Monetize Search Results with Google Custom Search

Are you monetizing your search results page with Google ads? If not, you're missing out on some money! Here's how to create a Google AdSense search form, and also how to place the results page on your site.

Monetizing Your Search Results Page

1. Login to your Google AdSense account and click on the "My Ads" tab.
2. Click "Search" on the left hand side, then click "New custom search engine".
3. Fill out the form, being sure to select "Only sites I select". Type your main site URL in the text box that appears below that option.
4. Create a custom channel for your search pages so you can track the ROI easier.
5. Under "Ad and Search Results Style", customize the colors to match your site.
6. Important: You MUST choose to "display results on my website using an iframe"! Type in the URL where you want your search results to appear. For instance: http://yourdomain.com/search/
7. Change the width of the results area to the width of the main content section on your site.
8. Select "Top and Bottom" for ad location, agree to the Terms of Service, and save.

The code for your search form and page will now be displayed. Copy and paste the search box code into a text widget, and place it in your sidebar. Delete the JavaScript portion at the bottom. Your code should look like this:

<form action="http://yourdomain.com/search/" id="cse-search-box">
  <div>
    <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="partner-pub-id" />
    <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:10" />
    <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="UTF-8" />
    <input type="text" name="q" size="55" />
    <input type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" />
  </div>
</form>

Next, you'll be placing the search results code on a page, so your search results show up on your site. Create a new page named "Search", or whatever you specified for your search results URL in AdSense. Switch to HTML view and paste the search results code into the page.

That's it! You're done. Enjoy your new monetized search results! 🙂