Google Releases Custom Search Business Edition

Google has released a new search product for small businesses - its Custom Search Business Edition. Many home business entrepreneurs may already be using the free version of Google's Custom Search on their web sites. The free version allows you to select between default search preferences - on your web site or on the web.

The new edition is considered an upgrade to the free edition. It uses a Google-hosted search service that is designed to leverage the speed and relevancy of Google search technology. Google touts the fact that like the free version, no hardware or software installations are needed - you just use a wizard to setup your search tool and then copy and paste the code into your home business web site wherever you'd like the search tool to appear on your site. Unlike the free edition of Google custom search, the paid version allows you to turn off Google AdWords pay-per-click ads that appear on the search results pages. The new paid edition is also much more powerful. It allows you to build your own user interface (if you are so inclined) and to even integrate an XML feed of search results.

Pricing for Custom Search Business Edition starts at $100 per year for sites with up to 5,000 pages of content and goes to $500 per year for sites that have up to 50,000 pages. While it's unlikely that any home or small business would have more than 50,000 web pages to search, Google offers a contact form page for custom pricing on sites that contain more than 50,000 pages to be searched.