But in our quest for the right data, how many times have we come across a website which lacks a search engine of its own? There have been sites which I could have loved more but alas for a search box of its own. Then there are sites which do have a search box but you aren’t quite getting what you want. So it’s worth a second try with some deep digging of your own.

So for such crunch times, here are some workarounds to do an internal search on a specific website or blog.

1. Google Site Search Query

The ol’ favorite reminds us the value of memorizing advanced Google search operators. Google indexes most sites on the web and so the ‘site:’ search query helps to limit your search within a website. For instance, the query antivirus site:makeuseof.com will return results for the keyword antivirus but only from MakeUseof.com. (Their shouldn’t be a space between the colon and the domain name).



The site: operator can also be used to restrict searches within one top domain. For instance, keyword site:net or keyword site:edu. This works on Yahoo and Bing too.

According to a little poll we had some while back, it is the third most liked Google operator.

2. Search Engines and Advanced Search Options

Most search engines have this feature as an option but you just have to go into the advanced search page. Here’s where you get it in these two popular (one upcoming) search engines.

For Google




For Yahoo



For Bing




3. Use a Firefox Add-on

Search Site is an experimental Firefox add-on which makes site-specific searches very easy. The local search can be done either by selecting a word on a webpage and using the right-click context menu (Search site for selection).



Or by clicking the Search Site green icon on the search bar. You can use the search engine of your choice to do the site-specific search.



Also check out the use of Firefox smart keywords mentioned by Ann in her post on 8 Tips to Make Firefox Search Friendly.

4. Use a web service

Though the interface is plain, the Newtechusa.com search interface does the job intended using the Google search engine. Specify the domain URL in the first field and then use the second step to query the specific domain.



5. Create your own site searcher using Rollyo

Rollyo lets you roll on with your search by providing an easy non-geeky way to create a customized search engines for sites you want – rather than the whole worldwide web. Pick the sites you want to search, and Rollyo creates a custom search engine for it.

You can create a search engine for one specific site or a max of 25 sites. You can also browse, use, modify and share Searchrolls (the created search engines) created by the community of users on Rollyo. Any Rollyo Searchroll can be added to Firefox for one click access. For a quick single site setup, you can use the Rollyo Bookmarklet which not only lets you do a local search but also you can add sites to your Searchrolls on the fly.



Kaly’s post on creating your own search engines with Rollyo looks into in with more detail.

Sometimes we miss the trees because of the forest. A single site in itself instead of the whole wide web could be the source of all our information needs. So, it helps to dig deep into its coffers with specific searches.

What do you do if you come across a site which lacks a search box? Do you browse merrily away or you fall back on a utility like Google for advanced searching?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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The other day, I created a search button for Google Reader, because surprisingly enough it doesn’t come with one and the button gallery doesn’t have one either. Mark O’Neill has already put together a search button for MakeUseOf, and I’ve made use of it myself quite a bit. For demonstration purposes, let’s pretend he didn’t make one and you’d really like to have one. Here’s what you would do to create a custom search button for MakeUseOf:

1. Navigate to the MakeUseOf homepage
2. Right-click inside of the search field.



3. Left-click on the menu item that says “Generate custom search…”



4. You’ll see the “Google Toolbar Custom Button Generator” automatically load in the page title, icon (if the site has one), and display the URL as the description. The description is what is displayed in the tooltip when you move your mouse over the button, so you might want to change it to something more descriptive like Search MakeUseOf.
5. Click Add and you’re done!

The new button will appear on the toolbar with a yellow box around it to highlight the new button.

The search button that Mark created also includes the MakeUseOf RSS feed as well. You can learn how to add an RSS feed in the Google Toolbar API documentation. The API docs contains additional information on how to create more advanced buttons.

Do you use the Google Toolbar in your browser? Have you created any custom buttons you found were lacking?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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As you begin to type your search terms into the FleeQ search bar, suggested topics will appear below it. You can choose to click on one of the suggested search topics or continue with your own and press enter.

When viewing your search results, you’ll notice a web page in the background and a search results widget in the forefront. The background page is actually how FleeQ displays their ads and also how you can make money. These full page ads are what they call their “revolutionary patent pending ad type called the Ancillary Ads, which delivers full page traffic directly to your website.”

The unique search results widget that they use is patent pending and is displayed using sponsor skins and WordSpots, which are pretty much like AdWords. The search results widgets shows you search results from four difference sources and gives the option to make another search right from the widget.

Now I’m sure you’re wondering how does this allow you to make money using your own site?  Well, much like the Google AdSense for Search, FleeQ supplies you with a search widget that you can add to your website or blog.  First, you’ll need to create a FleeQ account. Once you log in, it’s as easy as following the prompts to copy and paste the code to your site.

FleeQ does require that you run the search on your site for a small period of time, so that they can collect the analytics needed so that you can start receiving targeted traffic. Don’t worry though because in the meantime, you will be earning free traffic from their unique traffic exchange.

One great thing about using FleeQ on your site is that you can choose whether or not you want to receive more traffic or more revenue. Your FleeQ dashboard is also set up a lot like Google Analytics, providing you with very in-depth website statistics.

There are two ways to earn with FleeQ:

• CPC – You will be paid by CPC (cost per click) for WordSpot shown on your Search Results Widget.
• CPM – You will be paid by CPM (cost per impression) for qualifying campaigns showing Ancillary Ads, Sponsored Search Skins, and/or WordSpots on your Search Results Widgets.

So as you can see, FleeQ is not only a great search engine but it’s also a great way to earn a little extra money with one (or more) of your websites and/or blogs. FleeQ definitely brings a lot of unique features to the table.

I’m very eager to hear about how this works for you. If you do decide to try it out or have already, please feel free to share your experience in the comments.

What do you think of FleeQ? Is this something that you would use or is it just another attempt at trying to be the next Google Adsense? Please share your opinions in the comments.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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Most webmasters and bloggers naturally follow the money trail and add a Google Adsense search engine but if you don’t want to do that, there are some decent free alternatives out there.

The Google Adsense option

Let’s first look at the Adsense option since that’s the most popular route that people take. I have an Adsense search engine on my own blog so I am very familiar with it.

I am very happy with the Adsense engine as it pulls in some decent money on a monthly basis.   Nothing to get hyper-excited about but it funds my tea and chocolate chip cookie addiction! Basically, whenever someone uses your Adsense search engine to make search queries on your website, you get a small payment from Google. If you get enough regular visitors to your site using your search engine, that can add up to quite a nice payment at the end of the month, especially if they are using the other aspects of Adsense as well such as clicking on the adverts (but no money gets paid out until you reach a minimum $100).

After being approved by Google for an Adsense account, just click on “Adsense Setup” then “Adsense For Search” :

You’ll then be asked to fill in details such as your site URL, your site language, site location and you can customize the look and feel of the search engine. You can also customize the search results page such as being able to put your logo on the page. Then you will receive the HTML code to put the search engine on your webpage. This is what mine looks like:

The free options

But what if you don’t want Adsense on your site? What if making money from search is not your thing? Well it would make you a unique and remarkable person to turn down cash but OK, there are free and decent alternatives out there. Let’s take a look at four of them:

Google Custom Search

As well as Adsense, Google also offers a free Custom Search engine that is really easy to set up.  The free version requires you to accept adverts on the search results page though.

Yahoo Search

This is a basic search box but it does its job and searches your website and you can also choose to search Yahoo Search as well.

Windows Live Search

Again a basic search box which you can either configure to search your site or search the web. I don’t think you can have a search box that does both. Pesky Steve Ballmer!

Freefind

Freefind has been around for years and I used it on my many websites before I moved onto Google Adsense. It was (and still is to my knowledge) absolutely great.  Here are some of the things I liked about it :

• Daily re-indexing
• Emailed search reports with the search terms your visitors put into your search engine.
• Schedule when you want the search indexes spidered – as often or as little as you want.
• Adobe PDF file indexing – the spiders don’t ignore them!
• Specify exactly what pages you want the spiders to ignore and they get ignored.
• Other formats such as Word and Powerpoint are recognised and indexed.
• A sitemap is automatically generated for you.

So these are just four alternative options for adding search engine to your website if Adsense is not something you want to get involved in, but at the same time, you would like to have some kind of search function on your website.

Do you have any other preferred search engine for your website? If so, let us know in the comments!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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