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Google Brings its ‘Dataset Search’ Tool Out of Beta Testing
This could be helpful for content marketers.
This week, after months of testing, Google has announced that it’s making its Dataset Search tool available to all users, providing a new way to find in-depth data collections into a wide range of subjects.
As per Google:
“Across the web, there are millions of datasets about nearly any subject that interests you. If you’re looking to buy a puppy, you could find datasets compiling complaints of puppy buyers or studies on puppy cognition. Or if you like skiing, you could find data on revenue of ski resorts or injury rates and participation numbers. Dataset Search has indexed almost 25 million of these datasets, giving you a single place to search for datasets and find links to where the data is.”
As noted, the tool could be particularly handy for those writing in-depth reports, adding further weight to your explanations.
For example, if you were researching the effectiveness of the different online ad types, you might want to demonstrate comparative performance with stats on, say, desktop ad click-through rates.
As you can see in this example, my search for ‘desktop ad click-through’ has matched with 11 different datasets. From here, I can find the relevant insight I need, and use that as a reference in my research.
The main purpose of Dataset Search would logically be academic institutions, but still, for those who are looking for in-depth, quantitative research to reinforce the findings in their content pieces, it could prove to be equally valuable.
Interestingly, Google says that in initial testing:
“The most common queries include “education,” “weather,” “cancer,” “crime,” “soccer,” and, yes, “dogs”.
A fairly eclectic mix of use cases there.
Various research reports have suggested that longer, more in-depth content pieces perform better in search results, so it’s worth considering how you might be able to use Dataset Search to find more substantive data sets to support your findings.
The more definitive your content is, the more convincing it will be, and the more it will help to reinforce your expertise in your chosen area. Having easier access to millions of datasets to support such will help in your process.