ABSTRACT

Google’s Programmable Search Engines (PSEs, previously called Custom Search Engines) provide search opportunities that are unavailable with any other tool. PSEs have advanced settings and search operators that are not supported by "regular" Google. With PSEs, it is possible to perform filtered searches within parts of the web as if they were databases!

While lots of professionals use existing PSEs to source for talent or with other research goals, few people have experience creating them. Even fewer know about powerful PSE-only search operators. The main reason PSEs are not as popular as they should be is that it is not easy to get educated on PSE creation. There is little information online and no books (other than this one) on the subject. Even less info is available on the "structured" operators that allow for filtered searches.

The first of its kind, this book hopes to popularize these fun and powerful tools so that many more people can include PSEs in their work.

Key Features:

  • A detailed introduction to creating PSEs, including info absent in Google’s help
  • A "hack" for creating PSEs that look for profiles in seconds
  • An introduction to advanced PSE-only search operators allowed to perform filtered searches of parts of the web
  • A "hack" for expanding Google’s search limits to 500 terms
  • Use cases, examples, and approaches that would be educational for those doing online research

This book will be of interest to researchers, OSINT specialists, investigative journalists, Competitive Intelligence people, recruiters, and Sourcers, to name a few categories, and to the general public interested in how to search better.

chapter |4 pages

Introduction

part 1|43 pages

Introduction to Google Custom Search Engines (CSEs)

chapter Chapter 1|21 pages

Simple and Advanced Google Search

chapter Chapter 2|4 pages

What Is a Google Custom Search Engine?

chapter Chapter 3|3 pages

Creating Your First CSE

chapter Chapter 4|11 pages

Editing and Testing Your CSEs

part 2|37 pages

Configure a CSE

chapter Chapter 5|8 pages

What Are You Looking For?

chapter Chapter 6|3 pages

Search Refinements

chapter Chapter 7|9 pages

Synonyms

chapter Chapter 8|3 pages

Configuration Files

chapter Chapter 9|5 pages

Other Features of Note

chapter Chapter 10|1 pages

Troubleshoot Your CSE

part 3|44 pages

Discover more: Advanced CSEs

chapter Chapter 11|4 pages

Metadata Types

chapter Chapter 12|4 pages

Schema.org and Custom Search

chapter Chapter 13|5 pages

Knowledge Graphs

chapter Chapter 14|18 pages

Fascinating CSE Advanced Search Operators

chapter Chapter 15|10 pages

API and Other Considerations

part 4|33 pages

How We Built Our CSEs

chapter Chapter 16|9 pages

Basic CSE Examples

chapter Chapter 17|3 pages

Object-Oriented CSEs

chapter Chapter 18|17 pages

Determining CSE Operators for Social Sites and more: