Google’s hosted search service for business users has been extended worldwide for the first time…
“As Google has evolved, it has transformed from what began as nothing more than a simple search engine into a plethora of online tools, many of whom people have come to rely on…”
Something that is “custom” is usually rare; it is often, in fact, unique. Yet the Google Custom Search platform is available to just a lot of folks, as a new announcement states that it is accessible in 40 languages and roughly 80 countries throughout the world.
Previously available only in the U.S., the Google Custom Search Engine platform lets users add Google search capabilities to their Web sites. A free, ad-supported version is available but the paid-for business edition gives administrators more support while allowing greater customization.
“For many organizations, a Web site is their window to the world and significant investment goes into attracting customers to the site,” said Google’s European enterprise director, Roberto Solimene, on Tuesday.
Google is well aware of that and is always seeking to expand their audience, and as such has now released their custom search platform to the world as a while.
Google Custom Search began like most other Google projects as an experiment to see if people, particularly businesses, would find crafting their own Google front end useful. Obviously they got the interest they wanted, and now are making it available in 40 languages around the world.
“Keeping visitors on a site once they arrive, however, is a challenge, and the absence of a search facility can be a major cause of a lack of Web site ‘stickiness’. By improving the ease, speed, and accuracy with which users can find what they need, businesses can ensure their Web site justifies the investments made,” Solimene added.
While the “CSE” as they call it is aimed at businesses and not individuals, it too like has a “free” version and a pay version.
Google’s Custom Search is available in two flavors: “free” and “Business Edition.” While a cynic might expect the Business Edition to spread just a little bit faster, the expansion has affected both versions equally. Also, a cynic who is not familiar with the software might think this is one of Google’s less-important programs, but that is not exactly the case.
The platform is a basic and free way to get Google search added onto websites, ideal for small businesses and organizations. Google says it only takes “three simple steps” for businesses to sign up for the hosted service, the whole process apparently taking less than ten minutes.
Setting up Google Custom Search seems relatively hassle free: first a user must identify the site to search, then add the search box to the website, then further customize search results with refinements for site contents, like categories. Businesses can customize the look of the search box, too.
Both the Custom Search Engine free edition and business edition provide hosted search capabilities, obviating the need for installed appliances. They also provide reports to help administrators monitor usage behavior.
The business edition, however, adds the option of e-mail and phone support from Google’s enterprise group. It also adds the choice of whether or not to include advertising, and allows results to be fully customized using an XML application programming interface (API). This customization extends beyond the appearance of the results to allow the highlighting or blocking of results from specified sites.
“The UK Parliament uses CSBE on its website to make nine million documents easily accessible to the public,” noted Nitin Mangtani and Rajat Mukherjee on the Official Google Blog.
The other has been Monarch Airlines, which claims that integration of the application has reduced in-bound customer e-mails by 30 percent as customers search for answers to their questions about baggage regulations and airline security, rather than asking the airline directly.
Also the Indian cricket site Cricbuzz uses a CSE to provide cricket fans relevant cricket content for any search related to cricket, using search refinements for drilling down into scores, player profiles, records, blogs and news.
This development, then, is something that a lot of people are likely to appreciate, though – 80 countries is an impressive tally, but by most counts, there are 192 in the world.
The business edition of Google Custom Search Engine starts at around £50 ($103 U.S.) per year for searching up to 500 pages. The annual charge for searching up to 300,000 pages is around £1,125 ($2,308 U.S), while those wanting to support larger volumes of pages need to speak directly to Google’s enterprise sales group.