There are many reasons why you’d want to try and find a person online. For example, you may want to reconnect with long-lost relatives or friends from school or college, or there may be some new business contacts you’d like to make.
These days it’s easier than ever to find a person if they want to be found, that is.
With the help of the internet, numerous people search tools are available to you. Here are a few different options.
As obvious as it may sound, start your search with Google. You’ll need to be a little savvier than just typing in a person’s name and hitting enter, though.
The person’s name and city, school, or employer (if known) will narrow down the search results.
Google also has advanced boolean search options that you can use to limit the results.
Social media
If a person wants to be found, they’ll almost always have a social media presence. Globally nearly 40% of the population have a Facebook profile, and 82% of North Americans do.
Don’t despair if you can’t find them on Facebook. Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and TikTok are gaining the users that Facebook loses. So spread your social media net further, and you’ll have more success.
School search sites
Finding former school pals is slightly more manageable as you already have more information. For example, you know the years they were there and possibly even clubs and associations they may have been in.
There are sites dedicated to school searches. Alumni.net and Classmates.com are two of the biggest and have been around almost since the internet began.
Family trees
To find a long-lost relative, there are resources available there too. If a family member has put the time and effort into compiling an online family tree, that’s an excellent place to start.
Ancestry.com is the biggest of these sites. Take it a step further with AncestryDNA. A simple DNA test could discover relatives you didn’t even know you had and the one you’re looking for.
MyHeritage.com is a similar site that claims to have 1400 genealogical databases to search from.
Reverse searches
Reverse searches are gaining in popularity. If you already have some contact information or even a photograph of the person, a reverse search could get you more details.
If you have a phone number or an email address, there are websites where you can enter the details. They’ll provide you with further information on the registered owner.
Photographs are an excellent way of finding someone online. Even Google has a reverse image search function. So if that photo has been uploaded online, you’ll be able to match it and gain more data about the person.
Making business connections is easier if you have a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn makes it very clear they are not to be considered social media.
Yes, they are a social network, but their role isn’t to entertain. It’s to form business connections, a social sales tool and claims to be the best and biggest referral engine on the planet.
The difference between LinkedIn and social media is that you connect via other people. It’s based on the 6 degrees of separation concept. You may not directly know the person you want to contact, but someone you connect with does know them.
Public records
Unless a person really doesn’t want to be found and is an expert at covering their tracks, they’ll have some form of public record.
An excellent site to use is BeenVerified.com. It’s primarily used to run background checks on people.
Unlike many other sites mentioned, you can’t actually connect with the person from here, but contact information may appear in search results. Therefore, this site is beneficial if you only have vehicle or property details.
Get online and get searching
Narrowing down how to find someone online depends on how you know or wish to connect with them.
Always begin with a Google search; this may negate the need to try anything further. Social media is your next stop, especially if that person wants to be found.
Long lost school friends or relatives may be able to be reconnected via alumni or ancestry sites. And you can make business connections successfully via LinkedIn.
If people don’t want to be found, for whatever reason, that’s their prerogative. However, somebody they know may be able to provide more details about them. Don’t give up.
