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Custom Search Engine For your Website.

Ok. You have seen them around the internet. A search box with Google watermark. Small and customized to the website you see it on. Want one? This here tutorial will tell you how. In simple terms I am known for.

Google Co-op is a custom search engine you can add to your site. With Google Co-op you can specify which sites to include in your seaches, customize the look of the search results to match your website. Invite visitors to contribute to your search engine, and most importantly make money from ads placed on the search results page. And its as simple as filling in web forms.

To create your custom search engine, go to http://www.google.com/coop/cse/ (I have it linked to open in a new page) and click Create a Search Engine button. When the next page appears, fill in the following.

  • Search Engine Name: This is the name that will appear on your search engine.Example:Webmaster Search Engine

  • Search Engine Description: This is a description what your engine is searching for.Example:Webmasters for Webmasters. Collection of webmasters

  • Search engine keywords: Describe the content or subject of your search engine.Example:resources, web, designers, tools, "frontpage", lnik, keyword

  • Search engine language: Self explanatoryExample:Klingon, Martian or English

  • What do you want to search?: Specify a list of web sites to search. You'll be able to edit this list and add more sites laterExample: Only sites I select.

  • Select some sites: This is very important, choose wisely. But you can always go back and change it.Example: www.ezmnetwork.com/*

  • Select an edition:Self explanatory. Depending on your budget.Example: Standard Edition - Free, ads are required on results pages.

Click "Next" and your nearly done with it...on the next page is your customized search box for you to try, apparently. Never tried it. You can not click the back button on your browser or anything. All your work will be lost and you will have to start again.

Click "Finish" to go to your "My search engines" page, where you can access your search engine from its new homepage on Google or use its control panel to further customize it in the following ways:

  • Include more sites: From the control panel for the engine you wish to edit click sites up the top menu. Click Include sites and add domains. To exclude click Exclude sites.

  • Refinements: Refinements are labels that you apply to web sites. They appear as a list of links above search results.If you are an arcade you can have it search yours and have your refinement links there. Take a look at a Google page. You will see them.


  • Look and feel Is where you select a branding style for your search box.

  • Code This is where you get it from. This is the good bit. You can host it on your own site or a Google hosted page.Own page, you need a page already, Give the URL and paste the code from the top box into that page. You need to have a results page made for the second code to be placed. Over overlay it over the top of the page your Search box is on.

  • Collaboration Google Co-op allows you to collaborate with other users in creating your Custom Search Engine. If you invite someone to contribute, they will be given limited access to your search engine to add sites and apply existing refinement labels. You can invite up to 100 others to add and help with your engine. Other webmasters for example, graphic artists or death row inmates.

  • Make Money You can make money with your Custom Search Engine by connecting it to a Google AdSense account. You make money when users click on an ad they see in your search results. If you have more than one Custom Search Engine, all of your search engines will automatically be associated with the same AdSense account. Worth doing.

All the rest we won't get into. Business Edition and Advanced. It should be all go. You are setup with your own Search engine. Depending on its setup, just as good as google. But never better.