28 Awesome Sources Of Free Data via @sejournal, @JulieJoyce

We all love free stuff, don’t we?

The internet is awash in an endless stream of information – mostly free and valuable, yet susceptible to manipulation and misinformation. That’s why, to navigate it effectively, vigilance is crucial.

Data is a critical component of SEO content strategy. Basing your writing on reliable data shows a commitment to accuracy, building your authority and credibility in readers’ eyes. This approach to content and accuracy maps to the signals that search engines use to determine things like E-E-A-T.

Using good data increases the quality of your content and also helps your audience navigate misinformation. Luckily, you absolutely can find data that is both free and trustworthy.

If you’re after solid data, explore this list of reputable, free data sources spanning diverse disciplines – all while avoiding the pitfalls of false information.

1. Google Dataset Search

This enables you to search available datasets that have been marked up properly according to the schema.org standard.

While this could be viewed as a one-stop-shop for datasets that include data from sources like NASA and ProPublica, many niche datasets may be better for certain purposes, of course.

You’re shown the results, and each one is clickable to tell you the name of the dataset, when it was last updated, and a description.

With certain results, you get more information, such as the formats in which the dataset is available.

Screenshot from search for [water quality california], Google, February 2024

2. Google Trends

With this tool, you can search for keywords and see a variety of information about them, including interest over time, interest by region, related topics, and related queries.

You can select options, including which country (or worldwide) you want to see, narrow it down to categories, or confine your search to all of the web, images, news, shopping, or YouTube.

You can also compare your search to another topic.

Screenshot from Google Trends, Google, February 2024

3. U.S. Census Bureau

This site allows you to get information related to population, the economy, and geography. You can browse by topic or search.

It’s a great tool if you need statistics to increase the quality of your content.

It offers some great visualizations you can embed within your content, too. It’s also very cool to see the world population updates.

Screenshot from Census Bureau, February 2024

4. The Official Portal For European Data

Available data includes geography, finance, statistics, election results, legal acts, and information on crime, transport, health, the environment, and science research.

This platform is searchable and browseable.

Screenshot from European Union, February 2024

5. Data.gov U.S.

The home of the U.S. government’s open data, this site allows access to information about a variety of topics provided by federal, state, local, and tribal governments.

Screenshot from Data.gov U.S., February 2024

6. Data.gov U.K.

Similar to the U.S.’s Data.gov, this site allows access to U.K. data on a variety of topics.

Data is provided by the central government, local authorities, and public bodies.

Screenshot from Data.gov U.K., February 2024

7. Health Data

Searchable topics include issues such as public health (especially good for COVID-19 data), medical devices, environmental health, substance abuse, mental health, and others.

Screenshot from HealthData.gov, February 2024

8. The World Factbook

Containing information on 266 world entities, this is a treasure trove of data that is updated weekly with information about the world.

You can select a country to view and then click on whatever topic you like (such as economy or transportation, for example). The site is also searchable.

Screenshot from The World Factbook, February 2024

9. Altmetric

Altmetric does offer some paid plans, but it has a useful set of the top 100 most mentioned articles across 20 disciplines that have been published in a year, too.

2020 is the latest, but there are sets going back to 2013. It also offers a few free tools.

Screenshot from Altmetric, February 2024

10. Open Corporates

The largest open database of companies in the world, Open Corporates gives you access to information to over 222 million companies.

You can search by companies or officers and limit your jurisdiction if you need to.

It also offers an API and bulk data plan.

Screenshot from Open Corporates, February 2024

11. National Centers For Environmental Information

This covers geophysical, atmospheric, and oceanic data. It is currently the world’s largest provider of climate and weather information.

It also provides links to older tools that may not currently be available on the website but reside elsewhere.

Screenshot from National Centers For Environmental Information, February 2024

12. Datasets SubReddit

You do have to sign up, but it’s free. Here, you can search for datasets and find people giving information and requesting it.

Reddit, in general, is also a great place to look for information and see what’s trending.

Screenshot from r/datasets, Reddit, February 2024

13. Kaggle Datasets

Kaggle currently has 297,000 datasets.

You can find data on anything, from famous iconic women to Los Angeles parking citations.

Screenshot from Kaggle, February 2024

14. Earth Data By NASA

The Earth Observing System Data and Information System contains NASA’s earth observation data, which includes facts such as land surface temperature in a specific area and carbon flux.

Screenshot from Earth Data By NASA, February 2024

15. Pew Research Center

If you’re looking for sociological data, Pew Research is a great source. There are some interesting articles that you can find by browsing around, too.

It’s free, but you may need to sign up to view and download datasets.

Screenshot from Pew Research Center, February 2024

16. Centers For Disease Control And Prevention

Covering health topics listed in the image below, this site gives you access to an incredible amount of data that is browseable and searchable.

You can even create your own filtered datasets through various topic-related portals.

Screenshot from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, February 2024

17. Bureau Of Labor Statistics

Here, you can find data about labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in our economy.

Screenshot from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2024

18. FiveThirtyEight

It has data on politics, sports, science and health, economics, and culture.

This site also encourages you to create stories and visualizations using its data.

Screenshot from FiveThirtyEight, February 2024

19. Group Lens

Group Lens has several available datasets (listed below in the image) that are useful for more niche projects. Some datasets are over a decade old.

You can get a lot of information on books and films here.

Screenshot from Group Lens, February 2024

20. GitHub’s BuzzFeed News

This one gives you data from BuzzFeed. If you want information about the election cycle or fake news, this one’s for you.

Screenshot from GitHub’s Buzzfeed News, February 2024

21. Amazon Web Services’ Registry Of Open Data

This service lets you share your data with others via the cloud. You can analyze available data and build on top of it using multiple proprietary Amazon products.

Users who want to store their datasets have access to a scholarship fund to pay for storage if they meet certain criteria.

Screenshot from AWS, February 2024

22. Global Health Observatory Data

This dataset is the World Health Organization’s repository of health statistics for its 194 member states with over 1,000 indicators.

Screenshot from World Health Organization, February 2024

23. Bureau Of Land Management National Datasets

This U.S.-centric dataset contains information on public land management and stewardship, including maps, oil and gas statistics, and more.

Screenshot from Bureau of Land Management National Datasets, February 2024

24. AfDb Data Finder Repository

This is a tool for accessing data regarding socio-economic and infrastructure figures within the whole of Africa.

Screenshot from AfDB, February 2024

25. ADB Data Library

This data library holds publicly available data from the Asian Development Bank.

Note that it is not limited to Asian-specific countries. It holds both private and public sector data, including information on climate change, gender, industry and trade, etc.

Screenshot from ADB, February 2024

26. Antarctic Datasets

This dataset repository lists all publicly available Antarctic datasets. It mainly focuses on information about the Antarctic glaciers and was last updated in 2020.

Screenshot from Antarctic, February 2024

27. Latin American Data Bank

This contains data from the Roper Center For Public Opinion Research, focused on Latin America and the Caribbean. It has public opinion data going back as far as the 1950s.

Screenshot from Latin America Data Bank, February 2024

28. IMDb Non-Commercial Datasets

This dataset contains subsets of IMDB data that are refreshed on a daily basis.

Screenshot from IMDB, February 2024

Last but certainly not least…

I’d like to mention a great list of 41 sources for free images to go along with all this data, so definitely check that out.

Key Takeaways

Think of this list as more than just a collection of free data sources; it’s a powerful tool that can help you create data-driven campaigns, stay ahead of trends, and guide your strategies.

While readily accessible, it’s important to approach all information with a critical eye. Remember to verify sources, fact-check claims, and consult with industry experts when needed.

By combining the power of free data with responsible research practices, you can make well-informed decisions that lead to success.

More Resources:

Featured image: hanss/Shutterstock