Words to the Wise

I know I’ve talked to you about using Google Alerts to mine competitive data, keep on top of your online brand and even use it snag property deals before there’s even a sign on the front lawn. Those uses have always been no-brainers to me.

And to me, there’s still no fuzziness about using Google Alerts to gain info on people, including potential clients, bosses, employees, mothers-in-law, neighbors, local politicians and even former bosses who burn their house down or threaten you with cease and desist orders.

In fact, my thoughts on Google Alerts were recently used by Jonathan Fields in his blog post: Stalking Or Due Diligence: Google Alerts Gone Bad?

In case you couldn’t tell, I’m @JPJay411 on Twitter.

To add to my comments on Jonathan’s blog, I think it’s important to note that gathering information is one thing, but how you use it is where value rests. Getting a fresh piece of news about a friend, client, or potential client gives you an opportunity to connect, even if it’s just a brief email or note that keeps you on their radar and holds that proverbial door open for the next project or sale.

If you’re looking for a good way to see if your brand is being mentioned on Twitter, try search.twitter.com. You can even set up RSS feeds so you’ll know when people are mentioning your terms.

Please stalk responsibly.

Jason Pedley is a professional copywriter based near Raleigh, North Carolina. Contact Jason Pedley today - mail@jasonpedley.com or (860) 886-3455.

A couple more facts for your day - as if you didn’t have enough:

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The annual amount by which McKinsey & Co. estimates the U.S. is "overpaying" for health care: $477 billion

The fraction of U.S. health care spending represents as part of global health care spending: 50%

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Percentage of Americans who had, by March 2008, made summer vacation plans: 16%

Percentage that did so by March, 2007: 48%

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Number of new ‘major’ airports China is expected to open by 2020: 97

Number of new airports expected to open in the U.S. in the same period: 2

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Estimated value of coins going unused in the U.S.: $150 billion

Value of unused coins per household: $90

Cost to the U.S. Mint to make one nickel: 7.7 cents.

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Sources: John Kador , CEO INfact research, General Administration of Civil Aviation of China , U.S. Mint , Coinstar , American Research Group

According to a report by Pew Internet & American Life Project, 49% of those who use the Internet also use search engines such as Google and Yahoo! on any given day. Sources with the project say this is an indicator of search engine users’ desire to be in the ‘driver’s seat’ and find what they want online as opposed to having it given to them passively.

I say it’s an indicator that someone’s lying to the researchers. 49%? For real?

The project began back in 2002 when, at the time, only 29% of Internet users said they used a search engine on an average day.

As for email, 60% of users claimed to use email on the average day.

I’m assuming the other 40% were lying or too busy checking email to respond the to the survey.

Also according to the report, search engine users tend to be “socially upscale” with at least some college under their belts and incomes of more than $50K a year. Younger users search more on a typical day and men are more likely to use a search engine than women…Don’t look at me. I don’t make this stuff up.

Jason Pedley is a professional SEO content copywriter based near Raleigh, North Carolina. Need SEO content that improves your online presence? Contact Jason Pedley today - mail@jasonpedley.com or (860) 886-3455.

Just a quick shout out to Google for wanting to keep the sun out of my eyes.

A tube of SPF 75 for my head would have been nice, too.

Oh well, now I have a thinking cap…er…visor.

If you got my latest Words to the Wise newsletter today, you might have noticed that when you click on a couple of the links, you get taken to a place call writing-for-web.com.

Don’t worry, it’s not some attempt to lead you from my main blog, it’s a way to get you to my “SEO summer home.”

I had the Writing for Web domain and it was just kinda sitting there like a piece of land with no home on it. So I took a few days last month, got some content written, found a great WordPress design by Nyssa Brown with no distracting bells or whistles and made the whole thing live for you. After all, a summer home is about relaxation, no distractions and just ‘being’, right?

SEO content copywriting is a growing part of what I do, and I felt that it would be best to have a home on the web dedicated to this service. Whether you subscribe to learn about marketing and copywriting, or if you’re a current or prospective client, there will be something you can use on either of my sites. And, of course, if you want more info on a topic, let me know. I’m more than happy to blog about anything you like.

Ok, time to get back to the summer home.