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'Google Dataset Search' Aims To Index 'Millions Of Datasets On The Web'

Google Dataset Search

Dataset is a collection of data. The internet has more than plenty of them, and Google wants them.

Google announced that it has released 'Google Dataset Search' to public. Google first introduced it as a beta product in 2018, as a way to find data from sciences, government, some news organizations.

Google Dataset Search enables searchers to find datasets stored across the web through keyword searches.

“The tool surfaces information about datasets hosted in thousands of repositories across the web, making these datasets universally accessible and useful,” Google explains.

With the announcement, Google has also added more features to Google Dataset, which include:

  • Users can filter the results based on the types of dataset that they want; such as tables, images, text or more.
  • Users can also filter the results based on whether the dataset is available for free from the provider.
  • Google can show a map if the dataset is about a geographic area.
  • Google Mobile-friendly support was added.
  • A significant improvement in the quality of dataset descriptions.

According to Google on its blog post:

"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. "

Also with the announcement, Google has added more capabilities to its search engine.

Having indexed almost 25 million of these datasets, Google has built most of them through datasets schema, which allows “anybody who publishes data can make their datasets discoverable in Dataset Search,” Google said.

Google Dataset Search - Indonesia
Some of the search results for the query "Indonesia," which include datasets ranging from policy and economic research, demographic health survey, monthly earnings and more.

And as for webmasters or web owners, Google starts giving them tools within Google Search Console where they can see their datasets in the enhancements report section. The report shows errors and warnings if applicable, and also how many URLs have valid datasets markup on them.

What this means, data-drive websites can make their data more widely accessible. And now the Dataset Search is out of beta, websites can expect more searches and usage from it, with possible increase in traffic.

"The number of datasets that you can find in Dataset Search continues to grow," said Google, adding that "If you have a dataset on your site and you describe it using schema.org, an open standard, others can find it in Dataset Search."

"If you know that a dataset exists, but you can't find it in Dataset Search, ask the provider to add the schema.org descriptions and others will be able to learn about their dataset as well."

Google Dataset Search has its topics that cover mostly about geosciences, biology, and agriculture.

Published: 
27/01/2020