Google Custom Search o Google Custom Search, is a service provided by Google Inc. that allows you to configure a custom search function for your website.
Features
If you set up Google Custom Search on your website, a Google search box will be integrated into it and will provide the respective search functionality. Unlike the normal Google search engine, your search will not cover the entire web. Instead, it will be a custom search in which the web operator defines which pages will be searched. It can be differentiated as follows:
- www.example.com/page.html - Individual subpages.
- www. example.com/* - Full site.
- www. examplee.com/docs/ - Certain areas of a web page.
- .example.com - Entire domain including all subdomains.
Al mismo tiempo del portal web en el que está configurada esta función de búsqueda, se pueden realizar búsquedas en otros sitios web por medio de la búsqueda personalizada de Google. Por ende, el operador del sitio puede influir de forma directa en los resultados de búsqueda que se mostrarán. Una vez realizados todos los ajustes necesarios, el operador del sitio puede integrar el cuadro de búsqueda en tu web. Para esto, Google proporciona un código HTML que se puede integrar en la región <body> de tu página de inicio. Al mismo tiempo, se puede recuperar una URL pública mediante de la búsqueda personalizada de forma directa desde el navegador, de forma equivalente al motor de búsqueda normal de Google.
Customization options
There is a wide range of ways to customize your personalized Google search. Some examples:
- Incorporation of Google image search.
- Websites to search.
- Incorporation of Google AdSense ads on search results pages.
- Graphic adaptation with many pre-established designs and layouts.
- Custom graphic adaptation in terms of font, border color and background color.
- Activation of autocomplete search terms.
- Connecting Google Custom Search with Google Analytics to review the search behavior of site visitors.
Both the search box itself and the search results pages can be highly customized to your pages in terms of layout, so at first glance it is difficult to see that it consists of an external service. In this YouTube video explains how to precisely configure Google custom search.
Costs
The personalized search on Google is free, despite everything, there are some limitations. It cannot be absolutely personalized in terms of design. At the same time, the search box will show up as a custom Google search. If you don't want to or feel like making more design modifications, you can upgrade to the paid version of Google Site Search. The annual price varies based on the total number of searches per year and typically ranges from $ 100 to $ 2,000.
Advantages of Google Custom Search
Google Custom Search has many benefits for both site operators and users:
- The weaknesses of the search capabilities in the CMS can be overcome.
- Search term suggestions that have yielded little or no results.
- Use of search alternatives and filters.
- The limitation to your own website is feasible.
- Easy incorporation and operation.
- Earn money from Google AdSense ads on search results pages.
- Use without costs.
Relevance for SEO
Google's personalized search is not of significant importance for search engine optimization, since the ranking of a website cannot be affected by its use. But it is essential, despite everything, in the field of conversion optimization. A functional and easy-to-use search function is essential to ensure good usability. Google's custom search can usually serve this purpose better than an internal search.
