The Google Custom Search team sent out an email this week reminding/announcing users that they now offer a business edition of Google Custom Search which does not serve advertising and total customization. Google Custom Search lets users build their own search engines based upon a custom search index, and others socially contribute to those search indexes.
- Many businesses have approached us about using the Custom Search Engine to power site search on their websites. Businesses expressed great excitement about what Custom Search can do, but they often had two requirements for search on their site:
no ads, so that visitors stay on their site instead of leaving for a different one
complete customization of the look and feel of search results
So that’s why we developed Custom Search Business Edition.
The Business Edition turns off ads and allows you to access search results through an XML API. This means that you can create your own user interface for search results and have your search engine fit in seamlessly with the rest of your website. Custom Search Business Edition starts at $100 per year for searching less than 5,000 web pages.
You can create a new Business Edition search engine by visiting http://www.google.com/coop/cse/business/create
Alternatively, convert your existing Custom Search Engine to the Business Edition through the control panel at http://www.google.com/coop/manage/cse/
For businesses looking for a more defined and site specific search which is not based upon Google’s web search technology, and instead a proprietary site search technology, PicoSearch has also been on the market for years and specializes in business site search.
Before making a decision on the search service you want to use on your website, I suggest giving PicoSearch’s FAQ page a look.
