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- Otherwise answering the question "Who is Googling me?"

A member recently wondered why there was a discrepancy between the number of Google Alerts and the number of Search Alerts from WikiWorldBook they were getting.

The answer is that the two Alerts measure two different things.

A Google Alert set up to monitor your name will tell you the number of times that someone types that name into Google (or any other keyword you want to monitor). It will not tell you anything about the searchers themselves.

Our Search Alert will tell you how many times someone Google's your name and then actually clicks through to your profile (your address book page).

As our Search Alert page explains, profiles in our address book tend to rank high up in Google's Search Engine results for name searches. This is because your profile page has both been search engine optimized for your name and also because our site carries substantial authority with the search engines.

Because your profile will tend to rank high in the Search Engine results (on a search of your name) and is also titled with your name, any searchers will be drawn to your profile like a magnet. As soon as they click on your profile, we immediately capture their IP details which provides us with information which we can analyse and pass on to you as a Search Alert. The information includes things like the geographic location of the searcher (which is sometimes absolute and sometimes approximate - see below), the company or organisation the searcher is based at (if they are at one), the keywords the searcher has used for their search, the time and the Search Engine used by the searcher.

Equally useful for Job Seekers, Professionals or Entrepreneurs

If the searcher Google's you from a company or an organization like a private business, government office, hospital, police station, charity etc, there is a very high probability that we will be able to provide you with that business or organisation's name. This makes the service particularly useful for job applicants (job seekers) who can see if a prospective company or organisation is carrying out pre-employment research on them - according to statistics, most employers now do so before filling career vacancies. It is equally useful for professionals or entrepreneurs who might be Googled by prospective clients. However, if the searcher Google's you from their home, we will only be able to provide you with their approximate location which we plot on an interactive map.

It is important to note that if the searcher has Googled your name but doesn't click on your profile, no Search Alert will be generated. The chances are that they are not searching for you if they have not clicked the obvious search result with your name on it. However, if you wish to know this information (ie how many times your name is searched), you should subscribe to Google Alerts, which is very easy to set up and is completely free - just like all of our services.

Being Indexed By Google

For new members who have just registered in our free online address book, please note that once people register with us, it normally takes between 2 days and a week for our new Profiles to be indexed by Google in order to show in their Search Engine results. On the whole, we tend to be indexed much faster than some of our paid competitors. This is fully explained in our Site FAQ's below.

Please note that I have generally referred above to Search Engines as Google to keep things simple, but our Search Alert service applies equally to other major search engines like Yahoo or Bing.

If you have questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask them below.