * service," you may receive notifications for "commercial bulldozing service," "commercial construction service" and "commercial grading service and more.

Keep in mind that Google Alerts requires a Google account. If you don't have a Google account already, you'll need to create one. Google will automatically send notifications to the email address listed under your account.

Other Ways to Use Google Alerts

In addition to sales lead generation, you can use Google Alerts for other purposes. Many B2B companies use it for reputation management. You can manage your B2B company's reputation more easily by setting up a Google Alerts for it. Just enter your B2B company's name, after which you'll receive notifications for web pages that mention your B2B company.

Google Alerts can also help you stay up to date with industry-related trends. As new trends emerge in your B2B company's industry, you'll be notified of them. You can then leverage these trends in your sales lead generation and sales processes. These are just a few alternative ways to Google Alerts. Of course, the true value of Google Alerts lies in sales lead generation. You can use it to find high-quality leads who are prime for a sales offer.

Overall

It's a great idea to have various types of sales leads to qualify and evaluate. Google Alerts can help you identify various tactics to get into your target accounts. SalesLeads provides identified projects that are currently going on that you can act upon immediately. You job is to call and get it started.