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Results Page Feature Comparison: Hosted Vs. API

After you get your search site set up and we have your content indexed, it’s time to think about how you want to display the search results to your users. We offer two options:

Hosted Search ResultsRecommended!

  • Configure the branding, fonts, and colors of the results page using our Admin Center interface.
  • All our search features are available and maintained over time.
  • No developer effort on your agency’s part.

Search Results API

  • To use this API to display results in your website’s frame, you’ll need developers to create a results page template in your environment .
  • You should also implement our Clicks API to use alongside the Results API — this API reports click activity to our system and will complete your search analytics.
  • For searchers to use new search features we introduce over time, your developers will need to update your environment’s results page template.
Analytics Features Available on Hosted Search Results Page? Available in Results API?
Query Tracking to see what people searched for on your website Yes Yes
Click Tracking to see what people clicked on from the results pages Yes Yes — requires a secondary API call
Referrer Tracking to see where people were when they ran their searches Yes No
Content Features Available on Hosted Search Results Page? Available in Results API?
Domains to search by default Yes Yes
Collections to search alternative locations Yes No
Best Bets — Text and Graphics options, to post recommended items at the top of results Yes Yes
Routed Queries to send searchers to specific pages Yes Yes — requires additional logic
RSS Feeds — document search Yes Yes — requires separate endpoint call
YouTube Videos Yes Yes — requires separate endpoint call
Twitter Yes Yes
Flickr Yes No
MRSS Feeds — image search Yes No
Jobs Yes Yes
Federal Register Documents Yes Yes
Health Topics Yes Yes