14 DAY TRIAL // One of Google's big goals is to make it easier for everyone to search, or rather, to provide better and better answers to any question. Most of the time, the problem with finding something is getting Google to understand what you're trying to find.
This is how the Google Knowledge Graph came about, which uses natural language parsing and relies on known relations between objects and concepts, to provide smarter answers.
But, rather than wait for Google to become better at understanding our questions, we can also try make those questions easier to understand in the first place.
This is what the new Advanced Power Searching with Google free course aims to achieve.
It's the continuation of the previous Power Searching with Google, which proved quite successful, and it aims to teach users how to get the most out of Google, with advanced search techniques and smarter ways of finding info.
The courses won't appeal to most users, but they should prove useful to those that spend a lot of time searching or researching on the web. The courses start on January 23 and end on February 8. Anyone can register and follow along.
"Oftentimes the most intriguing questions invite you to explore beyond the initial answer, and there’s no single correct path to get there," Google explained.
"When looking for questions that can’t be solved with a single query, 'search' can quickly turn into 'research.' Google Search offers a palette of tools to help you dive deeper into the web of knowledge," it added.
The previous set of courses, Power Searching with Google covered some of the basics of going beyond the simple search. Things like advanced search, using quotes and similar methods were covered.
But it also covered some more generic issues on how to do research on Google. The courses are hosted by Google's Dan Russell, Über Tech Lead for Search Quality and User Happiness (actual title).