Google has introduced a suite of solutions called Google Services for Websites, allowing users to drive traffic to their individual Websites, monetize their sites via AdSense, and add search capabilities. Yahoo, Facebook and other IT companies have also been equipping users and developers with the tools necessary to customize their online space.
Google is offering companies and developers a new suite of
application under the name Google Services for Websites that will allow users to
further customize their online space.
Google officially
launched the new suite March 25.
"This expanded
program includes Webmaster Tools, AdSense, Custom Search, and Site Search,"
Rajat Mukherjee, group product manager for Google,
wrote on the official Google blog, "making it easier to drive traffic to
your site, monetize your site through the Google ad network, and add various
search capabilities to help your visitors find information on your site
faster."
The
applications have particular use to small- to medium-sized businesses, which may
already use Google's cloud-computing services, such as Google Apps, to execute
workday functions. Google Webmaster Tools, for example, allows users to see
which queries are driving visitors to their site, and provides reports on their
pages' visibility on Google. AdSense lets users display relevant Google ads on
their online content, creating a revenue stream.
"We are excited to have
Google Site Search as part of the program because it provides us with better
partner opportunities with the Web hosting community," Nitin Mangtani and Dave
Kim of the Google Enteprise Search team wrote on the official Google enterprise
blog. "All
together, hosting service providers can now make use of multiple Google APIs and
add these services for their customers at no cost."
Mangtani and Kim cited the
expanded program's offering of Custom Search and Google Site Search as
particularly useful to the enterprise. Custom Search allows developers to create
a custom search engine tailored to specific business or client needs; Google
Site Search lets visitors scour an enterprise or business site for particular
information.
Although Google
has touted AdSense as an essential component of Google Services for Websites,
the company's recent use of interest-based advertising, also known as "online
behavioral targeting," has
drawn some controversy over the amount of user data it collects. Google says
that it still allows users control over which information they choose to make
available for collection.
Meanwhile,
companies such as Yahoo and Facebook have allowed their online components to be tinkered with by both
developers and users. On March 12, Yahoo announced that new features for
SearchMonkey would enhance search results with flash video, games and
slides.
Facebook, which
is currently wrestling with mass member displeasure over its redesigned
homepage, has also opened up its Facebook Platform to developer input, and
offered the ability to customize its social-messaging
widgets.
In November 2008,
Microsoft issued Live Search API 2.0, included
as part of Project Silk Road, a collection of Web developer services.
In
addition to the Live Search API,
Project Silk Road also offers Virtual Earth API, adCenter Publisher,
Webmaster Center, Custom Web Error Toolkit, and an Excel Add-in for
AdCenter. With Live
Search API 2.0, developers can control how they rank and
format results, and can choose from JSON, X M L and
SOAP protocols; content partnerships also allow access to news, images,
maps
and other sources.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include more information about Microsoft's Live Search API 2.0.
Nicholas Kolakowski is a staff editor at eWEEK, covering Microsoft and other companies in the enterprise space, as well as evolving technology such as tablet PCs. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Playboy, WebMD, AARP the Magazine, AutoWeek, Washington City Paper, Trader Monthly, and Private Air. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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