Everyone talks about Search Engine Optimization to drive traffic to your site via search results. But have you thought of adding an in-site search feature to help people find what they need once they are on your site? If you have a website that contains over 20 pages and you don’t have in-site search yet, you might want to read on to see the options available.
Option A: Google in-site Search
Yes, Google. You can specify a parameter and conduct a search using Google but only within your own website.
<form action = "http://www.google.com/search" method = "get" onSubmit = "this.query.value='site:www.yourdomain.com '+this.query.value">
<input class = "inputbox" name = "query" type = "text" />
<input type = "submit" value = "Go" class = "button" />
</form>
Pros: Very simple to set up, no cost on your end beyond implementation, no cost to vendor either.
Cons: The results page is on google.com , and there is no control of the look and feel of the results page.
Option B: Third Party Search with Template Customization
Sign up for an in-site service with vendors like freefind (freefind.com). The Freefind server will periodically index pages on your site and store in their database.
Pros: Low development cost: you only need to create an account with freefind and do an initial setup and template upload. Both PDF and Word files can be searched.
Cons: The search results page will be on freefind.com. You don’t have full control of the results page. But, the results page can be customized with a page template, and you can put your logo and navigation up (no javascript dropdown menu is allowed though).
Also there is some cost associated, http://www.freefind.com/plans .html
Continue to In-site Search Options and Comparison (Part II )