Word is out: Google is discontinuing Google Site Search.
According to their website, "On April 1, 2017, Google will discontinue sales of the Google Site Search. All new purchases and renewals must take place before this date. The product will be completely shut down by April 1, 2018." This comes about a year after Google announced it was phasing out its Google Search Appliance.
What does this mean for colleges and universities using Google Site Search? According to Fortune.com, once your license expires, your account will be automatically switched over to Google's Custom Search Engine, which is a free version of their technology.
Controlled crawl schedule - Update your search index as often as you want.
Custom look and feel - Ditch default styling. You have complete control over the style of the search results, allowing you to match your site's design.
Best bets - Curate and promote pages to the top of the search results page for certain keywords, plus customize the title and description of those pages.
Parametric filtering - Allow your site visitors to narrow down their search results by keywords or categories.
Detailed reports - Access search reports that provide detailed information about your website visitor queries, such as top words and no-hit queries. Plus, every time your website is indexed, you'll receive a list of errors and duplicates.