How To Locate People on the Internet

Have you ever wondered what happened to your crush in grade school or your worst enemy in high school? What about your favorite teacher in kindergarten? Maybe you want to know if your ex surely is better off without you. With billions of people going online every day, it’s possible that you can locate whoever you want to locate using the Internet. From Google to online people databases, you surely have a big chance to find out the latest about a certain person.

Try the following ways on locating people on the Internet:

* Google search. Google is more than just a search engine of keywords. It can also be a search engine of people. Just type in the complete name of the person you are looking for. Google will show Web page results where his name is found.
Enclosing the name in double quotation marks will trim down related searches. For example, instead of searching for Robert Smith, look for “Robert Smith.” Using the first phrase will include searches about “Robert” and “Smith” but the second phrase will only show results with exactly “Robert Smith.” Also include the possible location of this person if you still have many search results to filter.
* Search through social networking sites. Do you have an account on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, or Friendster? Most social networking sites have features allowing members to search for people using their names, aliases, and other related information like school or address.
* Use a special people search engine. ZoomInfo is a popular database of people who are looking for a job. Maybe the person who you want to locate has set up a ZoomInfo account. Give it a chance and search the person’s complete name in the website’s search engine. However, don’t expect to get too much personal information about people in ZoomInfo since this website is intended for professional use only.
Another helpful people search engine is Pipl. Unlike ZoomInfo, Pipl is dedicated to the personal information about a person. It works similar to Google, only that it uses special algorithms to give you more relevant search results. Pipl can look up for people on Amazon wishlists, MySpace pages, press mentions, and personal Web pages. Google cannot anymore locate people in these pages.
ZabaSearch is another helpful online database that can locate people and provide you their home addressees and phone numbers.

* Pay to locate people online. If the free options never gave any results, then maybe it’s time to try the paid services like PeopleFinders. Search by the person’s name, address, email address, state, or phone number. You won’t only know the person’s current address or work. The service will also provide you with additional reports like background reports, criminal and court records, and public records.


Some people, especially the not-so-'Net-savvy ones, are difficult to locate using any online tools. You might need to try your luck using the traditional people search techniques like telephone directories. There are also times that you don’t even need to look for these people. You might be surprised that one day, they’ll be the one to contact you. But destiny will only give you the slimmest chance. Better do your work and be patient. Maybe one day, you will find the person in an unexpected place and time.