Searching a Specific Site

Some Web sites don't provide a search engine. The site might be too small to support a search feature or hosted so the developer doesn't have access to the server's search feature. In other cases, a site does provide a search engine, but the search engine doesn't work nearly as well as Google's. You may find that the search engine fails to produce the desired results, even when you know the information exists. In both cases, you can create a site-specific search using Google Web Services.

You can perform this kind of search manually. In fact, it's not even all that time consuming. However, remembering the information you have to provide in an URL or going to Google's advanced search site every time you want to perform the search is a headache. Using Web services lets you store all of the static settings—the ones that won't change—so that all you need to know is what keywords you want to enter for that site. A site-specific search is all about convenience. Using this technique makes it easier to get the information you need without a lot of effort.

One way to use this technique is to create a search setup for your personal Web site. Many Web sites owned by individuals or the self-employed appear on hosted sites, making it impossible to add search capability with any ease. A Google Web Services application can make it easy to add a professional search service to your site, making it a lot more attractive to anyone who visits.

Another way to use this technique is to create custom search Web pages. I built one for my personal use that includes links to all my favorite coding sites. All I do now is select the site I want to search, add a few keywords, and Google Web Services takes care of all the hard work for me. Not only am I more productive, but I can stay focused on the task at hand—finding sample code. I can even make searches of multiple sites with a single click. Even though multiple searches take place in the background (a minimum of one search for each site), I only click the search button once.