Does Your On-Site Search Engine Suck? Try a Google Custom Search Engine

You know who you are... you know your on-site search engine isn't really.. what's the word?... good.

 

Here are 5 signs that your on-site search engine may need to be updated or replaced, followed by a tried-and-true free solution:

 

1. You'd rather click through 3 or more pages of navigation than use your search engine
2. You anxiously wait to see if the results are relevant when you do a search
3. Visitors call or email asking for things they should be able to find on the website
4. You can't remember the last time you used the search engine on your website
5. You need a second to think about where on your site the search box is

 

Google Custom Search Engine (CSE)

Fully configurable on-site search engines can be very expensive, running into many thousands of dollars to implement. While generally you get what you pay for, not everyone needs a Ferrari when you're just trying to get people from point A to point B. And, there is a configurable and free option out there.

 

Google offers a service called the Custom Search Engine (CSE) for both personal and commercial use. Once you add it to your site, people can use Google to search your website.

 

Here's an example:

No Ads

Sometimes, you don't want Google Ads appearing next to the search results on your website - after all, some of those ads could easily be from your competitors. There is a paid version which will remove the Google ads from your search engine from $100 per year for the first 1,000 pages. More information on the pricing structure is available on the CSE page and also a version comparison.

 

How to Set up & Install a Google Custom Search Engine

To get the search engine working on your website you need 3 things:

 

1. Make sure the site is indexed by Google
2. Set up the search engine on Google
3. Paste the code into your website

 

To create your search engine, visit the Custom Search Engine (CSE) page on Google when you are logged into a Google Account. Click on the button "Create a Custom Search Engine".

 

Give your search engine a name, description and choose a language.

 

If you want the search engine to just search your own site, tell Google to only search your own site by entering the following line into the search box. There are more instructions on the page for customizing the search results further.

 

www.mysite.com/*

 

Once your search engine has been created in Google, you can log into your Control Panel. In the control panel, you'll see a lot of options for customizing the search engine, but don't get too inimidated as your search engine will still work if you generally ignore most of these options. What you do need to do is get the code for the engine and add it to your website.

 

How to Add the Custom Search Engine to Your Website

In your control panel, in the left navigation menu, is a link that says "Get code". Click this link - this is where you can copy the code from Google to add to your website.

 

There are 3 options for including the search engine on your website:

 

The first and easiest is to "Host the result on a page hosted by Google". This option means people will see the search box on your website, but be taken to a page on Google for the results. This is the easiest option because you only have to paste the code in one place on your website - usually a header or navigation template. If you need something easy to implement, this might be the best option.

 

The second option is to "Host results on my website using an iframe". This option includes the search results directly on a page in your website so visitors don't go off to Google. You'll need to paste the code into 2 places on your site - once to add the search box, and once to add the results page. If you need people to stay on the website, this might be the best option.

 

The third option is to "Host results on my website using a Custom Search Element ". This option will include the results in an AJAX box on your website. It's easy to add since you only need to paste one piece of code on your site, but be aware that it will also show the results on the same page directly under the search box.

 

Once the code is added to your website, you should be able to use it right away as long as your website is indexed by Google.

 

 

So, there's a free, relatively quick and easy way to update the on-site search engine on your website.