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Tracesmart Reports Increase In Demand Following Hit ITV Show

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Tracesmart has announced an increase in the number of people utilising its leading data services as the ITV series ‘Long Lost Family’ inspires people to get in touch with missing relatives.

Presented by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell, ITV’s hit series ‘Long Lost Family’ pulls at the nation’s heart strings as it gives those who are desperate to become reunited with their loved ones, a chance to find them.

With just one more episode left, the show has encouraged people across the country to get in touch with long lost relatives. Since the program was broadcast, Tracesmart has experienced a surge in their online people searching service. The company’s facility is also referenced in the show’s website help and advice page.

Founded in 1999 by a leading tracing expert, Tracesmart has been instrumental in reuniting thousands of lost family members and friends. One example of a family Tracesmart has recently helped reunite is brother and sister Peter and Rose Smith*.

The siblings were separated when Peter was only six months old. Peter was unaware of his sister’s existence until 1962 when she contacted him by letter. They remained in touch for many years, but Rose moved to Botswanna with her husband and they lost contact again.

Using Tracesmart’s electoral roll data, Peter was able to trace Rose and her family, who had later returned to live in England, and they had an emotional reunion earlier this month after 45 years.

Commenting on the link with ‘Long Lost Family’, Owen Roberts, Tracesmart’s Head of Public Relations, said: “Our people searching tools have proved an invaluable resource to families and friends trying to reunite. The link with ITV’s ‘Long Lost Family’ strengthens our position as one of the UK’s leading provider of consumer intelligence services, and we will continue to develop our products and services to help people reconnect.”

Tracesmart has gone from strength-to-strength, and has recently launched ‘Living Relative Search‘ in conjunction with Ancestry.co.uk, which helps people search for their living relatives. This year, the company is also launching a powerful brand new people search website ‘Peopletracer’, which currently powers Living Relative Search.

Via EPR Network
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First Electoral Roll Update of the New Year

Tracesmart, providers of online Electoral Roll search tools, have announced the release of the first Rolling Register u p d a t e s of 2010. The company hold the edited Electoral Rolls f r o m 2003 onwards, with their most recent addition being 2010 Electoral Roll data, which was released in December. The new data will ensure that individuals using Tracesmart’s people search facilities will have access to the latest Electoral Roll information available.

The use of online Electoral Roll searches to find long lost friends and relatives has grown increasingly popular during the past few years. For providers of such services it is essential that they u p d a t e their Electoral Roll data at the earliest possible opportunity to ensure their customer’s searches are successful; Rolling Register data allows providers to do just that.

Historically, those eligible to vote could only add their details to the Electoral Roll once a year. However, since the introduction of the Rolling Register, people whose personal circumstances have changed during the year – for example they move home – are now able to register their new details onto the electoral database throughout the year. Tracesmart u p d a t e their Electoral Roll records with this information and in doing so, ensure those that use their people and name searchtools, get the results they need.

The Rolling Register u p d a t e s follow on f r o m last month’s loading of the Electoral Roll 2010 – an achievement of which the company are proud as they made 2010 electoral data available before their competitors. Paul Weathersby, Technical Director at Tracesmart, highlighted how this accomplishment benefited Tracesmart users,

“This year new Electoral Roll data was loaded into our systems in record time, providing our customers with access to some of the latest information available at the earliest possible opportunity. Loading new data swiftly significantly improves our customer’s tracing success rates, as it allows our address search and people search tools to provide the most up-to-date results available.”

In addition to loading new data regularly, Tracesmart also work hard to fill in any data ‘gaps’. The Electoral Roll opt-out rate has risen to 46% of eligible voters in the UK, a gap which could hinder tracing efforts – however Tracesmart minimises any impact by providing their customers with additional datasets to search.

“Our unique Tracesmart Register database is compiled f r o m various data protection compliant sources and currently holds 38 million records, which helps us to bridge the opt-out gap. We continue to source new data all of the time; our monthly Electoral Roll amendments via the Rolling Register is just one of the data acquisition projects which highlight Tracesmart’s commitment to providing customers with access to the most up-to-date information available.” Weathersby remarked.

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2010 Electoral Roll now available at Tracesmart

In addition to the Christmas festivities, the end of the year brings with it a period when local authorities make new Electoral Roll data available. As in previous years, Tracesmart lead the way, as they have already started incorporating the newly released 2010 data into their people search facility.

As the most up-to-date yearly snapshot of the UK’s adult population, the Electoral Roll is at the core of Tracesmart‘s people search service. There are two versions of the electoral database produced each year, the full Electoral Roll and the edited. Tracesmart utilises the edited version, together with a variety of other datasets such as directory enquiries and birth, death and marriage indexes, to make it as easy as possible for individuals to find relatives and friends.

Ensuring their customers have access to the most up-to-date data available has always been one of Tracesmart’s fundamental principles and loading Electoral Roll data at the earliest possible time is a key part of this ethos. Paul Weathersby, Technical Director at Tracesmart, explained further,

“Every year since Tracesmart formed, we have aimed to load the new edited Electoral Roll records earlier than the previous year, and ahead of our competitors. This year is no different and I am pleased to say that we have loaded new Electoral Roll records earlier than ever before, ensuring our customers have access to this important data at the earliest possible juncture.”

Now is the perfect time for Tracesmart customers to utilise the new 2010 electoral data within their searches as it can be used in an address search to update contact details in readiness for posting Christmas cards, gifts and party invites. Alternatively it can be used to locate relatives in time for a Christmas family reunion.

Commenting on the release of the newly uploaded Electoral Roll data, Owen Roberts, Tracesmart’s Communications Manager, remarked, “We hope the newly added Electoral Roll data will help make more reunions possible. Our researchers are already using it to great success and I am confident that the new data will benefit those gearing up for Christmas, who are looking to be reunited with loved ones.”

Tracesmart has added millions of edited Electoral Roll 2010 records onto their system and will continue to do so throughout December and January. It is anticipated that all of the edited Electoral Roll records for 2010 will be loaded by the end of January.

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Rise In Online People Searches In Time For Holiday Season

With Christmas fast approaching, many people start thinking about absent family members, and will look to the internet for help. Indeed, the rush to reunite with family and friends has already begun, with online people search providers, Tracesmart, reporting a marked rise in visitor numbers to their site.

Tracesmart celebrated their tenth year of tracing earlier this year, and with over 10,000 searches performed daily on their website the service goes from strength to strength.

The popularity of online self search websites has grown rapidly since the introduction of the edited electoral roll, and the growing trend in online searching has empowered people to independently locate individuals without the need to pay for a private investigator.

Even with limited information, it is now possible to use an address to locate a lead as part of a search as Tracesmart provides an address search facility. This is particularly helpful if someone already has a street and house number, but isn’t sure if the person still lives there. Additionally the free postcode search function is especially useful for this time of year as it can be used to update old address details, so that items aren’t unnecessarily delayed at the postal sorting office.

Tracesmart has an experienced customer service team, available all day and late into the evening to offer support and advice to novice tracers. Commenting on this surge in demand, Sarah Lawrence, Tracesmart’s Customer Services Manager, noted, “We are receiving lots more enquires this month, which is not unusual for this time of year. As always my team and I are fully prepared to deal with the amount of searches and transactions that are being carried out on the site. We hope and aim to be able to assist in reuniting as many friends and families as possible this month, to make their Christmas even more special this year.”

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Tracesmart Bolster Their Database

Tracesmart, the online people search providers, have announced the addition of 100,000 rolling register updates for their tracing website. The new records will further assist customers when performing their online searches, delivering added accuracy to the Tracesmart facility. The new electoral roll data consists of individuals who have moved home or changed other details during the past month and have contacted their local authority to register their change of circumstance. The annual canvas of the UK population is undertaken during October every year, offering households the choice to opt out of the electoral roll if they wish. The option has given people the freedom to decide if their information is to be kept in the public domain, or only made available to those within local authority or credit reference agencies.

The number of people choosing to opt-out has risen since the opportunity was introduced in 2003, however the electoral roll continues to document millions of people and in 2009 the total amassed was 25 million records. Paul Weathersby, Tracesmart’s Technical Director, explains that although this number is lower than previous years, he is confident that the company’s unique Tracesmart Register fills in the gaps, strengthening the database. Weathersby commented, “We were the first website to publish the monthly updates, and we know from listening to customers that this has benefited them greatly. The fresh data we upload monthly is in addition to the Tracesmart Register, which is a database of data compliant sources.”

The Tracesmart Register has 250,000 new record uploads every month, and the extra rolling register monthly additions bolster the websites positioning as the premium name search facility.

“We pride ourselves on the information we hold, and invest in the most current data available to us. This provides our customers with the best possible chance of a successful address search to find relatives or friends,” said Owen Roberts, Tracesmart’s Communications Manager.

Anyone who moves or changes their details is encouraged to contact their local authority or visit the website About My Vote to register or update their details.

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Tracesmart Won The South Wales Chamber Of Commerce Excellence In eBusiness Award For 2009

The Cardiff based people search specialists, Tracesmart, have won the South Wales Chamber of Commerce Excellence in eBusiness award for 2009. The award was presented to Tracesmart by the distinguished journalist and television personality, John Sergeant at a glittering ceremony and dinner to honour the best in Welsh business. The event was the culmination of the Chamber’s Business Week in Wales.

Following 10 years of growth, investment and continued technical advancement, Tracesmart has developed one of the UK’s leading people tracing facilities. Utilising a range of consumer datasets, including the continuously updated electoral roll, the online resource delivers an intuitive tracing service to the general public.

The web based facility offers, amongst a multitude of functions, an address search feature, affording consumers an easy to use resource to find relatives and friends. The facility has, over the years, helped reunite thousands of families and friends, whose stories have often attracted media attention.

Mike Trezise, Tracesmart’s Managing Director commented, “We are delighted to have won the Chamber of Commerce Excellence in eBusiness award, it’s a notable mark of distinction and a tribute to the work we do at Tracesmart. We constantly strive to develop and improve our online services, and it’s great that our work has been recognised.”

Tracesmart’s Communications Manager, Owen Roberts added, “The South Wales Chamber has built up an excellent reputation within Wales and has firmly established itself as the nation’s most prominent business support organisation. We are proud to be associated with the Chamber and are extremely pleased to have won the award. The company has changed and grown significantly over recent times and we are now reaping the benefits of our hard work.”

Tracesmart will now receive automatic entry to the British Chambers of Commerce national awards.

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Tracesmart application usage swells on Facebook

Tracesmart’s new Names Directory has seen a dramatic increase in users, predominantly within social network site Facebook where the directory is accessed via the “My Name application. The facility, which was launched in December, enables users to discover statistical and geographical information relating to their name. The database contains 1.5 billion names from the electoral roll 2000-2009 and the application is free to use within Facebook or via the Tracesmart website.

Tracesmart are extremely pleased with the response to their new online search tool, We have been very encouraged by the feedback from individuals who have used the Names Directory, says Owen Roberts, Communications Manager for Tracesmart. We believe a third of our consumer traffic is directly attributed to this new search function, it’s great that the application has become such a popular tool.

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The United Kingdom has a wide range of different and unusual names from all over the world, and these will inevitably appear on the lectoral roll. An increase in the popularity of genealogy has resulted in many new researchers getting familiarised with the diverse spelling of similar sounding names. Commenting on this, Sarah Lawrence – Tracesmart’s Customer Service Manager noted, “This new database seems to fascinate many people. It offers help for those trying to find relatives and friends as it can assist with the spelling of names essential to get the spelling right when conducting a people search“. Tracesmart’s Names Directory also lists alternative spellings, helping researchers with often difficult names.

However, the most common reason for using the Names Directory is to explore how popular an individual’s name is. The database ranks the names in order of popularity; it will also predict how many other people in the UK have the same name and display their possible location.

Tracesmart is currently developing additional systems that will improve the visitor experience, and increase the profile of family research to a wider audience.

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UK’s Leading Online People Search Facility Establishes A New Affiliate Marketing Campaig

Tracesmart, the UK’s leading online people search facility continues to go from strength to strength despite the economic conditions, as the company sees year on year growth approaching 25%. Tracesmart provides a quick and easy way to search the electoral roll to conduct an address search or people search and thousands of their customers have been able to find relatives or long lost friends using the service.

This week Tracesmart will launch its new affiliate program whereby partners or affiliates will promote the company’s service by way of banner advertising on their respective websites and receive commission based on sales attributed to their banner link. The aim is to attract as many websites as possible to sign up to the program to increase the company’s brand awareness and drive traffic. It will, in addition, generate income for our affiliate members, as leads are converted into sales.

Matthew Hopkins, Tracesmart’s Internet Marketing Executive and Affiliate Manager commented, This affiliate program is an important development for our people search, address search and electoral roll search facilities. This project will help deliver my key objectives over the next twelve months and we are hopeful of witnessing further sales growth from our online people search service.”

Hopkins added, “Following exhaustive research, online marketing company, Deal Group Media or ‘DGM’ were chosen to deliver and administer the project on our behalf. DGM is probably the UK’s most experienced affiliate network, specialising in affiliate and search engine marketing. It’s important to get the right partnership in place to manage such a key program as this.”

The internet has become a far bigger proposition nowadays, becoming a key consumer authority, a means of discovery, research, reference, discussion and help. For many, the internet is now the first port of call for many activities including people searching and genealogy and Tracesmart are proactively tapping into it.

Affiliate marketing has become an essential channel for driving customer growth. As broadband penetration and consumer online spending continues to rise, so does the importance of a successful affiliate program. The online sector is changing dramatically as traditional TV and radio revenue declines. The online medium is taking the lead as a new generation of consumer is emerging, influencing the significance of affiliate marketing.

Owen Roberts, Tracesmart’s Communications Manager stated, “We are confident that the affiliate program will significantly add value, to help promote our services, generate brand awareness, and increase traffic to our online people search facility, and ultimately boost sales. It’s an exciting period for us at the moment.”

  • Tracesmart Ltd – Since the launch of its website in 2004, Cardiff based Tracesmart has established itself as one of the UK’s leading providers of online people tracing tools. www.tracesmart.co.uk combines state of the art search technology with an extensive collection of consumer data, providing one of the most powerful and successful systems to trace people.
  • Matthew Hopkins has been working within the field of Internet Marketing since 2002. He is currently responsible for driving high volumes of traffic to the Tracesmart website through SEO, PPC and Social Networking. Matthew has now taken on further responsibility as the Tracesmart Affiliate Manager.
  • Owen Roberts has worked in the creative, advertising and communications industries for over 25 years and is the voice of Tracesmart. Heading up the communications team, he raises the public awareness of the company through various media driven PR campaigns.
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Popular ITV chat show uses one of Tracesmart’s many success stories as a feature on their Xmas show

Once again Tracesmart has helped to reunite a brother and sister. They were, until now, apart for more than forty years and the story is made even more special as ITV picked up on the successful trace, and helped organise a special surprise reunion for The Alan Titchmarsh Christmas Show. Tracesmart are a formidable force in the people search arena and have assisted numerous media channels with heart warming reunion stories similar to this. The show is to be broadcast at 6.30pm on Sunday 21st December.

Originally, Dave Bower from Australia contacted Tracesmart asking for help to find his sister, who was sadly separated from the rest of the family nearly forty years ago. Linda, his sister was found to be living in Eastbourne, which meant that Dave and his wife and sons had a very long way to travel. The reunion was made possible by ITV who were themselves looking for families to reunite and surprise for The Alan Titchmarsh Christmas special.

Tracesmart has helped thousands of families to find relatives and assisted the public in their people searches. Visitors to the website can search people using the current 2009 electoral roll. Many of those who subscribe to the website will be looking to find relatives who they may not have seen for a decade or more. A simple address search can sometimes result in a match being found instantly, other searches may take a little longer, for instance, if the subject has moved out of the area or has changed name. Tracesmart has a dedicated customer service team and an online instant messenger support, which is free to use, both helping to make the search to find relatives less stressful.

Louise Hewlett, who assisted with the surprise reunion said, “We were delighted that ITV wanted to help reunite one of our success stories. Without their help the reunion between the siblings may have taken a lot longer, when considering the cost of flying and the distance between them.”

A great deal of interest has arisen from various stories that Tracesmart has helped orchestrate, and this has further raised public awareness of how easy it is to perform a people search and ultimately find relatives or friends. Owen Roberts, Tracesmart’s Communications Manager was keen to comment on the good publicity, “The main purpose behind the campaign is to help people find relatives and share their story with different media agencies. This has resulted in many more people finding the special person in their life, and possibly being able to spend their first Christmas together in many years.”

Contact Details:

  • Louise Hewlett is the driving force in Tracesmart’s Missing Person’s campaign and has been tracing people for over 2 years. Louise has previously appeared on BBC 1’s Missing Live programme to discuss tracing and one of her previous successful reunions.
  • Owen Roberts has worked in the creative, advertising and communications industries for over 25 years and is the voice of Tracesmart. Heading up the communications team, he raises the public awareness of the company through various media driven PR campaigns.
  • Tracesmart Limited – Since the launch of its website in 2004 Tracesmart Limited has established itself as one of the UK’s leading providers of online people tracing tools. www.tracesmart.co.uk combines state of the art search technology with an extensive collection of consumer data, providing one of the most powerful and successful systems to trace people