Ed Boutilier
CEO
1) Why did you need Google Custom Search Business Edition (CSBE)?
We needed a highly effective way of providing detailed search capabilities to our website that has grown quite large in size over the past few years. This not only assists new and existing customers but provides easy access for company employees when guiding outside people.
2) What technology, if any, did it replace and why?
Over the years we have used several freeware scripts; they were basic in nature and lacked customization. They also lacked in the area of page relevancy, not returning the proper pages would have liked to have seen in the search results.
3) What benefits have you derived from using CSBE?
Google’s CSBE has been a great benefit to us:
- The name brand recognition by partnering with Google adds credibility to our site without question
- Allows visitors to make very detailed customized searches (saves time)
- Extremely quick results provides for a positive experience reducing site navigating time
- Enhances existing and potential customer experience by not wasting their time or frustrating them causing them to leave and search elsewhere
- Search results leads to more sales by easily finding what they need
4) What features of CSBE do you appreciate most and why?
The main feature we most appreciate is its high level customization and ability to limit which sites search results are compiled from. The ability to easily integrate into an existing web site design is also a big plus.
5) What's been the overall impact of using Google CSBE on your website?
Google’s CSBE has given our websites search capabilities more credibility and instant name brand recognition. Since implementing Google’s CSBE we have seen an increase in usage of the search feature. More people will use it in order to find information on our website which in turn helps reduce the amount of time our sales professionals are needed to answer questions that are already answered on the website. Overall it enhances the customer experience which drives sales and satisfies customers.
7) Do you have any advice you'd give others in implementing the Google CSBE for their company's use?
When integrating Google CSBE into an existing design please spend the time to tweak the formatting in order to make it clean and seamless. Be sure to find a key and consistent location to place the search box on every page in order to give visitors easy access to the search feature.
8) Are there particular industry specific uses that CSBE was able to add value to?
Our company serves a niche marketplace which means there are many keywords, descriptions as well as detailed technical specifications searched for. CSBE is an easy, quick and accurate application that provides excellent results for a low investment costs. The ROI is quantifiable almost immediately.
