Find solution
How do you use wildcards in search?

Is there a market for easy to install custom search tools for use on blogs, websites, et cetera?

  • Most same-domain-hosted site search tools lack the juice to return the best set of results per query.  For the frustrated that need better on-site search, there is Google Custom Search Engine (https://www.google.com/cse/all), Google Site Search (http://www.google.com/enterprise/search/products/gss.html), or even Google's Search Appliance.  Google sometimes inserts really spammy ads, navigates away from your site, or produces search engine results that aren't on your site (for the second deep search*), and isn't customizable unless you pay. I've noticed more companies offering custom site search, but what I want to know is if blog owners, web developers, and webmasters really need a custom search tool on their blogs.

  • Answer:

    There's definitely a huge need for such a gizmo. And it could be better than Google, because websites know ranking signals such as the number of upvotes on a post. Sadly, experience teaches us that most site search engines don't work very well. You can find a lot of people complaining about Quora's on-site search, and I've found that using Google [or blekko] to search Amazon.com can be better than Amazon's search. Finally, solutions such as a Google CSE can be free exactly because Google gets a bit of monetization out of it. All that said, there are already companies trying to attack this space, and none of them have much traction. "Easy to install" sounds great to me, but what's the monetization strategy?

Greg Lindahl at Quora Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

Yes, there are interested parties, like bloggers, webshops etc. Some of your potential clients would not be able to pay money for it though, others you would have to acquire unless you have an amazing, viral product, but really, how sexy is search? In any case, offer it as SaaS, give potential customers are free trial period and amazing customer support and it could work :)

Philipp M. W. Hoffmann

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.