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 Results — Recommended!
- 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.
- 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 |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Flickr | Yes | No |
| MRSS Feeds — image search | Yes | No |
| Jobs | Yes | Yes |
| Federal Register Documents | Yes | Yes |
| Health Topics | Yes | Yes |