A Custom Search Engine allows you to create a search engine and host it on your site using the Custom Search element. It’s entirely free.
Google Site Search is designed primarily for businesses looking to create a highly customized and Google hosted site search solution. For a fee, Google Site Search enables customers to enjoy technical support, customization of search results using our XML API, a tailored look and feel, optional Google branding, and no ads next to the search results.
If you have a Google Site Search engine, you can create a business group and add other search engines (including free search engines) to it. All search engines in the business group can share your Google Site Search benefits, including tech support and expanded query quotas. Create a business group.
| Feature | Custom Search Engine | Google Site Search |
|---|---|---|
| Look and feel | ||
| Customize results look and feel using XML | No | Yes |
| Ads on results pages | Yes | Optional |
| Enable AdSense | Yes | Yes |
| Google branding on results page | Yes | Optional |
| Technical support | ||
| Access to support forum | Yes | Yes |
| Email support | No | Yes |
| Search scope | ||
| Search the entire web | Yes | No |
| Image search only | No | Yes |
| On-demand indexing quota | 100 URLs | Flexible, depending on account type |