Google Custom Search Engine, Google Search Appliance, Google Site Search… The list of products might get confusing very quickly. With AddSearch, the best Google custom search alternative, this is no longer a problem.
In 2018, Google terminated two of its three search products, Google Site Search and Google Search Appliance, and is now focusing all its efforts on an old, well-known product, Google Custom Search Engine (or CSE).
Table of Contents
What is Google Custom Search Engine (CSE)
Let’s dig into CSE and try to understand if it is the right fit for your website.
Google CSE has changed a lot since the closure of its two corresponding products. Google Custom Search used to be a free site search supported by Google ads. That’s right, if you install CSE you will be showing ads of other businesses (and even your competitors) on your own website.
As of today, Google CSE offers different plans for different business needs and many customization tools. Yet its design limitations, ads, and lack of speed made many former Google search products’ customers look for a better solution.
Google Site Search Alternative
AddSearch enhances search by providing new powerful features that improve search results even further. Whether you’re a small company or a large enterprise, AddSearch provides a simple, like-for-like replacement for Google Custom Search Engine with the added benefit of powerful extra features.
You will still enjoy all the great features from CSE but with additional tools that will dazzle your customers and boost conversions. Switching takes just five minutes, and no coding experience or developer support is needed.
Below, we compared the Google Custom Search Engine to AddSearch as an alternative side-by-side.
| AddSearch | Standard Google CSE | CSE powered by API | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $25/month | Free | $5 per 1000 queries |
| Ads | No | Yes | No |
| Query limits | From 50,000/month | No limits | 10,000 queries per day (if more than 10 domains) |
| Implementation | From inserting a few lines of code to building complex customized solution with API | Client side javascript | Client side or server side JSON API |
| Analytics | Shows popular, no click and no result keywords. Integration to Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics available. | Shows popular queries and volume of queries. Integration to Google Analytics. | Shows popular queries and volume of queries. Integration to Google Analytics. |
| Support | Email and live chat support for all customers | No | No |
Let’s start from the beginning by comparing the similar features that Google Custom Search Engine and AddSearch offer.
Similar Features
| AddSearch | Google CSE | |
|---|---|---|
| Search Suggestions Autocomplete | ✔ | ✔ |
| Promotions | ✔ | ✔ |
| Typo Tolerance | ✔ | ✔ |
| Indexing of PDFs, DOCs or PPTs | ✔ | ✔ |
| Instant results, search-as-you-type | ✔ | - |
| Hidden keywords | ✔ | - |
| Dashboard | ✔ | - |
| Personalization | ✔ | - |
| Custom UI search service | ✔ | - |
| User management | Advanced | Basic |
Both AddSearch and Google CSE support search tools including search suggestion autocomplete, promotional banners for certain results, typo tolerance, are able to index additional file types and allow you to adjust the ranking of individual pages or site sections.
Advantages AddSearch offers as a Google Site Search Alternative
AddSearch is a lightning-fast, accurate, and customizable Site Search engine with a Search API. It works on all devices and is easy to install, customize, and tweak.
let’s look at a few powerful features it offers, giving it a leg up over Google.
– Adjust the ranking of individual pages or entire site sections
Do you want products to be shown above any other pages? You can adjust the ranking of certain site sections, such as path /products by boosting their weight with our tools. You can also exclude content or boost even certain file types such as PDF files if you want to.
– Instant results and search-as-you-type
Your visitors can search from anywhere on the website and find the right information straight away. AddSearch gives your website visitors instant search results and makes search experience faster and smoother.
– Hidden keywords
If you want your page to rank for additional keywords without adding the keywords into the text of the page, use hidden keywords. You can specify hidden keywords page by page.
– Related Searches
When your users can’t find what they are looking for, you can suggest related searches and search results. With this simple feature, you can ensure that your website visitors stay on your site and don’t leave frustrated.
– Filtering & Facets
Filters and facets make it easier for your users to look through your content. You can guide them through your website with multiple filter options or contextual filters based on their search results.
– Personalization
Your users can look for very different search results depending on their status or previous web behavior. For example, an enrolled student looks for different results on a university website than a high school student. You can deliver a better website experience to each of your website visitors with search personalization by providing relevant search results for each user.
– Analytics & Dashboard
Google CSE allows you to integrate with Google Analytics – and so does AddSearch. But on top of that, we also offer a custom search dashboard that includes all the relevant information you want about your site search such as popular keywords or keywords that return no results. On your dashboard, you also have control over your search results and can easily adjust the ranking of content in search results or make any other changes to your search feature.
– User management
Invite your colleagues, content managers, and marketers to look over site search analytics while making sure that only the right people can make actual changes to your search results.
– Custom UI design
While Google’s CSE comes with very few design options, you can reach a whole new level of customization with AddSearch. With a vast selection of pre-built themes fitting your needs (eCommerce, media & list view, etc.) and our search UI library and APIs, you can make your search tool fit your branding and website design. Whenever you need any help with designing and building, you can reach out to our technical support to help you.
Google Site Search Alternative Pricing
AddSearch Pricing
Check all AddSearch plans here. The plans include ranking tools, Search API, language-specific features, and fast and reliable customer support. The more advanced plans offer many additional features, such as SLA and implementation support.
Google Custom Search Pricing
Here’s Google Custom Search Engine pricing taken from its official website.
You can see that the free Standard Search Element still comes with ads. Google CSE makes it obligatory for non-profit companies to use Google branding on their website. Custom Search powered by JSON API, which is no longer free but costs $5 per 1000 queries, is not sustainable for large websites because of its limitations of 10,000 queries per day or 10 domains connected to the search engine (depending on if you choose JSON API or Restricted JSON API).
Setup and Implementation
Both AddSearch and Google Custom Search Engine support simple installation by inserting Javascript code into the website. AddSearch can be customized freely and styled with CSS to suit any website and brand. Google Custom Search customization is limited to a few settings. If you have a more complex solution in mind, API is available for both AddSearch and CSE.
With our Premium & Enterprise plans, we also support you during every step of your implementation process at no extra cost, including the development and coding of the search. Our expert team of developers will provide you with guidance on best practices of search and will ensure that your search works for your website.
Support
If in trouble, Google does not provide any support for search products, whether you use a paid search or a free one. If you have any technical issues or questions, Google directs customers to its Community Forum, where Google enthusiasts and employees publicly discuss the subject of support.
AddSearch support, on the contrary, is loved and often praised by our customers. In addition to extensive documentation, we offer live chat and email support for all plans, as well as full implementation assistance and consultation for enterprise customers.
Reliability
Google has such a vast catalog of products; Google Custom Search Engine is just one of many. As we have seen with the end of Google Site Search and Google Search Appliance, Google can discontinue a product if it doesn’t make economic sense anymore because it can rely on its wide product portfolio. Many companies were left out in the rain in 2018 and had to find a replacement for their search fast.
If you want to avoid having to look for a last-minute alternative for your site search, you can choose a search-as-a-service solution like AddSearch, which specializes in search. Internal site search is our bread and butter, and you can rely on us to continue our services because this is what we do—and what we do best.
In the end, the choice is up to you. Whether you’re a webmaster or developer working in a business or a non-profit organization, we obviously work hard here at AddSearch to make the best search for you.
Why choose AddSearch as a Replacement for Google Custom Search?
Here’s a list of features that customers who migrated from Google search products especially love about AddSearch.
- AddSearch provides all the same familiar features as Google search and much more
- There is no AddSearch branding or other business ads on your website
- You can enjoy full design freedom
- We will support you at every step, and our customer support is fast, friendly, and responsive
- AddSearch search analytics cover the most popular and low CTR keywords as well as keywords
- returning no result
FAQs about Google Custom Search
What is Google Custom Search?
Google Custom Search (also known as Programmable Search Engine) is a Google service that lets website owners add a custom search box to their site. The platform was initially launched in 2006 and was eventually renamed to Google Programmable Search Engine.
What is Search Customization?
Search customization refers to the process of tailoring a website’s search functionality to meet specific needs and preferences. This can include adjusting search filters, altering the ranking of results, adding autocomplete or predictive search features, and allowing users to sort results by categories like relevance, date, or popularity. By customizing search, websites can improve user experience, helping visitors quickly find the most relevant content based on their queries and needs.
What is a Google Programmable Search Engine?
A Google Programmable Search Engine (formerly Custom Search Engine) allows website owners to create a personalized search experience on their site by enabling users to search within specific websites or a defined set of sites. It provides a customizable search box and allows integration of Google’s powerful search algorithms while offering control over the results displayed.
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