143 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
143 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
# Google Alert Strategy for Repair Leads
|
||
|
||
## The Problem
|
||
|
||
Canadian regional subreddits have **very low posting volume** for repair-related topics. Alerts with narrow site filters like `site:reddit.com/r/kitchener` + specific repair keywords return **zero results** because:
|
||
|
||
1. Small subreddits (r/kitchener, r/waterloo) have <10 repair posts per month
|
||
2. Google Alerts only fires on **newly indexed content**
|
||
3. Over-specific queries (23 site filters + 40 keywords) get truncated by Google
|
||
|
||
## Recommended Approach
|
||
|
||
### Option 1: Location-Based (Broader Coverage) ⭐ RECOMMENDED
|
||
|
||
Use **city names as keywords** instead of site: filters. This catches repair requests across ALL platforms (Reddit, Facebook, Kijiji, forums, classifieds).
|
||
|
||
**Example:**
|
||
```
|
||
("macbook repair" OR "macbook won't turn on" OR "logic board repair")
|
||
("Toronto" OR "Mississauga" OR "Kitchener" OR "Waterloo")
|
||
-job -jobs -hiring
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
**Pros:**
|
||
- Catches repair requests on ANY website (not just Reddit)
|
||
- Much higher chance of results
|
||
- Simpler queries = more reliable alerts
|
||
|
||
**Cons:**
|
||
- May include irrelevant mentions of city names
|
||
- Requires more filtering
|
||
|
||
**File:** `docs/google-alerts-broad.md`
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
### Option 2: Intent-Based (High Quality)
|
||
|
||
Focus on **explicit repair requests** using intent keywords like "repair shop recommendation", "where to repair", "anyone repair".
|
||
|
||
**Example:**
|
||
```
|
||
("repair shop recommendation" OR "where to repair" OR "anyone repair")
|
||
("macbook" OR "iphone" OR "console")
|
||
site:reddit.com
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
**Pros:**
|
||
- High-quality leads (people actively seeking repair services)
|
||
- Works across all subreddits
|
||
- Clear buying intent
|
||
|
||
**Cons:**
|
||
- Lower volume (people don't always use these exact phrases)
|
||
- Misses passive mentions ("my macbook died")
|
||
|
||
**File:** `docs/google-alerts-broad.md` (bottom half)
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
### Option 3: Regional Reddit (Original Approach)
|
||
|
||
Split Canadian subreddits into 5 regions with specific repair keywords.
|
||
|
||
**Example:**
|
||
```
|
||
(site:reddit.com/r/ontario OR site:reddit.com/r/toronto OR site:reddit.com/r/mississauga)
|
||
("macbook repair" OR "macbook won't turn on" OR "logic board repair")
|
||
-entertainment -movie -music
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
**Pros:**
|
||
- Very targeted to specific subreddits
|
||
- Clean results (only Reddit posts)
|
||
- No city name false positives
|
||
|
||
**Cons:**
|
||
- **Very low volume** on small subreddits
|
||
- May go weeks without a match
|
||
- Only catches Reddit (misses Kijiji, Facebook, etc.)
|
||
|
||
**File:** `docs/google-alerts.md`
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Testing Your Alerts
|
||
|
||
Before creating an alert, **test it in Google Search first:**
|
||
|
||
1. Copy the query from the code block
|
||
2. Paste into [google.com](https://google.com) (NOT Google Alerts)
|
||
3. Check the results:
|
||
- **10+ recent results** = Alert will work well ✅
|
||
- **1-5 results** = Alert might work, but low volume ⚠️
|
||
- **0 results** = Alert will never fire ❌
|
||
|
||
### Example Test Queries
|
||
|
||
Test these in Google Search right now:
|
||
|
||
**Broad (should return 100+ results):**
|
||
```
|
||
"macbook repair" ("Toronto" OR "Mississauga")
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
**Regional Reddit (may return 0-5 results):**
|
||
```
|
||
site:reddit.com/r/kitchener "macbook repair"
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
**Intent-based (should return 20+ results):**
|
||
```
|
||
site:reddit.com "where to repair" ("macbook" OR "iphone")
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Recommendation
|
||
|
||
**Start with Option 1 (Location-Based)** from `google-alerts-broad.md`:
|
||
|
||
1. Set up the 4 core services (Data Recovery, MacBook, Console, iPhone)
|
||
2. Monitor for 1 week
|
||
3. If too much noise, switch to Option 2 (Intent-Based)
|
||
4. Only use Option 3 (Regional Reddit) if you specifically want Reddit-only leads
|
||
|
||
The broad queries will get you actual results. The regional Reddit ones are technically correct but may never fire due to low post volume.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Why the Original Queries Didn't Work
|
||
|
||
The validation report identified these issues:
|
||
|
||
1. **Too many site filters** (23 vs limit of ~8-12)
|
||
2. **Too many OR terms** (40+ vs limit of ~28-32)
|
||
3. **Too long** (1,100+ chars vs limit of ~512)
|
||
4. **`ALERT_NAME:` marker** was being searched as literal text
|
||
5. **Over-specific keywords** + **low-volume subreddits** = zero matches
|
||
|
||
Even after fixing the technical limits, the fundamental issue remains: **small Canadian subreddits don't have enough repair posts to trigger daily alerts**.
|
||
|