A Custom Google Search on Your Own Site is a Powerful Tool
As your website grows you need a tool to make it easier for your readers to search for information on the site.
A great solution for installing a search function on your site is available through Google. Google offers the ability to download a Google search box to your website to search the contents of the site. The results will be presented in the same format as the Google search engine results page.
Google offers two options for the search function.
If you go to Google Free at http://www.google.com/services/free.html you can register to get the HTML code that will put the Google search on your site. This requires that you fill in information that is requested and the site will be customized for you. You can then preview the results, and if it is what you want, you copy the HTML code that Google gives to you and paste it into your web page where you want the search box to appear. It is fairly easy to do.
If you have a logo, you can insert it in the input information and the logo will appear on the search engine results pages. Click the following link to see the Boomer eZine example http://www.boomer-ezine.com/Boomer_eZine_Search.htm. Once the search page loads, enter SBI in the search box and search. The results will be all of the times SBI appears on the Boomer eZine site. Notice the Boomer logo on the customized search engine results page.
The look of this results page is attractive, but you have no control over the Adwords adds that are placed on the right side of the page with the results of the search. Ads for your competitor will appear on the results page and this may be unacceptable to you.
The other option is to use Google Adsense for Search. This allows you to create a customized Google search for your website. This option has filters that you can set to exclude certain websites from being included in the Adsense ads on your site. The other benefit is if someone clicks on an Adsense ad, and purchases an item, you get a fee for the transaction.
If you want to sign up for Google Adsense, go to https://www.google.com/adsense. Click the Click here to apply button
When you log on the Google Adsense site, you can choose to use Google Web search or Google Web search + Site Search. Select the Google Web search + Site Search.
On the page where you specify the options for the search function, enter the URL for your site and the other required information. You will be given the chance to review what it will look like and you can change parameters until you are satisfied.
At the bottom of the page, there are three options for how the search results are displayed.
Open results on Google in the same window
Open results on Google in a new window
Open results within your own site
The last option is probably the best for you. This will place the search results on a page in your site with your own header and footer. It holds the reader on your site. Option one keeps them on your site, but they do not get that impression since all they see is a Google page. Option two opens a new window and sends them to Google. You might lose them at that point.
Option three requires that you specify a web page for the search results, but that is easy if you specify the same page the search box is on. If you put the search input box and the search results below the search box, your page will function like Google.
On the next Adsense page you specify the color scheme for your ads, the country for the search, if you want to use Safe Search (keeps porn from coming up on the web search), and if you want to use a tracking channel. I recommend that you use channels for each different use of Adsense so you can see where your revenue is coming from.
On the next Adsense page, you will get two sets of HTML code. One set goes on the page at the location where you want the search box. The other code goes on the location on the page where the search results will be placed. Copy the HTML from the Google site and paste it into the proper location on your web page. View your page and see how it looks. The search box may be left justified and you may want it in the center of the page. If so, use the HTML center tags to center the search box and the frame on the page.
Authors note: If you see the HTML tags xmp and /xmp these are added in this article to tell the browser not to consider what is between them as executable HTML, but rather, print them as text.
The code for the search results location begins and ends with and ends with . Put the center tags before and after these comments.
Upload your page to your site and put it to work for you. To see an example of the final results for a Google Adsense for search installation, go to the Boomer eZine website (see link below) and click Site Search on the navigation bar on the left. This will take you to the search page. Enter SBI as the search term and click the search button. The results will be displayed under the search box along with the Adsense ads at the top and bottom of the search results.
This is a handy tool to install on your site. It enhances your website. It does not cost anything and you can make money with it if someone clicks on an Adsense ad on the search results page. A real win, win deal!
Good luck in the future.
Copyright 2006 John Howe, Inc.
John V. W. Howe is an entrepreneur, author, inventor, patent holder, husband, father, and grandfather. He has been involved in entrepreneurial activities for over 40 years. He founded http://www.boomer-ezine.com and http://www.retirement-jobs-online.com to help Boomers (baby boomers) become entrepreneurs when they retire.
Pitfalls to Watch For When Purchasing High PR Domains
You may have seen on eBay and other auctions high pagerank (PR) domains for sale. You may have even considered purchasing one...
Value Of A Domain Name!
So you just registered 20 names and don't know what to do with them. Then you ask people at your favorite forum what they thi...
Local Domains - Choose wisely!
A few years ago it did not matter whether you had a .com type domain or an extension specific to your own country.In fact, I ...
Maximize Your Adsense earnings
To maximize your earnings, it's not a matter of just slapping some adsense on your page andhoping for the best - so lets look...
Get An Expired Domain Into Google
If you are someone who frequents the online SEO forums, you will often come across people saying they are struggling to get t...
Free Webmaster Tools - 7 Things Every Webmaster Needs in Their Toolbox
Webmaster tools are vital to becoming both efficient and effective in your online efforts. The following are my picks for the...
What is The Google Toolbar?
No matter what browser you may want to use, you should consider using Googles toolbar. Google.com, the innovative, stripped-d...
4 Tip For Choosing A Domain Name
Things to keep in mind when selecting your domain name:Tip ONE - Stay with the dot com extension as opposed to .biz .net .us ...
Before You Register a Domain Name for Your New Online Business…
Recently I made a mistake that may cost a great deal of traffic to my new web site.Let me explain...I studied so many books a...
5 Tips To Find A Good Web Designer
It is very important to find a good web designer. As a business owner, there is no way that you will be able to teach yourse...
Domain Names For Higher Search Engine Rankings
1. Does having more than one domain name help my search rankings? No. There's no need to register a zillion names for your we...
Advanced Hotlink Protection
Many of you may be using cPanel hosting software for your website, and may already have hotlink protection configured from wi...
What Business Owners MUST Know BEFORE They Commit To Having A Web Site
Q1.Why would I need a web site?
A1.- Improve my service by providing the existing clients with useful resourcesThat will help...
Custom Web Design for Your Business - Mini Sites
It's no accident you're reading this article right now. Sometimes the information we need doesn't appear until we are truly r...
Factors To Consider Before Choosing And Registering Domain Names
WHAT ARE DOMAIN NAMES?Website is your location (i.e. your office) and name in the Internet world. There is no way you can eas...
Domain Name Forwarding and Search Engines
You own a single site, but several domains - perhaps you wanted to make sure that even if your customers misspelled your doma...
To Flash or Not to Flash?
There a number of things to consider when deciding to add flash to your site and this article aims to answer your questions a...
Web Design Tips
How to make a web pageOk, this is just an article to get you started in the web design business. Here are a couple things you...
How to Pick Your Domain Name
You have been thinking of starting your own website. You have done some preliminary research and you are ready to go, all yo...
Why Corporate Identity is a Very Powerful Communication Branding Tools
The world of business is a very competitive one with each executive competing with the other to get the best of sales, profit...