Find People And Businesses Online

How to Find People Online

The Internet is all about connections. After all, it consists entirely of connections between computers. But what's important about these connections is not the computers but the people and businesses behind them. Interestingly, "How to find people online" is one of the most frequently Googled questions. Finding businesses online is not far behind.

"People finders" -- the online tools which help you find people -- can be as simple and vague as search engines or as sophisticated as a "Big Brother" national surveillance data bank that every tin-foil hat wearer worries about.

Just Google someone's name, and you will probably get more hits than you care to explore. Uncommon names are probably easier, because there will be less clutter in the results. But if your target is famous or unique in some way, you may get lucky and find the right "John Doe" in the top 10 search results. Add to your search any key words associated with your subject, such as their city, employer or school name, to increase your odds of striking the right person in this lifetime.

If you know only the person's phone number or street address, plug it into Google, or do a reverse lookup at WhitePages.com. The person you seek may very well be on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or some other social networking site. These sites let you search for people in general ways, such as name and current city/state. If your friend has a common name and you don't know where he or she is, that may produce too many results.

Other free people search tools you can try are local newspaper websites, and information aggregators like Pipl. You can also check the Social Security Administration Death Index to search for information on deceased persons.

To find a business online is usually much easier than finding a person. After all, businesses want to be found by potential customers. So most businesses list themselves in search engines and specialized industry directories. Simply Googling a company name usually does the trick. If it's something boringly generic like "Bob Jones LLC," you may have to add a city and state. But usually, you can find a business online without paying for the information.

If you want more details on a business, Hoovers will provide public information such as the company's address, phone/fax numbers, the names of the principals, a description of their business, and competing companies in that industry. Other sources of business information are Dun & Bradstreet, the online business registration databases of State Secretaries, the Better Business Bureau, or any of several online Yellow Pages directories.

Paid People Search Tools

If none of those turn up the person you're looking for, then a commercial people search tool may prove useful. Paid people finders can locate people who leave few traces online. They can also reveal facts such as the person's age, unlisted numbers, property ownership, previous addresses, and even criminal records. Sites such as Intelius and PeopleFinders.com collect personal data on millions of citizens from public records and other srouces, then charge for access to the data. The good news is that if they cannot locate the person you seek then you owe nothing.

The bad news is that the information in paid people finders may be uselessly out of date. For example, a "relative" of a friend of mine identified by PeopleFinders is a woman he divorced in 1993, and the latest address provided is their long-broken marital home.

Some people finders want you to give up your own personal data before they will give you anyone else's. That quid pro quo is up to you, but think about who might be looking for you and whether you want to be found by them.

Do you have something to say about online people search tools? Post your comment or question below...