Site Search Options

[josh_ames]

I got an email from Google today that they are sunsetting their Google Custom Search Engine (benefit over the free version was to not display ads and keep results on your own site pages).

Does anyone know of any other alternative options available? I know I heard that HubSpot uses (or did use) SwiftType but it starts at $299/mo and I'm looking for other more affordable options for clients.

[evanf]

I would really like to see HubSpot step up its game on this one. This is a very basic feature in WordPress and most CMS's. Having the user redirected to google where it could possibly show competitors ad's is a very weak solution. Is HubSpot planning on updating this soon?

[stefen]

I built a HubSpot site search plugin that mimics hubspot's own site search functionality that you might find useful.

However, it is limited due to the fact that it's using the sitemap to get a list of all the website pages. If HubSpot provided a way to get a list of all the page titles, meta descriptions, and URLs from your website then we'd have everything we need to make an awesome site search. Or, of course, HubSpot could make a proper search module to start with...

[josh_ames]

Thanks @stefen I think I might have actually stumbled across your plugin the other day while doing some research. Looks like a decent option other than the drawbacks you mentioned.

Is it possible to get the additional info (page title, meta, etc) by using the Pages API? 

http://developers.hubspot.com/docs/methods/pages/get_pages

[stefen]

@josh_ames actually, yes. That should provide everything needed to create a better custom site search. Now to find time to work on v2 of my plugin...

[sbraiden]

@josh_ames, I appreciate that you shared this.  I implemented the Google Custom Search on our site yesterday and came here looking for an alternative because it stacks so many ads at the top of the search result.  It defeats the purpose if it's taking people away from your site.

I had no idea, however, that the engine was being sunsetted. This is a little disconcerting given the lack of an alternative.  It really should be a built-in HubSpot module.  It's one of the most critical features to content management.

@stefen, that was really kind of you to share your alternative!  I may be digging under the hood of our own site this way, and will contribute back here.

Hope the HubSpot crew picks up the ball on this!  It's not an optional extra, and in the absence of Google Custom Search, it really hobbles things.

Sue.

[sreid9]

Hi Josh, Sam from Swiftype here. Thanks for mentioning our site search product. Our pricing does start at $299/mo. That being said, we offer a best-in-class solution that is very easy to implement.

No coding is required to get started with Swiftype, and we provide a dashboard where you can customize your search experience and view analytics like CTRs and common queries that return no results. Here’s more info.

Finally, I wanted to mention that we are offering a special Google Site Search/Custom Search migration package. You can learn more here.

[josh_ames]

Just wanted to chime in here again. Hoping we might hear something from HubSpot this week at INBOUND about site search but in the meantime I came across what could be another great solution, that is much more affordable (starts at $29/mo).

https://www.addsearch.com/

One of the coolest features I think is search analytics:

You’ll know how much your users search, what they search for, and whether they find it. You’ll get listings of the most used search keywords, as well as keywords that bore zero search results, which is one of the most interesting statistics. AND it can integrate with your existing Google Analytics.

Disclaimer: I have not tried implementing this on a HubSpot website yet, but their site says installation is as simple as one line of code.

[bmccluskey]

I didn't see/hear anything about native search functionality being added to HubSpot at INBOUND last week. Did anyone else hear anything?

[Giuseppe]

I fully agree that a site search functionality should be made available directly by HubSpot. I have looked at the plug-in that @stefen created but, for me, it is too complex to be integrated (I am not an expert). 

I really hope HubSpot take all this discussion into consideration and propose a solution.