14 DAY TRIAL // Google is making it a bit easier to implement a Custom Search Engine for your site. While the feature has been around for years, Google is now enabling users to create new custom search engines from inside Webmaster Tools and also to manage existing ones from the same place, to a degree.
Custom Search Engines, as the name implies, enable websites to embed a search feature powered by Google Search but specialized and customized to whatever the needs of the website.
"Custom Search Engines (CSEs) enable you to create Google-powered customized search experiences for your sites," Sharon Xiao, software engineering intern, and Ying Huang, software engineer at Google, explain.
"You can search over one or more sites, customize the look and feel to match your site, and even make money with AdSense for Search. Now it’s even easier to get started directly from Webmaster Tools," they announced.
The idea of integrating the two features is to make it easier for webmasters to manage their dealings with Google.
Having to go to only one place for anything related to Google Search, be it the main search engine or the customized version, makes sense.
"If you’ve never created a CSE, just click on the 'Custom Search' link in the Labs section and we’ll automatically create a default CSE that searches just your site," Google explained how to get started.
"You can do some basic configuring or immediately get the code snippet to add your new CSE to your site. You can always continue on to the full CSE control panel for more advanced settings," it continued.
After you've created your first CSE, you can use the "Custom Search" link in Labs to access and manage it. Of course, existing CSEs will be there as well.
Again, there's no real new functionality here, everything was possible before, but Google has simplified the process, you now only have to visit one site manage everything related to search.