4 replies to this topic

[Think Web]

Site-Flavored Google Search

Webmasters now have the ability to offer a search box that has been "flavored" according to a pre-defined niche.

Do you want to offer a geographical search for a given state? Done.
The possibilities are endless.

Hmm...I wonder if you can offer multiple search boxes with different flavors, from the same site?

[Jill]

Looks and sounds interesting, but I still don't quite get it. I read the FAQ, but I'm having trouble wrapping my head around how it can help.

For instance, would it be something worthwhile for our current forum search that we use Google for?

I would imagine it's pretty obvious what this forum is all about, which is why I don't get how the "flavor" can make much difference.

[Think Web]

Jill, in your case, you may want to look into the new Google WebSearch, Plus AdSense for Search. You could set it up as a site search, and then filter out the unwanted ads.

Monetized search...gotta like that!

This would be great way to monetize a directory site.

Edited by Think Web, 18 June 2004 - 08:25 AM.

[BobetteKyle]

Offhand, it seems like a "flavored" search would be more useful if the searcher types in a general term. I did a couple of searches on a box I flavored as "e-commerce"...

With the flavor off for "forums", it gives regular results. When the flavor is turned on, a page linking directly to Internet.com's ecommerce forum floats to the top.

For marketing, with flavor off, the top rankings are about marketing organizations. With the flavor on, they are about Internet marketing, etc.

Useful for a searcher who tends to type in general terms.

Not sure how it's useful for a site owner, though. Seems to me a flavored search would highlight competing sites.

Edited by BobetteKyle, 18 June 2004 - 08:32 AM.

[BobetteKyle]

Jill, in your case, you might want to look into the new Google WebSearch, Plus AdSense for Search.  You could set it up as a site search, and then filter out the ads that you don't want shown on your site.

Monetized search...gotta like that!

Think Web, those are my first thoughts, too.

My initial reaction on the flavor search is to not touch it with a ten foot pole for a business site. For "hobby" sites, could be useful.

I set the Websearch Plus AdSense up last night on a couple of my informational sites and will see how that pans out. My only concern would be if it greatly lowers performance of the on-page context ads...which is fine as long as total AdSense revenue goes up with the search. I'll be monitoring performance pretty closely over the next week.

Tangentally, I'm liking that the default search is my site rather than the Web. I'm figuring most will do the default search first, which will maybe mean more time per visitor on my site.

Anyway, just my initial reactions.