Google Hosted Business Search Service Upgraded And Renamed

Google Site Search, which had been named Custom Search Business Edition since its introduction in late 2006, is hosted on Google’s vast arrays of data center servers, a configuration that can appeal to some businesses not wanting the burden of maintaining and servicing their own computer servers dedicated to indexing and Google at WebmasterWorld’s 2007 PubCon searching their Web site.

Google also offers dedicated hardware based solutions to those firms that prefer keeping search applications running on their own equipment, with its Google’s Mini and Search Appliance hardware based systems. Google’s Search Appliance costs roughly $30,000 and up, while its Google Mini can cost as little as $2,000, and the company said it had over 10,000 customers using its Search Appliance and more than 1,000 using Google Site Search.

Along with Tuesday’s rebranding came an announcement of new features that Google said would allow certain types of content stored deep within a company’s Web site to be included in search results, content that had previously been indexed buy could not be shown on standard search engine results pages, or SERPs, a term coined by Brett Tabke, CEO of the WebmasterWorld Inc. online discussion forums. Information such as the results from online forms were among the types on new content Google said the new Google Site Search could include, although it noted that such data could also be excluded if desired.

Firms Can Operate Advertising Free Search

Google Site Search allows companies and organizations to turn off the advertisements that are typically shown alongside Google’s free Web-based search results and to completely remove Google’s name from the eyes of site visitors, although the company said that often firms using Google Site Search choose to leave the search leader’s name visible as a way to instill confidence among site visitors.

The service, which operates in a so-called cloud computing environment on Google’s servers, also differs from Google’s free search service by providing personal technical support over the phone or by e-mail.

“Cloud computing makes powerful search readily accessible to any business on the web,” said Google enterprise president Dave Girouard in a Tuesday statement announcing the new name and features. “Website owners typically invest in good content, search optimization and advertising to attract customers – but often lack a quality search experience once customers arrive. With Google Site Search, websites can immediately increase customer satisfaction as they are improving their business results,” Girouard added.

Date Biasing And Synonym Dictionary Added

While rivals such as Oslo-based enterprise data search company Fast Search and Transfer, which Microsoft purchased for $1.2 billion in January, and Autonomy Corp. Plc both offer in-house search management software that must be installed, Google is alone among leading search engines in offering a hosted search solution to businesses.

The new Google Site Search has added support for search synonyms, to allow searchers visiting a company’s site to more easily find words with similar meanings. A search on a bank’s Web site could, for example, be customized to show the same relevant page of information whether a visitor performed a search for “automated teller machine” or ATM, making it easier for business owners to tailor their site searches to a particular industry or field.

Google Analytics And Spell Checker Integrated

A new feature Google called “date biasing” has allowed Google Site Search administrators to make adjustments to how the service’s search algorithm ranks relevant Web site pages, and made it possible to give priority to newer pages or pages from a particularly important area of a site, for example. Google Site Search also added an updated spell checker, Google said, and full integration with the company’s Web traffic analysis program called Google Analytics.

The costs associated with Google’s updated Site Search service begin at $100 annually for those businesses whose Web sites have fewer than 5,000 pages, and rise to $2,250 for sites with between 100,000 and 300,000 pages, and Google said that it could provide custom pricing to firms with larger sites.

Source : http://www.searchengineworld.com/