Last week the web started buzzing about "Google Instant Search", the brand new AJAX-driven autocomplete feature added to standard Google search. Except it's actually only *somewhat* new: Google AJAX search has had the feature since May...
Google Instant Search
Google profresses that "Instant Search" will warp time and save everyone upwards of 11 hours per second (time saved globally via shortened search times, that is). Actually, instant search is simply "search-term autocomplete". This is not to be confused with browser-based autocomplete which only makes suggestions based on what you've previously searched for using that browser on that machine. "Instant Search" makes suggestions based on what everyone using Google has previously searched for. This feature is not unique as variations have been around for a number of years -- except that you had to create your own custom version using search + custom code to grab autocomplete data from some data source. The big news last week is that "Instant" is now part of the standard Google search by default, i.e., no more need for writing custom autocomplete solutions.
Missed in all the hubbub is the fact that Google quietly premiered AJAX-driven autocomplete nearly four months ago and no one seemed to notice that bit of news then or now. Since May, website developers have been able to offer a variation of "Google Instant Search" via just a few lines of code using a Google Custom Search Engine (CSE). The main differences between September's "Instant Search" and May's "CSE search-term autocomplete" are that (1) a CSE must constrain itself to a limited number of domains (websites) in order to use the autocomplete option, and (2) the search term pool of a CSE is based on what people have searched for in the past on that CSE (so search suggestions will get better over time as more people use a particular CSE).
Side note: It's possible to source search suggestions through your CSE from someone else's CSE (such as a popular website with lots of search activity and topics similar to those on your site) but that's a topic worth a short blog series all on its own...
Other than the "domains" limitation and sourcing of search terms, the only other real difference is that, between May and September, the Google marketing machine smartly renamed "autocomplete" to "Instant Search" and revved up the buzz engine...
Travelocity.com featured a Google-provided
search-term autocomplete feature back in May, 2010
How Can I Add Custom "Instant Search" to My Website?
Adding customized "instant search" via a Google "Custom Search Engine" (CSE) is nearly the same as adding any standard CSE to a website:
- If you haven't already, go create yourself a free account at: http://www.google.com/cse/
- Log in and follow the instructions to create your own CSE.
- Enable "autcomplete" under the "BASICS" section of the "Control Panel" for your website (autocomplete is the very last option under the "BASICS" section).
- You must restrict your CSE to one or more "target domains" (websites) in order to enable autocomplete. You can add target websites under the "SITES" section of your CSE's "Control Panel".
- Now click the "Get Code" tab to get the Google-generated code for your CSE. Drop that code on a web page and you're done! (Don't forget to remove the code for an existing search box if you already had one!)
"Instant Search" versus "Instant Search Results"
I believe the "Instant Search" autocomplete feature will save people time as Google predicts and it will quickly become an expected search engine feature with Bing/Yahoo soon following suit. I must point out that Google does, however, have an older offering that is actually more appropriate for the title "Instant Search": Google AJAX search (with auto-search option). This is the search used on this website and the search we've blogged about in the past. Instead of auto-complete of search terms (ala, "Instant Search"), you instead get actual search results populating as you type (try it out in this site's search box above!). Like "Instant Search" there is no need to use the RETURN key to start the action. Unlike "Instant Search", though, you get no "search term hints" but instead get immediate search results. So, if it's search term hints you need then "Instant Search" (a.k.a., "autocomplete") is for you. If, however, you already know good terms to search for without the need for hints then instant results may be the bigger time-saver.
For now I'm looking into ways of combining the two options to achieve the best of both worlds -- stay tuned!