Google offers free online course to turn you into a 'power searcher'

Everyone knows how to do a simple Google search, but do you know how to read pages in languages you’ve never studied or track down the location of a friend’s picture they took on vacation ages ago?

Google wants to show you more tips on how to get the most out of its search results.

The search engine giant will be offering a free online, community-based course starting on Tuesday that teaches people different search strategies to find what they need faster and more efficiently.

Google — which first opened registration for the class in June — will offer six different 50-minute courses called "Power Searching with Google” over the next two weeks. Classes can be taken at your own leisure within that time period.

The lessons, which will be led by Google Senior Research Scientist Dan Russell, will show attendees how to improve their search skills and use of various tools, including Google Groups, Google+ and Hangouts. 

“This is open to everyone, from beginner searchers to people who already know some of the tricks of the trade,” Russell told that “For example; you can use the search box as a calculator or filter for images by color. This course is aimed at helping people to learn new search techniques so they can find what they need faster, no matter how they currently use search.”

Those that finish the course will receive a printable certificate of completion emailed to them.

“Sign-ups have been great so far, but we hope more people will continue to register,” Russell said.

“We will be using lots of different Google technology to provide a rich, social, educational environment that should be a great learning experience.”

The company has recently been relatively candid about how a Google search works. In April, a Google software engineer head detailed in a YouTube video how Google scours the web on a daily basis to provide the most up-to-date results to users. 

In May, it released an infographic about how a Google search travels around the world to bring the latest results.

Most recently, it launched a video discussing how startups can master SEO in under 10 minutes.

Will you attend Google’s free online courses? What would you want to learn from the company? Let us know in the comments below.