The Intranet built for Google Workspace
How to Search Across Multiple Google Sites: Solving a Common Enterprise Challenge
When it comes to enterprise intranets built on Google Sites, one of the most frequent pain points organizations encounter is the challenge of searching across multiple sites. While Google Sites offers excellent tools for creating websites, the search functionality is limited to individual sites, which can leave users frustrated and confused.
Imagine a scenario we recently encountered with a client: their organization had over 30 Google Sites. Each department—HR, Operations, Finance, IT—maintained its own dedicated site filled with procedures, policies, and critical documents. When an employee tried to search for something on the company’s master intranet site, the results didn’t include content from the departmental sub-sites. This left employees struggling to find vital information and slowed down productivity.
The Problem: Lack of a Native Cross-Site Search Solution
Out of the box, Google Workspace doesn’t provide a native way to search across multiple Google Sites. The built-in search functionality only retrieves results from the specific site you’re on, leaving users without an easy way to access content from sub-sites.
While Google Cloud Search offers a more comprehensive search tool, it comes with its own challenges:
• Complexity: The interface and results can overwhelm end users with irrelevant or excessive information. Eg iut seaec a users own mail
• Enterprise-Only: It’s only available with the most advanced Google Workspace licenses,
This gap leaves organizations with multiple sites facing a frustrating user experience and inefficiencies.
The Solution: Steegle Power Search Widget
Recognizing this gap, Steegle created the Power Search Widget to provide organizations with a seamless way to search across multiple Google Sites within their domain.
This custom-built tool integrates directly into the master intranet site and allows users to search across all sub-sites—whether it’s HR, Operations, or Finance—and retrieve accurate, relevant results. Key benefits include:
• Streamlined Search: A single search bar that connects multiple Google Sites into one unified search experience.
• Enhanced User Experience: Simplifies navigation for employees, eliminating confusion and frustration.
• Customizable Permissions: Results respect user permissions, ensuring employees only see content they’re authorized to access.
When to Use the Steegle Power Search Widget
While the Steegle Power Search Widget requires an advanced Google Workspace license (typically Cloud Search-enabled), this is rarely an issue. Large organizations with dozens of Google Sites are the ones most likely to have the necessary licensing in place already. For smaller companies with fewer sites, the widget may not be as critical.
Why Not Just Use Google Cloud Search?
Although Google Cloud Search has robust capabilities, it often proves too complex for most end users. The interface can feel overwhelming, and its broad search functionality may deliver an excess of irrelevant results. This makes it less practical for organizations seeking a straightforward, user-friendly search solution tailored specifically to Google Sites.
A Better Way Forward
The Steegle Power Search Widget bridges the gap between functionality and usability, offering organizations a powerful, intuitive solution to a common Google Sites challenge. For companies managing multiple sites across departments, this tool simplifies information discovery and boosts overall productivity.