Google Co-op Launches "Create A Custom Search Engine"

[ideavirus]

Hi,

Just launched... take a look at here [techcrunch.com] and here [gigaom.com] and here [searchenginejournal.com]...

Google Co-op Launches [google.com]

This is the most significant product from google this year and will have a direct impact on its bottomline

Well... i have start with atleast 3 niche search engines already... working on them currently...

This is definetly disruptive idea...

Cheers

[edited by: tedster at 6:05 am (utc) on Oct. 24, 2006]

[Lexur]

I did my own search engine queick and easy but
- it's only me or it's very easy to setup the search on your own site?
- I can't catch the difference with SiteSearch (here I can modify the width of the iframe)

[limbo]

Also, i have seen some niche search engines using google cse have removed the text 'Google Custom Search' from the text box. how can i do that?

Add

value=" "

to your form

[ideavirus]

limbo - Thanks it worked.

I saw some sample advanced niche search engines created in thside of the account... they have the full control over search results pages as i mentioned in my previous post.

Looks like some technical knowledge is required to get control over search results page.

One particular site i saw also had some kind of advanced search feature... any idea how to get that to work. i checked in control panel inside my account and read the documentation... but couldn't find any help there.

Any help... greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[wrgvt]

I thought the Terms of Service said you had to have the "Google Custom Search" graphic in the search box.

I've got this set up on one of my sites and I really really like it. Really. I'll let Google host the search results for me. But this should help my site's visitors. It means they'll be leaving my site, which is fine. That just means I didn't have the information they were looking for, and I have a custom search engine that will help them find it.

I am a bit confused about one thing, though. From my custom search control panel, there's a homepage link. Yet when you search from the search box on my site, you end up on a SERPS page, not the homepage. Will the homepage end up in Google's regular SERPS? Let's say I label my search engine "Handy Dandy Custom Search Engine." Now someone comes to my site, uses the custom search box, ends up on my custom SERPS. He really likes this search engine and wants to find it again. Is there any way to find it besides re-entering my site? If they search regular Google for "Handy Dandy Custom Search Engine," would they find it once (and if) it's indexed?

[mickmel]

A growing (and expected) niche of sites is already starting to crop up - sites that index all of the new custom search engines out there.

The two I've found so far are:

I've added my CSEs to those (more traffic = more money), but does anyone know of other sites like those two?

[edited by: jatar_k at 2:29 am (utc) on Oct. 27, 2006]
[edit reason] no urls thanks [/edit]

[riospace]

Does Google allow us to edit the "Search" button text and the search box length for our Google Co-Op search engines?

[PaulPA]

On minor problem I've noticed, when results are returned the "of about" total does not appear.

[pele]

Does this offer any way to selectively opt OUT of being included in these "custom search engines" other than completely disallowing Google which is not really a choice? I have an information/resource site and I don't see how this benefits me at all letting other sites use my data to score adsense clicks.

[wrgvt]

Does this offer any way to selectively opt OUT of being included in these "custom search engines" other than completely disallowing Google which is not really a choice? I have an information/resource site and I don't see how this benefits me at all letting other sites use my data to score adsense clicks.

I don't understand. If visitors end up on your site, they'll be clicking on your AdSense ads. I would think being part of custom search engines would drive more traffic to your site.

[stonecold]

Wrgvt: As for your "Handy Dandy Search Engine" indexing question, I am pretty sure that there is no special indexing advantage gained by having a CSE.

In other words, you will only show up on a search for Handy Dandy Search Engine if your web page is optimized in such a way to make your page rank highly for that term, and you have the incoming links needed as well.

Of course, chances are that the term used in your example are not that competitive.

Riospace: There is a parameter called size="40" in the Javascript. The number is the width of the search box.

You can then set the default search using the value="" parameter to the default text string that you are looking to use.

[edited by: jatar_k at 2:32 am (utc) on Oct. 27, 2006]
[edit reason] no urls thanks [/edit]

[Pedent]

One nice feature of this is for networks of sites.

I have 7 sites, all looking at a different topics within a niche (e.g. widget maintenance, widget history, widget customisation, etc.).

Now I have a site search box on each that returns results for the whole network, rather than just the particular site visitors are on. Nice.

[Lovejoy]

There seems to be a fly in the soup to this CSE business. If It's done right and a person takes the time to include sites with good content the concept is great.

The problem is you know what's going to happen, The MFA types are going to throw all kinds of crap together and Google's going to once again be filled with adsense laden crap sites. In effect they've just given The MFA'ers a new tool.

[netmeg]

Am I missing something, or is there no way yet to assign a channel (either custom or url) to this product, so that if you *do* get AdSense clicks, you can tell them apart from your regular stuff?

[stonecold]

Lovejoy: Yes people will throw together crap CSEs. Worse still, even well meaning people can build bad ones. But I think that they won't get very much use (we all like high quality search ...). The good ones will get far more use.

What would be really interesting is if Google implemented something to flag the crap ones and disable them. Not sure how they would do that though.

[pele]

wrgvt...

I don't have adsense on my site.

The problem I have with this is that anyone could go to my website cull from the info I have on it and build their own search engine from all my hard work of years of organizing data. So it semi forces me to have to build one first before the rest do which I may not feel like spending hours of my life doing to increase Google profits. Hope that makes sense. I see it as more of a threat to my website in way, sort of like all the bloggers that copy parts of my site to use as blog content.

Could be good if I create it first but could be really bad if others beat me to it.

Am I the only one seeing the bad side of this? LOL

[annej]

I thought the Terms of Service said you had to have the "Google Custom Search" graphic in the search box.

Could someone tell me where this is in the TOS? I can't find it but then I'm not very good at legalise.

Also I found if I change the width from 40 to 20 and put in a <br> putting the search button below the box that I can fit it in my left column.

I'd not sure this is Ok with the TOS either. Has anyone found anything saying we can't do this?

[stonecold]

Annej: I have not read the TOS, but I was among those few that were invited to the Googleplex to preview the Custom Search Engine program. The reason that Google exposed parameters such as the size="40" parameter was to allow people to customize their search box.

[rocker]

Annej, read section 2 under branding:
[google.com...]
Also, for further information click on the link provided under that section.

[mattg3]

The Interface doesn't work in Netscape 7 or Netscape 8 under firefox engine... the IE engine works.

[mattg3]

Am I the only one seeing the bad side of this? LOL

Without adsense Google will just feed on your work. So to get any return, I suggest you get it.

[stonecold]

wgrvt: while someone could perhaps derive a good custom search engine (CSE) from your site, they would really be unlikely to get lots of users unless they have a site a lot like your site in the first place.

When someone builds a CSE, there are two big questions that need to be addressed:

1. How is it better than generic Google search?

2. Why would some trust the results?

You will need both to succeed with a custom search engine. So even if someone builds a good one using your site, they still need to answer the second question.

So unless they have become a trusted source of information related to your web site already, people would be unlikely to start using it any volume.

[annej]

One of the conditions for all uses is that you can't mess around with our marks. Only we get to do that. Don’t remove, distort or alter any element of a Google Brand Feature.

[google.com...] under Things You Can't Do

Now that I understand. I don't think it was a lawyer who wrote "don't mess around with our marks". :)

My only concern about "Google Custom Search" in the search box was that it might confuse some visitors. It's more likely people will notice it as a search box if it's blank.

I do appreciate that we can change the box length and what is in the search button. In one case I have changed the button to "Search This Site". On the niche search I changed it to "search top (the niche topic) sources". I think having it on the button makes it a lot clearer what the search is about.

[riospace]

I have also changed what the button says and the length of the search box. I have noticed in the Featured Examples that Google displays in the Co-op section that there are many other manipulations that can be done and are obviously allowed if Google is going to use these as examples:

[google.com...]

[annej]

It's in those examples that I noticed that in some cases they had removed "Google Custom Search" or had put another phrase in the box. So it does look like changing it is allowed. I wish Google would clarify this for us.

[Reilly]

hi all,

i use the Custom Search Engine, too but
when i search for some Keywords which contains
ä ü ö and so on - i don't get any serps :(

anybody can help me?

[inbound]

Reilly,

The CSE's are currently aimed at english territories, this may explain the ommision of non-english characters. Although it does seem strange.

[mattg3]

So unless they have become a trusted source of information related to your web site already, people would be unlikely to start using it any volume.

Well it's as usual some tool [like the image labeler] to get the world working for free and to decide for Google which pages are quality ("as being linked in many of these CSE's").

[Reilly]

when i use the Custom Search Engine hosted on Google it works with ä ü ö words - only when i host it on my Site it will not be shown - i think when i press on the Search Button it will convert the word
Reiseführer in Reisef%FChrer and it must be Reisef%C3%BChrer - how do i get this when anybody press the search button?

Thanks for any help :(

[Reilly]

1. WRONG -> http://www.example.com/search.html?cx=784682075%3Awemw8ni&q=+Reisef%FChrer&cof=FORID%3A12

2. RIGHT -> http://www.example.com/search.html?cx=784682075%3Awemw8ni&q=+Reisef%C3%BChrer&cof=FORID%3A12

How do i get the 2. Version, when i do press the Search Button of my Custom Search Engine :(

Sorry for the double post - but i could not edit it anymore.

[inbound]

I'm sticking my neck out here as I have not had time to look at this, but I'd guess that inconsistent use of charactersets may be the issue. Check that your for is in the same characterset as the results/expected request.

The result set appears to be UTF-8 as shown by the code below:

<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">