What is Google Custom Search engine or Google CSE?
Google custom search engine is a platform that you can leverage for your website’s search feature. You don’t have to worry anymore about the ‘No Results’ page anymore. Quite often, users search for content that our website does not have and what they stumble upon is a blank result page. That is not a good way to deal with your user base.
If you use Google Custom Search Engine, you can show results to the users, not necessarily from your website but from other websites as well and that too on your website.
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So the main advantage here is user stays on your website and still can look for all the relevant search results. Another huge advantage of using Google custom Search engine is you can earn a great amount of money by monetizing it through Google Adsense.
Pre-Requirements
All you need to have a website that is approved by Adsense. Yes, we do use Adsense to show Ad on our website but Google Adsense pay money to use their search engine as well.
Set up Google custom search engine for Adsense
- The first thing that you have to do is to log in to your Adsense account. If you do not have a Google Adsense account, read this article to know more about how to get an Adsense account.
- Click on the sandwich icon in the top left and Custom Search engine tab as shown in the picture.
- Click on the ‘New custom Search engine’ tab.
- You will see a form as shown in the below picture.
- Please enter data in the fields as mentioned below
- Name: Put some values in the Name field which you can remember in future. This field won’t be displayed in front-end.
- What to Search: Choose this option intelligently. If you select ‘The entire Web’, all the web results will get displayed. If you don’t want to show all the web results and want your users to see results from some particular website (or, from the current website), select ‘only sites I want’ option.
- Once you select this option, put all the website names that you want your users to see in the search results.
- Keywords: Select the website niche keywords here. It doesn’t add any value to show entertainment news in a career related website. This keyword values filter out all the unnecessary results from search results.
- Safe Search: You can check the ‘Safe Search’ option if you do not want to show any Adult content in your search result.
- Site Language: It is always a safe bet to show results in a language that matches your website language.
- Search result: This is the most critical part while setting up Google CSE. You as a web developer and a web designer,need to decide where you want to show the search results to users. Do you want to show the results on a Google page in the same window or on a Google page in a new window.
- But, the best way to show the search result is in your website itself. If you show the results in your website, users will stay on your website and still can see the Google powered search results. In this way, user will stay more on your website and that is all we are trying to achieve after all.
- To show search result on your webpage, select on my website option and put the URL where you want to show the results. (I would suggest you create a page in WordPress and put that page URL here)
- Now click the ‘Save and Get Code’ button.
- If you have decided to show the results on your own website, you will get two codes. And, if you want to show the results on Google page, you will get only one code.
- If you have selected the first option, paste the search tool code (Search bar) in a text widget or HTML widget and paste the second code (Search Result Code)on the page which you have created to show the search result.
- If you want to show the search result on Google page then you will get one code only. You need to paste the code using a text widget or HTML widget to your desired place where you want to show the search bar.
- Moreover, you can edit the search bar as well using the Custom Search Channel.
Conclusion
It is always suggested to show the Google Custom Search Engine results in your own website’s page as it increases the user presence on your own website and it looks more professional. I would enhance the blog further on how to edit the search bar. Till then, Bye!!!
To know more ways on how to earn money online, click here.