Hi Tamara The 'search within site' on Google seems to have been rolled out based on either a random sample, or a weighted sample based on volume of search traffic. (probably the latter actually)
We *do* use a Google Custom Search as our generic 'site search' on our site (www.powerhousemuseum.com/search) BUT we have built our own (and quite well known) collection search application (discussed in detail on Fresh & New as well as written up over at http://www.archimuse.com/mw2007/papers/chan/chan.html). The Google CSE is excellent for our generic search and does pretty much everything a 'general' visitor needs. Our collection search is much more complex and does a lot more than just search - we continue to build extra features, the latest of which will go live in a few days, all of which enhance the user experience and functionality). Google CSE has the advantage of - a) being free (and without adverts if you are govt or non profit) b) familiar to users c) forces you to work on exposing your deep web content to Google (c) is the main game. Not only should your deep web content be exposed to end users, it also needs to be exposed to search. Seb Sebastian Chan Manager, Web Services Powerhouse Museum street - 500 Harris St Ultimo, NSW Australia postal - PO Box K346, Haymarket, NSW 1238 tel - 61 2 9217 0109 fax - 61 2 9217 0689 e - sebc at phm.gov.au w - www.powerhousemuseum.com -----Original Message----- From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tamara Georgick Sent: Friday, 28 March 2008 10:15 AM To: Museum Computer Network Listserv Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Effects of Google's 'search within site'? Anyoneelseaffected? I noticed this for the first time yesterday when searching for the King County Library System, here in Washington State. I thought it might have been something specific they did to facilitate having the extra search box appear. Now that you mention it, how does Google determine which site searches will return that feature? Does the end site need to have the Google search tool embedded locally? We are in the midst of building a more database driven web site and I am curious about the approach others have taken. Did you build global navigation yourself, or opt for a 3rd party tool like the Google search? We have lots of "products" that require their own search capabilities, so we figured as long as we were doing that, we might as well just build our own global search tool for greater integration. However, to search all of the products at once, I am thinking of going for a commercial federated search product like Aquabrowser. I think it will be able to search across products and platforms and has a nice tag cloud on the results screen. If anyone has experience with a federated search product, I'd love to hear your experience. Thanks! Tamara Tamara Georgick Washington State Historical Society ________________________________ From: Chan, Sebastian [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thu 3/27/2008 3:36 AM To: Museum Computer Network Listserv Subject: [MCN-L] Effects of Google's 'search within site'? Anyone elseaffected? Folks I'm curious to hear if anyone else has been affected by Google's 'search-within-site' feature they have recently rolled out . . . . I've blogged in detail about what it is over at Fresh & New . . . . http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/dmsblog/index.php/2008/03/27/google-tele portation-googles-search-within-search/ If you are affected, what, if anything are you doing about it? if you are not (yet), what might you do. Curious. Seb Sebastian Chan Manager, Web Services Powerhouse Museum street - 500 Harris St Ultimo, NSW Australia postal - PO Box K346, Haymarket, NSW 1238 tel - 61 2 9217 0109 fax - 61 2 9217 0689 e - sebc at phm.gov.au w - www.powerhousemuseum.com b - www.powerhousemuseum.com/dmsblog =========================Important Notice===================================== This email and attachments are for the use of the intended recipient(s) only and may contain confidential or legally privileged information or material that is copyright of Powerhouse Museum or a third party. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and then delete it. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not use, disclose or distribute this e-mail without the author's prior permission. Any views expressed in this message and attachments are those of the individual sender and the Powerhouse Museum accepts no liability for the content of this message. Whilst every care has been taken, the Powerhouse Museum cannot guarantee that the integrity of this email has been maintained nor that the email is free of errors or viruses. The Powerhouse Museum advises all organisations and individuals to undertake their own virus scanning and security measures. ======================================================================== ======
