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Power Searching with Google Course

If you want to become a Google Search Ninja and be able to use the advanced tools in the Google search engine to find the right information, you should take this free online Google’s Power Searching course.

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Google is the most popular search engine on the web. Most of us rely on Google search for finding information. Sometimes it can be difficult to find just the right information we are actually looking for out of the hundreds or thousands of results returned in Google’s search. Despite using Google every day, we still use it in its simplest form. But Google has a plenty of tricks up its sleeves that can help us perform more quick, efficient and effective searches on Google.

Towards this end, in July 2012 Google created an online course called Power Searching with Google. This course showcases many of their advanced search techniques and how to use them to solve real, everyday problems. You will learn tips and tricks to be able to use Google search to its full potential and become a fast and effective fact-finder.

The Google Power Searching course is available online on edX as an Xseries program. There is no prerequisite and literally anyone can take this program and discover new ways to handle google search.

Go to Power Searching with Google Course

The course is structured as a series of 6 modules, each of which comprises of 5-6 short video lessons. Every video lecture is followed by an Activity that is intended to allow participants to answer a couple of questions to test their understanding and also allow them to exercise and practice whatever was discussed in the lesson. Although these activities are completely optional, they help to cement the knowledge gained in the video lessons.

The instructor of the course is Daniel M. Russell, a senior research scientist at Google. Here’s Dan’s introduction video to the course to give you a sense of what the course entails, how it is organized and overall subject matter.

This Power Searching course introduces participants to the idea of search, how Google works, and gives them the methods, strategies and tactics to find what they need to find. In addition to learning key methods to improve search skills, participants understand what it means to search on Google and other Google products and what kinds of things one can find. The course covers the following topics:

  • Using color filtering within image search
  • Choosing effective keywords for your search
  • How word order and punctuation matters in the search
  • Finding text on a web page
  • Utilizing information in Knowledge Graph panels, Instant results, Suggestions, and Related Searches when they appear
  • Recognizing when search results are offering information that suggests a better/additional search
  • Using ‘define’ to identify the meaning of words
  • How to use dictionary mode to define words that do not appear in traditional dictionaries
  • Understanding options for different media
  • Refining results by using different media types like videos and news
  • How to identify an image with search by image
  • Interpreting a search engine results page (SERP)
  • How to use the site: operator to restrict results to a domain, website, or directory
  • Finding different kinds of content efficiently across a variety of sources
  • Describe how various search operators filter results
  • How to use the site: operator within images and news results
  • Using a word you expect to appear on the target page to refine results
  • How to use the filetype: operator to find and download different kinds of documents
  • Combining operators to refine searches
  • Removing invasive results from the search
  • Using quotes to search for a phrase
  • Using OR to include more than one way of expressing an idea
  • How to use the intext: operator to ensure the word you want is actually on the page you find
  • Using the Advanced Search user interface when appropriate
  • Finding facts quickly with Shortcuts or Google search features that include weather, time, flight numbers, earthquakes, world capitals, sunrise/sunset times, movies, stock quotes, sports scores, package tracking numbers, medical conditions, and medications
  • Calculating math expressions and conversions from the search box
  • Time and Date Filers to limit results to sources published during a specific time period
  • Translating words, sentences, and pages
  • Searching in foreign languages using English
  • Verifying the credibility of information you find on the web
  • How to avoid confirmation bias when conducting searches
  • Using books to verify a quote
  • How to find out information about a web site, a company, or almost anything
  • Distinguishing between the Google products that indicate credibility and those that do not
  • Combining operators for stronger searches
  • Combining methods and approaches to find information efficiently
  • Using tools that are not traditionally used for research, like Maps and Streetview

This XSeries program in Power Searching with Google is open for all and self-paced, so everyone can learn at their own pace without being locked in a schedule. There are two courses in the program:

  1. Power Searching with Google
  2. Advanced Power Searching with Google

XSeries Program in Power Searching with Google

You can benefit immensely from this course material and begin using Google search like a pro upon completing this program. You can also receive a certificate to showcase your Google search skills.

Some other good courses are available on Udemy on the subject of Google Search. Here are three popular courses you might consider:

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