Most of the elements of the Google Custom Search Engine (CSE) results are tagged with class names, designed to integrate with CSS. This means that the colors and elements of the results page can conform to site standards. There's also a viability option for displaying full URLs in search results.
I've also updated the CSE AJAX Basic Example to show methods for opening clicked results pages in the same page (instead of a new one) and to add a helpful note if the CSE can't find any pages matching the search terms. -- July 2, 2009
Decoding the Google Custom Search AJAX API
Google has released a new version of their Custom/Site Search service, and added an "Element" -- a wizard-driven JavaScript that non-technical users can copy and paste to their web sites, even blogs which do not allow uploading. Search Tools has a new Analysis of the CSE and AJAX API and fully-commented sample code with a live version on the same page, because this is much harder for non-programmers to customize than the forms or even the Site Search XML interface (paid version only). I'll be doing more on customizing and functionality and display during this week.
Also coming soon, an updated version of my Google CSE review from 2007. New features include: limited on-demand indexing, Best Bets (promotions), synonyms, new interface for filters (refinements), localized to 40 languages and offering transliteration between character sets.
My overview of the state of Twitter Search on infotoday.com. The current version of Twitter Search doesn't even try to do relevance ranking right now (it's sorted by timestamp), so it's not a Google killer yet, despite the hype. -- May 18, 2009
For more news about search engines, see the News page.
I post intermittently at these locations, and hope you'll find them useful:
This
site provides information, news and advice about web site searching
technology. It is maintained by Avi Rappoport, associate AJ Summers
and various Search Tools Consulting
interns as a service to the Web community. We welcome your comments
and suggestions: just contact us.
We are also available for search tools needs analysis, competitive
analysis, search tools installation and more: for information see
the Consulting page , use our
contact form or send
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any advertisers. Search Tools Consulting also provides analysis
and information to sites and institutions installing search engines,
and to some search engine developers. We do not give them site visitor
or survey personal information or allow our relationships with any
vendors to change any product review or analysis.
The
SearchTools
blog on LiveJournal provides an opportunity for you to tell
me what you think about enterprise search tools for web sites and
intranets, and about the SearchTools.com web site. You do not have
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