Issue with Find People Tool Returning Incorrect Results

Kaylin M. · 2025-10-16 17:25:55.655973+00

Issue: Find people via Find people at company returned folks who are at companies not even on the original companies table at all. 1. Used Surfe for this enrichment and yielded no results twice. 2. Added Enrichment to find company linkedin (google dearch site:linkedin.com/company + /Org Name (table) 3. For the below example: It found 4 separate LinkedIn for Russell County School District (KS), none of which were even a close match. 4. Because of this, I did a find people that leveraged the LinkedIn links and it pulled in people from a company not even on the original org/company list. To prevent this- I guess I would have to verify each linkedin link and correct before doing a find people? Is there not functionality that says if you don’t find a stronger or exact match, return “no result”

Issue with Find People Tool Returning Incorrect Results | Clay

11 comments

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Clay Support
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This issue occurs because enrichment tools can return multiple LinkedIn URLs for similar company names, leading to incorrect matches. For better accuracy with company identification:
Before running Find People:
- Ensure your company table has proper identifiers like LinkedIn URLs or domains [1]
- Use company domains instead of relying solely on LinkedIn URLs when possible
For Surfe specifically:
- The tool accepts both company domain and LinkedIn URL as inputs [2]
- Company domain is often more reliable than LinkedIn URLs for accurate matching
Unfortunately, there isn't a built-in "exact match only" setting that returns no results for weak matches. You'll need to manually verify LinkedIn URLs before running people searches, or use company domains as your primary identifier for more accurate results.
Clay Support
APP
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Is that what you were looking for?
Clay Support
APP
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If you need any more help with improving the accuracy of your Find People results, I’m here to assist. Would you like to provide more details about what you’re trying to achieve or any other challenges you’re facing?
Kaylin M.
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This is contradictory. If i’m looking for a LinkedIn URL, I can’t call on that field for a look up…
Clay Support
APP
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You're right - that's the circular problem. When you need to find LinkedIn URLs but don't have them yet, use company domains as your primary identifier instead. [1]
For Surfe's "Find people at company" action, you can input either:
Company domain (e.g., microsoft.com) - recommended for accuracy
Company LinkedIn URL (optional) [2]
Start with domains from your company table, then use those for people searches. This avoids the LinkedIn URL enrichment step that's causing inaccurate matches. [3]
Clay Support
APP
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Did that answer your question?
Kaylin M.
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I started with a list of account names and states, that’s it. Then I had spent credits to enrich on domain and used that to find a LinkedIn link. It still produced wildly wrong results
Clay Support
APP
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The issue stems from starting with just company names, which creates a chain of potential inaccuracies. When you enrich for domains using company names, then use those domains to find LinkedIn URLs, each step can introduce errors that compound. [1]
For better accuracy:
Normalize company names first to remove legal suffixes and inconsistencies before domain enrichment [2]
Verify domain results before using them for LinkedIn URL enrichment
Consider using Google's "Find Domain from Company Name" which can be more reliable than other enrichment tools [3]
The fundamental challenge is that company names alone aren't reliable "corner pieces" - domains and LinkedIn URLs are the essential identifiers needed for accurate enrichment. Starting with just names requires multiple enrichment steps, each potentially introducing errors.
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Was that helpful?
Kaylin M.
·
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yes
1
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Great! If you have any more questions or need further assistance with your enrichment process, feel free to ask. I'm here to help.

Clay Support
APP
·
·
This issue occurs because enrichment tools can return multiple LinkedIn URLs for similar company names, leading to incorrect matches. For better accuracy with company identification:
Before running Find People:
- Ensure your company table has proper identifiers like LinkedIn URLs or domains [1]
- Use company domains instead of relying solely on LinkedIn URLs when possible
For Surfe specifically:
- The tool accepts both company domain and LinkedIn URL as inputs [2]
- Company domain is often more reliable than LinkedIn URLs for accurate matching
Unfortunately, there isn't a built-in "exact match only" setting that returns no results for weak matches. You'll need to manually verify LinkedIn URLs before running people searches, or use company domains as your primary identifier for more accurate results.
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Is that what you were looking for?
Clay Support
APP
·
·
If you need any more help with improving the accuracy of your Find People results, I’m here to assist. Would you like to provide more details about what you’re trying to achieve or any other challenges you’re facing?
Kaylin M.
·
·
This is contradictory. If i’m looking for a LinkedIn URL, I can’t call on that field for a look up…
Clay Support
APP
·
·
You're right - that's the circular problem. When you need to find LinkedIn URLs but don't have them yet, use company domains as your primary identifier instead. [1]
For Surfe's "Find people at company" action, you can input either:
Company domain (e.g., microsoft.com) - recommended for accuracy
Company LinkedIn URL (optional) [2]
Start with domains from your company table, then use those for people searches. This avoids the LinkedIn URL enrichment step that's causing inaccurate matches. [3]
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Did that answer your question?
Kaylin M.
·
·
I started with a list of account names and states, that’s it. Then I had spent credits to enrich on domain and used that to find a LinkedIn link. It still produced wildly wrong results
Clay Support
APP
·
·
The issue stems from starting with just company names, which creates a chain of potential inaccuracies. When you enrich for domains using company names, then use those domains to find LinkedIn URLs, each step can introduce errors that compound. [1]
For better accuracy:
Normalize company names first to remove legal suffixes and inconsistencies before domain enrichment [2]
Verify domain results before using them for LinkedIn URL enrichment
Consider using Google's "Find Domain from Company Name" which can be more reliable than other enrichment tools [3]
The fundamental challenge is that company names alone aren't reliable "corner pieces" - domains and LinkedIn URLs are the essential identifiers needed for accurate enrichment. Starting with just names requires multiple enrichment steps, each potentially introducing errors.
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Was that helpful?
Kaylin M.
·
·
yes
1
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Great! If you have any more questions or need further assistance with your enrichment process, feel free to ask. I'm here to help.