To get into the search engine act you can go a couple different ways. You can co-brand a search function from one of several services or operate one of your own or partner with one of the existing search engines.

This page needs updating in a bad way, since there has been a real shift in the search engine model: pay per click search engines. You will need to ask yourself what it is you want to give your visitors or yourself.

If you want to give them the best search for information, you can't beat Google. Now you can co-brand, you get paid when users click on paid search results which are displayed at the top, and you are giving your users the power of a Google search.

Google AdSense for Search comes in two flavors. One is the "Google WebSearch", which allows users to search the web directly from your site. The other flavor is Google WebSearch + SiteSearch, which allows users to search the webor specific site(s) of your choice directly from your site.

So if you have a small chain of sites, you could preset your Google search box to search those first, thus giving your users a better chance at finding what they need on one of your sites before leaving. You can customize the search output to look like your own site, also.

Another cool improvement is Google's "Site-flavored search". Site-flavored search is an optional feature of AdSense for search that lets you customize your search results to be relevant for your site. When you use site-flavored search, Google learning technology will flavor your search results to be more customized to your site's themes and topics.

For instance, this site's results would slowly but surely be influenced to rank webmaster tool sites and site building resources higher in the search results than others.

If that isn't enough, you can also select a website language for your Google AdSense for search box, open the search results in a new browser window if you prefer, and select your site encoding to make sure your results page is compliant with the rest of your site encoding.

And if that isn't enough, did we mention you might make some money from the searches when users click on the paid advertisements in the results?

A Search Script of Your Own

Having your own search engine is a bit more labor intensive and requires a small initial cash investment, but it will keep your visitors on your site. You will own the script, so you can do whatever you like, including advertising and links to your site and your affiliate programs.

Coffee Cup Site Search is a program you can buy which will search your site and build a database, then you add your own search box for your visitors to search your site. You can try the demo for free. If you like it, purchase the script for your very own site search.

The Fluid Dynamic Search Engine (or FDSE, as it is fondly known by in webmaster circles) is a powerful free search engine you can install on your site. There is even a function which will install it on your site from the web. For a reasonable fee, you can upgrade to add more features such as ads and multiple search domains. Another advantage of FDSE is that all your search data is yours, and easily accessed in the control panel. That means you can easily see if there is a search that your users often do on your site, and then build content to suit it.

If you want to have search capabilities but don't want to go through the trouble of putting your own search engine on-line, you can join one of the many search engine affiliate programs available.

The advantage of forming a partnership with an existing engine is that you don't have to worry about any hassle whatsoever, and they'll pay you by the search. The disadvantage of taking this route is that the search results won't appear in your page, they'll appear in the search engine's page, and once a visitor leaves your site, there's no guarantee of a return.

If you have a preference for one search engine or another, you should check with that particular search engine to see if they have an affiliate program; many do.

• Read about Pay-per-click search engines: tips, techniques, and recommendations. By Elisabeth Archambault.
• Link Exchanging -- raise your search engine ranking!