How to Create a Google Custom Search Engine

Google's Custom Search Engine is a powerful tool that lets you set a list of specific Web sites Google will check when you search. You could make a Google Custom Search Engine to query only sites about cooking, or only sites about crime, or only sites about home repair -- you get the idea.

Best of all, making a Google Custom Search Engine is free and easy to do. Here are the basics.

1. Get a Google account. If you don't already have one, go to https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount. Not only can you make custom search engines, but you can also use Gmail, Google Docs & Spreadsheets and other Google applications.

2. Go the the Google Custom Search Engine page. It's at http://google.com/coop/cse/. Once there, click the "Create Custom Search Engine" button

3. Enter the basic information for your custom search engine. At the page that follows the "Create Custom Search Engine" button, you will see a form where you enter the engine name, description, keywords and -- most importantly -- the list of Web sites it will use.

This is where the beauty of Google Custom Search Engine reveals itself. It will only look in the sites you tell it to, significantly narrowing down and focusing your searches. If you only want to use five sites, enter just those five sites' Web addresses. You can make custom engines that only check government sites, or only sites in your hometown, or only travel sites, or whatever you want.

Once you're done, agree to the Terms of Service and click "Next." Don't worry if you proceed on and realize you forgot to enter a Web site. You can easily add more later.

4. Test out your Custom Search Engine. At the preview screen, you can enter searches and see if the results are the sort of thing you're looking for. If you're not satisfied, you can go back a step and change things. Otherwise, click "Finish."

5. Customize your Custom Search Engine further. The next screen lists all of the custom search engines you've made. To go to one, click "homepage." To edit it, click "control panel." In the control panel, you can change the color palette of your results screen ("Look and feel"), add or remove Web sites ("Sites") or change who works with you on the Custom Search Engine ("Collaboration").

6. Add collaborators to help you build your Custom Search Engine. This step is optional, but if you want others to help out in adding sites to your custom search engine, you can invite them to work with you on the "Collaboration" screen. And don't worry -- they can't delete sites you've added, so they can't completely wreck a custom search engine you've made.

7. Share your Custom Search Engine. Once you're done, you can go back to your custom search engine's homepage (which has a lengthy Web address filled with numbers, so you might want to bookmark it), copy the Web address and e-mail it to your friends. By default, anyone can volunteer to work on your search engine, and it's included in Google's search directory, so if you want to change those settings click the "Basics" link in the control panel.

Later, if you want to go back to search engines you've made, just go back to http://google.com/coop/cse/ and click "manage your existing search engines."

That's all there is to it! This is a great tool with a lot of potential, so enjoy!