The Most Powerful Free People Search Online

There are many places online that people can use to find old friends and classmates. Certainly some places are better than others, but many don’t know where to look first or what might work the best. One place many start is on Google. There are many search engines out there, but Google is the most popular. The reason for this is debatable, but many like how it is set up and how the results are displayed. They also find that the results they get seem to be relevant to the search, and that is what is most important.

When using Google to find old friends, the first step would be to put the person’s name in the general search. How many results come up will depend on the name. If you are looking for Mary Smith, you are going to come up with more hits than you could possibly get through. However, if you are looking for a name that is rather uncommon, you may find what you are looking for sooner.

If you have too many hits, and want to narrow them down, you should put quotes around the name. This will ensure that the only results that come up are the ones with the first and last name right next to each other. That often makes a huge difference in the search results. Without quotes, the search will give you results with the first and last name, but they may not be together in the text. For example, results for Mary Smith may dig up text like “Mary Stewart, Joe Smith.” The quotes will eliminate those weak and unrelated results. Don’t forget to try the last name with only a first initial as well.

If nothing seems to come with your general Google search, you are probably feeling a little disappointed. However, there are other options you can try that may come up with something. At the top of the page, you will find an option to search news. This can be useful because it will not give you general web results, but instead, it will give only stories listed as news. You may find your friend’s name that way. You can also specify a time period if you have something in mind.

Another great tool on Google that can be used as a search for a lost friend or classmate is the blog search. You can find this feature on the same page as you find the news results. You can look on the left side of the page to find the blog search. Clicking on that will bring up any blog that has the term you are searching for. If your friend owns a blog, this might bring it up. If they have been mentioned by name in any other blog, that will come up for you as well.

Though the image search may be a long shot, it might just work for you. This search brings up photos exclusively, and if the name you are searching for is attached to a photo, it will come up in the search. Keep in mind that sometimes names come up with photos that have nothing to do with them. You should be able to recognize your friend if something does surface. You may also find photography or artwork by that friend if they are involved in the arts and post their work online.

A newer feature of Google is the maps. These can come in quite handy when you may be searching for a person. When you have a name in the search and you click on ‘maps,’ any business with that name will appear on the map. If your old friend is a doctor and has their own private practice, they may come up along with a point on the map where they can be found. Even better, if they do come up, you can zoom in with the map pretty close to see where they are located.

Though sometimes Google is successful, there are many times when nothing will come up in relation to your lost friend. That might simply be because that person is not online, and there is no mention of them by anyone else. Though teenagers and those in their twenties are enamored with the Internet and everything that is has to offer, some that did not grow up with it have no interest in it what-so-ever. That is to be expected.

However, coming up with nothing does not mean there isn’t anything to find. If you are looking for a woman, she may have married. If she had a boyfriend in high school, put her first name with his last name to see if something comes up. They may have split long ago, but it is an angle worth investigating. You may also try alternative spellings of names if your friend has an unusual one. Though they may not misspell their own name, someone else may have.

Another option is to put in the names of your friend’s family. If you can remember the names of your friend’s parents, cousins, or siblings, you can look for them as well. Many times parents stay in the same spot, but the phone number may have changed. If you can find someone who knows your friend, they can then help you get into contact with them. Family members may not be in a hurry to give you personal contact information about your friend, but they will usually be happy to take yours down and pass the message along.

Another aspect of searching on Google is a little more abstract, but if you can not find anything else, it might be worth a shot. You should think about some of the hobbies that your friend may have been interested in, and search that hobby with your friend’s last name. If you knew where they were going to go to college, try to Google that college and see if an alumni list comes up. Like parents, a college or university will not give you personal information, but they may pass along a message for you.