{"id":2965,"date":"2008-03-17T22:00:09","date_gmt":"2008-03-17T16:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T13:36:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T08:06:21","slug":"google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Programmable Search Engine (Formerly Google Co-op): How to Add Custom Search to Your Site in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Google Co-op, the tool that let bloggers build their own custom Google search engine, still exists. It&#8217;s now called <strong>Google Programmable Search Engine<\/strong> (it was Google Custom Search in between), and it&#8217;s still free. You can use it to add a Google-powered search box to your blog or website, search a hand-picked set of sites, and even earn money from search ads. Here&#8217;s how to set one up in 2026, plus the important changes Google announced this year.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/coop1.jpg\" alt=\"Google Co-op custom search engine control panel (2008)\" border=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Go to <a href=\"https:\/\/programmablesearchengine.google.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">programmablesearchengine.google.com<\/a>, sign in with your Google account, click <strong>Add<\/strong>, enter your site&#8217;s address under &#8220;Sites to search&#8221;, then copy the code it gives you and paste it into your site. New engines can search up to 50 domains.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ad7aa32a7fd0\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ad7aa32a7fd0\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/#From_Google_Co-op_to_Programmable_Search_Engine\" >From Google Co-op to Programmable Search Engine<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/#Whats_changing_in_2026_read_this_first\" >What&#8217;s changing in 2026 (read this first)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/#How_to_create_a_Programmable_Search_Engine_step_by_step\" >How to create a Programmable Search Engine (step by step)<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/#1_Create_the_engine_and_add_your_sites\" >1. Create the engine and add your sites<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/#2_Add_refinements_optional\" >2. Add refinements (optional)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/#3_Customise_the_look_and_feel\" >3. Customise the look and feel<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/#4_Add_the_search_box_to_your_website\" >4. Add the search box to your website<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/#5_Share_management_optional\" >5. Share management (optional)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/#Can_you_make_money_from_your_search_engine\" >Can you make money from your search engine?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/#Is_Programmable_Search_Engine_better_than_WordPress_search\" >Is Programmable Search Engine better than WordPress search?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/#Frequently_asked_questions\" >Frequently asked questions<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/#Is_Google_Programmable_Search_Engine_free\" >Is Google Programmable Search Engine free?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/#Can_I_still_create_a_search_engine_that_searches_the_whole_web\" >Can I still create a search engine that searches the whole web?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/03\/google-coop-builds-social-search-engine-for-blogs\/#Is_Google_Custom_Search_the_same_as_Programmable_Search_Engine\" >Is Google Custom Search the same as Programmable Search Engine?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"From_Google_Co-op_to_Programmable_Search_Engine\"><\/span>From Google Co-op to Programmable Search Engine<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Google launched Co-op in 2006 so anyone could create a &#8220;custom search engine&#8221; limited to the sites they chose, and invite others to help improve the results. It was later renamed <strong>Google Custom Search<\/strong>, and in 2020 it became <strong>Programmable Search Engine<\/strong>. The core idea hasn&#8217;t changed: you decide which sites Google searches, and you put the search box on your own pages.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Whats_changing_in_2026_read_this_first\"><\/span>What&#8217;s changing in 2026 (read this first)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In January 2026, Google announced a big shake-up of Programmable Search Engine:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>New engines can only search specific sites.<\/strong> Since January 20, 2026, the &#8220;Search the entire web&#8221; option is gone for new engines. You must list the sites to search, up to <strong>50 domains<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Existing whole-web engines have a deadline.<\/strong> Older engines that search the entire web, or more than 50 domains, keep working until <strong>January 1, 2027<\/strong>. After that they need to move to Google&#8217;s separate full web search solution.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Custom Search JSON API is being retired<\/strong> for the same date. Developers who call it from code are being moved to Vertex AI Search (for up to 50 domains) or the full web search product.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For a typical blogger who just wants a search box for their own site, nothing changes. Searching your own domain, or a few related sites, is exactly what the free tool is now designed for.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_create_a_Programmable_Search_Engine_step_by_step\"><\/span>How to create a Programmable Search Engine (step by step)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Create_the_engine_and_add_your_sites\"><\/span>1. Create the engine and add your sites<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Open the <a href=\"https:\/\/programmablesearchengine.google.com\/controlpanel\/all\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Programmable Search Engine control panel<\/a> and click <strong>Add<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Give your search engine a name, such as &#8220;QuickOnlineTips Search&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>Under <strong>Sites to search<\/strong>, enter your domain, for example <code>www.yourblog.com\/*<\/code>. You can add several of your own blogs, or trusted sites in your niche, up to 50 domains.<\/li>\n<li>Choose your preferences, such as image search and SafeSearch, then click <strong>Create<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Tip: you can narrow results to part of a site with URL patterns, such as <code>yourblog.com\/archives\/*<\/code> or a single page.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Add_refinements_optional\"><\/span>2. Add refinements (optional)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Refinements still work much as they did in the Co-op days. They appear as labels or tabs above the results, such as &#8220;Tutorials&#8221;, &#8220;Reviews&#8221; or &#8220;SEO&#8221;, so visitors can filter the results with one click. Set them up under <strong>Search features \u2192 Refinements<\/strong> in the control panel.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Customise_the_look_and_feel\"><\/span>3. Customise the look and feel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Under <strong>Look and feel<\/strong>, choose a layout. <strong>Overlay<\/strong> shows results in a pop-up over your page, <strong>Two page<\/strong> sends visitors to a separate results page, and <strong>Full width<\/strong> shows results under the search box. Then pick colours and fonts to match your theme.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Add_the_search_box_to_your_website\"><\/span>4. Add the search box to your website<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Click <strong>Get code<\/strong> on the Overview page and copy the two lines of code: a script tag and a <code>gcse-search<\/code> tag. Paste them where you want the search box to appear.<\/p>\n<p><strong>On WordPress:<\/strong> add a <strong>Custom HTML<\/strong> block or widget to your sidebar or a page, and paste the code. If you use the &#8220;Two page&#8221; layout, create a separate &#8220;Search results&#8221; page and paste the results code there.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Share_management_optional\"><\/span>5. Share management (optional)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The old Co-op &#8220;collaborate&#8221; idea lives on: in the control panel you can add other Google accounts as users who can help manage and improve the engine. That&#8217;s useful if you run a site with a team.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_you_make_money_from_your_search_engine\"><\/span>Can you make money from your search engine?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Yes. Programmable Search Engine works with <strong>AdSense for Search<\/strong>. Search ads appear above your results, and you earn a share when visitors click them. To set it up:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Sign in to your AdSense account.<\/li>\n<li>Create a new <strong>Search engine<\/strong> ad unit. You can&#8217;t add monetization to an existing engine later.<\/li>\n<li>Paste the code AdSense gives you into your site.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>You only earn when people search through the box on your own site. Searches on Google&#8217;s hosted public page, or clicks on &#8220;Search on Google&#8221;, don&#8217;t count. If you also show display ads, see our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/using-adsense-auto-ads\/\">AdSense Auto Ads<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Programmable_Search_Engine_better_than_WordPress_search\"><\/span>Is Programmable Search Engine better than WordPress search?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>WordPress&#8217;s built-in search only matches words in your posts and isn&#8217;t great at ranking the best result first. Google&#8217;s engine gives visitors familiar, well-ranked results, handles spelling mistakes and can include images. The trade-offs are that Google only shows pages it has indexed, results may include Google&#8217;s own branding, and you have less control over the design.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;d rather keep search inside WordPress, plugins like Relevanssi improve the built-in search, and paid services like Jetpack Search or Algolia offer instant results.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Frequently_asked_questions\"><\/span>Frequently asked questions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Google_Programmable_Search_Engine_free\"><\/span>Is Google Programmable Search Engine free?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes, for searching up to 50 domains with Google&#8217;s search box on your site. The paid Business Edition from the Co-op days is long gone; larger and whole-web searches now go through Google&#8217;s separate paid products.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_I_still_create_a_search_engine_that_searches_the_whole_web\"><\/span>Can I still create a search engine that searches the whole web?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Not for new engines since January 2026. New engines must list up to 50 sites. Existing whole-web engines keep working until January 1, 2027.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Google_Custom_Search_the_same_as_Programmable_Search_Engine\"><\/span>Is Google Custom Search the same as Programmable Search Engine?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Google Co-op became Google Custom Search, which was renamed Programmable Search Engine in 2020.<\/p>\n<p><em>This guide was first written for QOT in 2008 by guest author S. Maheshwaran, and has been fully updated for 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Google Co-op, the tool that let bloggers build their own custom Google search engine, still exists. It&#8217;s now called Google&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,3],"tags":[44,49],"class_list":["post-2965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","category-google","tag-guest-posts","tag-tutorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2965"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65269,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2965\/revisions\/65269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}