forum/google search block

[nite0859]

https://www.google.com/adsense/localized-terms?hl=en_US

Implementation and Operation of Ads, Search Results, and Referrals. You agree to comply with the specifications provided by Google from time to time to enable proper delivery, display, tracking, and reporting of Ads, Links, Search Results, Referral Buttons, and Google Brand Features (as defined in Section 12 below) in connection with Your Site(s), including without limitation by not modifying the JavaScript or other programming provided to You by Google in any way, unless expressly authorized in writing by Google (including by electronic mail).

AdSense for Search. If You have elected to receive Search Results, You will display on Your Site(s) a Google search box (a "Search Box") in accordance with the specifications provided by Google. Each Web page(s) that contains a Search Box must also contain other content related to Your Site. Except for related Google queries, all search queries (including queries entered into an Ad search box) must originate from individual human end users inputting data directly into a Search Box (or Ad search box, as applicable) on Your Site(s). You will send any and all queries (without editing, modifying, or filtering such queries individually or in the aggregate) to Google and Google will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide You with corresponding Search Results and/or Ads, as applicable and as available. Search Results and any accompanying Ads will be displayed on Web pages hosted by Google (each, a "Search Results Page"), the format, look and feel of which may be modified by Google from time to time.

Prohibited Uses. You shall not, and shall not authorize or encourage any third party to: (i) directly or indirectly generate queries, Referral Events, or impressions of or clicks on any Ad, Link, Search Result, or Referral Button through any automated, deceptive, fraudulent or other invalid means, including but not limited to through repeated manual clicks, the use of robots or other automated query tools and/or computer generated search requests, and/or the unauthorized use of other search engine optimization services and/or software; (ii) edit, modify, filter or change the order of the information contained in any Ad, Link, Ad Unit, Search Result, or Referral Button, or remove, obscure or minimize any Ad, Link, Ad Unit, Search Result, or Referral Button in any way; (iii) frame, minimize, remove or otherwise inhibit the full and complete display of any Web page accessed by an end user after clicking on any part of an Ad ("Advertiser Page"), any Search Results Page, or any Referral Page; (iv) redirect an end user away from any Advertiser Page, Search Results Page, or Referral Page; provide a version of the Advertiser Page, Search Results Page, or Referral Page that is different from the page an end user would access by going directly to the Advertiser Page, Search Results Page, or Referral Page; intersperse any content between the Ad and the Advertiser Page, between the page containing the Search Box and the Search Results Page, or between the Referral Button and the Referral Page; or otherwise provide anything other than a direct link from an Ad to an Advertiser Page, from the page containing the Search Box to the Search Results Page, or from the Referral Button to the Referral Page; (v) display any Ad(s), Link(s), or Referral Button(s) on any error page, on any registration or "thank you" page (e.g., a page that thanks a user after he/she has registered with the applicable Web site), on any chat page, in any email, or on any Web page or any Web site that contains any pornographic, hate-related, violent, or illegal content; (vi) directly or indirectly access, launch, and/or activate Ads, Links, Search Results, or Referral Buttons through or from, or otherwise incorporate the Ads, Links, Search Results, or Referral Buttons in, any software application, Web site, or other means other than Your Site(s), and then only to the extent expressly permitted by this Agreement (e.g., while Search Results may be indirectly accessed from Your Site(s), they may only be displayed on the appropriate Google-hosted Web page); (vii) "crawl", "spider", index or in any non-transitory manner store or cache information obtained from any Ads, Links, Search Results, or Referral Events, or any part, copy, or derivative thereto; (viii) act in any way that violates any Program Policies posted on the Google Web Site, as may be revised from time to time, or any other agreement between You and Google (including without limitation the Google AdWords program terms), or engage in any action or practice that reflects poorly on Google or otherwise disparages or devalues Google’s reputation or goodwill. You acknowledge that any attempted participation or violation of any of the foregoing is a material breach of this Agreement and that we may pursue any and all applicable legal and equitable remedies against You, including an immediate suspension of Your account or termination of this Agreement, and the pursuit of all available civil or criminal remedies.

[eldacar]

Hmmm. But this isn't using 'AdSense for Search'.

[nite0859]

Well, the fact of the matter is that I could be mis-interpreting Google's TOS. For all I know, it is acceptable to integrate Google's search function along inside the general searching features already built into SMF. Earlier, some one mentioned that it would be useful to put in one's own Google ID so that one could get credit for performing a Google search. I wasn't quite sure if doing such a thing would violate Google's TOS, though.

[eldacar]

All I was doing was simply making a search box that links to a google url. There are no ads, no skewing results, no being naughty. I don't see any problems with my code. It is possible that it violates one of the 20 ToS Google has, but if so that ToS is probably unfair and deserving to be broken.

[nite0859]

Well, the ToS only applied if you're attempting to make money from Google, I would imagine. So, following the letter of the ToS is more important for those who are attempting to make some money. If you're not using Google to generate revenue, then I suppose it really doesn't matter. That's my opinion anyhow.

[RoarinRow]

I found this code that combines a Google Search and a site search in one in a script/html block

Code Select Expand

<form method="get" action="http://www.google.com/search" target='_blank'>

<input type="text"   name="q" size="25"
maxlength="140" value="" />
<input type="submit" value="Google Search" />
<br />
<input type="radio"  name="sitesearch" value="" checked />
The Web
<input type="radio"  name="sitesearch"
value="avalanchestyle.com" /> AVS<br />

</form>

1.  Modified it so that my search results would open up in a new window
2.  Adjusted the setting to size = "25" so that the input field would not extend pass my block's theme.  Same goes with maxlength, I changed that to 140
3.  Changed where the radio button defaults to from my site to 'The Web'
4.  Change the value to your own site's domain without the 'www'
5.  Used my site's abbreviation to it would not take too much space

Source is from - here.

Note that it will only provide site search results based on what information Google has indexed from your site.  This is what makes it different from your own forum's search feature.

It also give you the regular Google search results screen instead of a customize results screen from the original code in this thread.

[yjobcreations]

the only way you can violate the Google Search TOS is by applying for an account with Adsense for Search, however, if you just made a search code that takes you to google search page there is no adsense account involved in it so there is no such thing as TOS being tied up with your code.

[Shadow]

I hope you don't mind of me edit this code some. 

It's show correct in FireFox but it won't show correct in IE, So i put a code on this topic for IE user's.

FireFox user's use this code!

Put this code in scriptbox

Code Select Expand

<form method="get" action="http://www.google.com/search" target='_blank'>

<input type="text"   name="q" size="23"
maxlength="140" value="" />
<center><input type="submit" value="Google Search" />
<br /></center>
</form>

This code is only Google Search

IE User's use this code!

Put this code in scriptbox. Now in IE it's will show correct. But it's won't show right in FireFox...

Code Select Expand

<form method="get" action="http://www.google.com/search" target='_blank'>

<input type="text"   name="q" size="28"
maxlength="140" value="" />
<input type="submit" value="Google Search" />
<br />
</form>

[catchpen]

I took the small Google banner off the search snippet I got from my Goggle Adsense account to make it look more like part of my site, it does go to google.com for search results and shows ads to make Google happy. Does anyone know if that violates the TOS?

Thanks.

[Marook]

I did it that way :

replace the first function TPortal_searchbox() in TPortalBlocks.template.php with the following one. Adjust the sitesearch url to your domain and place a file called google.gif in the images dir of your current theme.

Code Select Expand


// TPortal searchblock
function TPortal_searchbox()
{
global $context, $settings, $options, $txt , $scripturl;

echo '
<form  accept-charset="', $context['character_set'], '" action="', $scripturl, '?action=search2" method="post" style="padding: 0; text-align: center; margin: 0; margin-bottom: 5px;"><br />
    <input type="text" name="search" value="" style="width: 85%;" /><br />
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="', $txt[182], '" style="width: 90%; margin: 4px;" /><br /><span class="smalltext">
<a href="', $scripturl, '?action=search;advanced">', $txt['smf298'], '</a></span>
<input type="hidden" name="advanced" value="0" /></form>
    <hr><center><img src="'.$settings['images_url'].'/google.gif"<center /><br />
    <form method="GET" action="http://www.google.com/search" target="_blank" style="padding: 0; text-align: center; margin: 0; margin-bottom: 5px;">
    <input type="text" name="q" style="width: 85%;" value="" />
    <input type="submit" value="Google Search" style="width: 90%; margin: 4px;" /><br />
    <input type="radio"  name="sitesearch" value="" checked />The Web<br />
    <input type="radio"  name="sitesearch" value="yourdomain.com" /> marook-online<br /></form>
  ';
}


And your default search block will have now a new option to search with google.

Demo : here