Got a quick tip for you today, one which you can go away and implement right now to have potential clients come in via your Inbox – daily! It’s something I have been trying out and I think it’s well worth setting up. Don’t get too excited, there’s a lot of haystack and not many needles – but there are needles to be found, and it’s free and automated so it won’t cost you anything, other than a bit of sifting.
First you need to head over to Google Alerts >> http://www.google.com/alerts
“Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.” But we aren’t going to be looking for any old content, we are searching for potential clients!
So here is the screen you’ll be greeted with:
Keywords
First you’ll need to choose your keywords, and I would go for a variety if you want a good selection, because not everybody calls a spade a spade. So if you’re on the hunt for people looking for general online support, then you could put keywords in such as:
- Virtual Assistant
- Online Business Manager
- Online Business Consultant
- Administrative Consultant
- Secretary
- Personal Assistant
- etc…
You catch my drift?
Then you need to search for general phrases such as:
- I need help with
- Does anyone know a good VA
- I need someone to do
- I am looking for someone to
Now a lot of these will come up in the previous keywords, but better to be safe than sorry.
And finally – your niche specific keywords, centred around your business and the type of virtual assistance you offer.
- Bookkeeper
- Web designer
- Graphic designer
- Writer
- Article Marketing
etc…
The higher you set the bar, the more rare the results become, so it’s entirely up to you on what you want to search for.
Type
In type, for this purpose I would search “everything” because it will cover not only blogs, but those all important forums too, where there’s a lot of action on the ‘looking for a good VA can anyone recommend one’ front.
- Select: “Everything”
You'll see results like this
How Often
This all depends on how much you need clients, I would say if you are starting out and you want to stay on top of potential clients, and strike while the iron is hot, then select “As it happens” – if on the other hand, you’re on an even keel and looking out of curiosity, then once a day is fine.
- Serious Searcher – Select: “As-it-happens”
- Curious Cat – Select: “Once a day”
Volume
Again this comes down to how much you are in need of finding a client. If you have time to sift through the alerts, then “All results” is the one for you. If you’re lacking in time because you have a busy practise, then go straight to “best results”.
- Need all the help I can get – Select: “All results”
- Could do with less in my Inbox – Select “Best results”
Then select where you would like it delivered to and click “Create Alert”.
This way you can stay on top of pretty much all the latest content in the Virtual Assistant industry related to your keywords.
If you found this helpful, or you have any questions, please leave a comment below 
