Google has decided to discontinue Google Site Search. It is a paid product which has been around since 2008.
Google Site Search is a product sold out to the web publishers that wanted to use the industry’s leading search technology to their sites.
The company charges are based on the monthly query volume for the product. The partners and customers are notified about this new plan via email on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. The news has not been yet announced publicly.
Google said that the existing customers are directed to the new cloud search product or the ad-powered product named free custom search engine. From the fourth quarter of 2017, Google will completely stop supporting the Google Search Site Product.
The statement sent the following statement to Search Engine Land: “We are winding down the Google Site Search product over the next year, but will provide customer and technical support through the duration of license agreements. For GSS users whose contract expires between April 1st and June 30th, 2017, we are providing a free 3-month extension with additional query volume to allow more time for them to implement the necessary changes to their site. GSS customers may also take advantage of our Custom Search Engine solution, an ads-supported model that offers similar functionality. We continue to build out new functionality and invest in new technology that makes enterprise search a great experience for our customers. Just recently, we introduced the general availability of Google Cloud Search for G Suite customers.”
