3. Small sites - web sites that contain 5-10
pages don't need a search engine because visitors
don't have to search through many pages to find
the information. Instead, make sure you create a
simple navigation menu at the top or side and
bottom of your web pages.
B. Types of Search Service Providers1. Atomz - Atomz Express Search is
a frëe service where you can integrate basic
search capability on your personal web site or on
one of your commercial sites. It can be used on
sites with 750 total pages or less and allows
customization of look and feel to match your
site's design. Some third-party text ads are
shown above and below the search results. You can
use it for as long as you like for there is no
trial period.
2. Freefind - features include the
ability to customize search and results pages.
The frëe accounts are limited to 3,000 pages or
32MB of storage. Site search is hosted on
FreeFind's server. It generates a site map for
you, tracks visitors searches and indexes
password protected pages.
3.Google
Frëe site search service - searches only the
specific domain(s) that you list when you create
your search box. You can customize your results
display to include background, text and link
colors you select. The search box itself will
reside on your web site. The search results page
will be served by Google with the customized look
and feel you specify. Google may serve ads on the
results page. You can do an unlïmited amount of
searches. You must display the Google logo on the
web pages that contain the search box.
C. Where to place the search engine on your
site?
1. Place the search box in a prominent
location on your web page...preferably top center
or top right.
2. Place the search box on all pages of
your web site. Visitors may enter your site from
any page.
3. Make the search box large enough to
accommodate all search terms the visitor would
use to find the information.
4. The search box should be a type-in box,
not a link so visitors don't have to wait for
another page to load.
5. Limit the search results to 50 per
page. Visitors losë their patience if they have
to scroll through long lists of results.
D. How Does the Search Engine Work?
It works similar to the major search engines
that search the web, however instead of crawling
the web the search engine spider will search your
site. The results of the crawl are stored in a
database that resides on the search company's
server.
The company provides the necessary code to add a
simple förm to your web page. This usually
consists of a search box for inserting your
keywords and a send button. When you clïck the
button it sends the query to the search company.
They process the query to create a search results
page. This shows those pages in your site that
match the visitor's query.
The quality of the search results the search
engine spider collects depends on how much
information is contained in your site. Therefore
take time to correctly optimize your site i.e.
provide lots of good content that includes your
keywords. Optimize your meta tags, images and
create an accessible navigation structure.
Optimizing your site will not only provide
focused results from your internal search engine
but also boost your rankings in the major search
engines.
About The Author
Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster
(CIW) owner and author of iSiteBuild.com. Affordable Web Site
Design and Web Hostïng. Subscribe to his
"Marketing Tips" newsletter for more
original articles. subscribe@isitebuild.com. Read more of his in-depth
articles at: http://www.isitebuild.com/articles
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