Research metrics, clearly
How to Find Your Google Scholar Profile ID
A short, reliable guide to finding the public Scholar ID in your profile URL and checking that colleagues can open it.
Your Google Scholar profile ID is the value after user= in the URL of your public Scholar profile. It identifies the profile, not your Google account, email address, or individual publications.
Find the ID in four steps
- Open Google Scholar and sign in with the account that manages your profile.
- Choose My profile.
- Look at the address in your browser.
- Copy the characters immediately after
user=and before the next&, if another parameter follows.
A profile URL normally looks like this:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PROFILE_ID&hl=en
In that example, PROFILE_ID is the value you need.
Google Scholar’s official profile guide uses the same URL pattern and explains that the link works for other people only when the profile is public.
Copy the full URL when possible
If an app or website accepts the complete Scholar link, copy the full profile URL rather than manually transcribing the ID. That reduces mistakes and preserves a link you can test.
Do not copy:
- the
hl=language parameter; - a publication’s
citation_for_view=value; - a search-result URL;
- your email address or Google account identifier.
The profile ID belongs to the user= parameter on the author-profile page.
Check that the profile is public
Open the copied link in a private browsing window where you are not signed in to Google. If the profile appears, colleagues and compatible tools can read the public page. If it does not appear, return to your profile, choose the edit control beside your name, enable the public-profile option, and save.
Google notes that a profile is private until you make it public. Adding and verifying an institutional email can make a public profile eligible to appear in Scholar searches, but the public setting is what allows the shared profile link to work.
Only information visible on the public page should be expected to appear in a third-party profile viewer. Making a Scholar profile public does not give visitors permission to edit it.
Common problems
The link opens my publication instead of my profile
Return to the profile overview before copying. A publication-detail URL often contains both a user= parameter and citation_for_view=. The simplest durable profile link ends after the profile ID, optionally followed by a language parameter.
My name finds several profiles
Do not choose a profile from the name alone. Check the affiliation, subject area, photograph, and publication list. A similarly named researcher will have a different profile ID.
My profile exists but another person cannot open it
Test the link while signed out. If it fails, confirm that the profile is public. If it opens but important papers are missing, edit the publication list in Scholar rather than changing the profile ID.
I changed institutions
Your Scholar profile ID normally remains the same. Update the affiliation and verified email on the existing profile instead of creating a duplicate profile solely because your institution changed.
Use the ID in Citatum
Citatum can use a public Google Scholar profile link or ID to connect the public profile. It does not need your Google password. Paste the tested public URL, confirm the displayed researcher and publication list, and keep the original Scholar page available for corrections.
The short answer
Open your Google Scholar author profile and copy the value after user= in the URL. Then test the full link in a private browser window. If the public page opens and the publication list is yours, you have the correct profile ID.