How do intergrate a web search box on a website

October 12, 2005 11:48 PM

I am creating a new website for a company my friend owners.. and i want to give it a good "trustworthy and user friendly feel" one way I have noticed that lots of sites do htis is by have a "search engine box" like google or yahoo that allows users to search the net through the search engine but through the specific site they are on.. I tried google but my fu is failing me, is there a way to do this that is free and if so... how do I get it done..

on a side note .. its an online retail company selling homemedical testing supplies. The current site he uses STINKS, bad and yet he still sells 200-300 items a month ... so I have little doubt that my redesign will increase sales.. I am getting a 1.5% stake in gross sales past 300 unites and a 5 % stake in the company.. I am excited and am working hard on this site... so thanks for any input you guys can give!

posted by crewshell to computers & internet (8 answers total)

sorry for my typos .. I was typing to quickly and did not recheck it before it hit post :) I really do have a higher education ;)

cheers
posted by crewshell at 11:54 PM on October 12, 2005

AHH! I did it again. Sorry everyone
posted by crewshell at 11:54 PM on October 12, 2005

This will help you.
posted by tellurian at 12:09 AM on October 13, 2005

Check into the google adwords/adsense program. I suspect that these other websites get a kickback for each clickthrough generated by the embedded search.
posted by b1tr0t at 12:10 AM on October 13, 2005

For Google, you have two options:

1) Google AdSense for Search - Provides a search box for your site and displays AdSense ads on the search results pages. You are paid each time a user clicks on one of these ads. You need to sign up for AdSense to participate.

2) Google Free Search - Just the search box, no $$ for ad clicks.
posted by fishbulb at 1:45 AM on October 13, 2005

Atomz used to be pretty good. You can use it for free for sites less than 750 pages, but it does put small ads in the results. I can't 100% vouch for them now as they've been bought by someone else, but 3/4 years ago they were a good solution . . .
posted by jeremias at 4:14 AM on October 13, 2005

The #2 in fishbulb's post is what you seeketh. If you want something a bit more robust and customized then FreeFind seems to have become the replacement for Atomz. I had to switch my clients because they weren't pleased that ads for their competitors were coming up in their own search results....
posted by glenwood at 5:35 AM on October 13, 2005

I use Atomz for a site I administer and, while I am not certain it does not apply to other options mentioned here, the one thing I really dig about it is that it can be set to ignore certain file types, directories, etc. Nothing keeps Google out of these, of course, but it works for our needs.
posted by Dick Paris at 11:52 AM on October 13, 2005