Dive Brief:
- Google is discontinuing Google Site Search this spring, according to Fortune. The product has been available for license by publishers since 2008 so they can apply the tech company's search technology to their own sites.
- Although there hasn’t been a public announcement, GSS users received an email about the move letting them know that current licenses will be honored for their duration but that Google will stop selling new licenses and renewals as of April 1.
- GSS users will be automatically shifted to Custom Search Engine (CSE), a free ad-supported product that is similar to GSS.
Dive Insight:
A GSS customer commented to Fortune after requesting anonymity that the move likely indicated that Google is separating ad-based technology from its G Suite enterprise tech. G Suite is a paid version of what was previously known as Google Apps, a free product.
Google has made a series of moves over the past few years to be a bigger player in enterprise tech, most recently expanding cloud support for Windows in a shot across the latter's bow. At the same time, Google's search business is facing pressure as more searches move to mobile, where competition is more heated and monetization is more challenging than on desktop.
For publishers, GSS worked by allowing them to buy a certain number of searches. The forced shift to CSE brings site-specific searches using Google’s search technology back into its ad-supported fold. Around a year ago Google announced it was ending Google Search Appliance which included Google search in hardware installed in company owned data centers.
Publishers that decide to stick with CSE after their GSS licenses expire will begin serving their visitors with more ads on what otherwise would appear to be website user experience where ads hadn’t previously been served.