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Frequently Asked Questions

General​

Crawling & Indexing​

Look & Feel of Search Results​

Why Is a Page Missing From My Search Results?​

AddSearch crawlers collect links only from publicly accessible pages. If some pages you want indexed do not appear, possible causes include:

  • Links generated dynamically with JavaScript without using AJAX crawling.
  • The page or section is blocked from crawling or indexing by a robots meta tag or robots.txt.

Ensure pages are accessible to crawlers and proper crawling techniques are used.

Does AddSearch Work on My Website?​

AddSearch supports almost all content management systems (CMS). It is a cloud-based service that does not require backend integration.

To add AddSearch search functionality, insert the following script in your website template, replacing #### with your public site key:

<script src="https://cdn.addsearch.com/v5/addsearch-ui.min.js?key=####"></script>

For WordPress, AddSearch offers a plugin for easier installation.

See the installation guidelines and WordPress plugin tutorial for details.

How Can I Customize the Look and Feel of AddSearch?​

You can modify the search interface style using CSS to match your brand design. This requires basic CSS knowledge.

Refer to customization instructions in the dashboard or relevant documentation for guidance.

By default, AddSearch indexes images specified in the og:image metadata tag on your pages. If none is found, it automatically selects an image near the main content.

To specify thumbnails explicitly, ensure your pages include the og:image tag.

You can enable or disable this feature under Domains and crawling in your dashboard.

More details are available in the Featured Images documentation.

Is AddSearch Compliant With Accessibility Standards?​

AddSearch complies with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0 AA) and Section 508 standards.

It is developed in cooperation with public agencies and meets key accessibility requirements.

See the accessibility compliance documentation for more.

How Can I Control What Appears in Search Results?​

Use search filters to include or exclude content based on categories automatically detected from your site.

For example, the URL https://www.addsearch.com/support/category-filters/ includes category properties visible with parameters like &categories=1xsupport.

To filter results on a particular category, append the category parameter to your AddSearch script:

<script src="https://cdn.addsearch.com/v5/addsearch-ui.min.js?key=####&categories=1xsupport"></script>

Replace #### with your public site key.

Note that main domains have their own category properties, such as 0xwww.addsearch.com and 0xaddsearch.com.

Use the Site Areas tool in your dashboard to exclude or de-prioritize specific pages or sections.

See Search filters and Excluding content for detailed instructions.

Does AddSearch Index the Content of PDFs or Only Their URLs?​

AddSearch crawls and indexes both the contents and metadata of PDFs, not just their URLs.

The standard size limit for PDFs is 20 MB. For larger files, contact AddSearch sales to enable indexing.

How Can I Exclude Content From Search?​

Use the Site areas feature in your dashboard (under Manage results) to exclude entire URL paths or sections.

To exclude a path like /support/:

  1. Go to Site areas under Settings.
  2. Click Add new url +.
  3. Enter the path (e.g., /category-filters/).
  4. Select Excluded from the dropdown.
  5. Save changes.

Exclusions require a full re-crawl. Start this from Index tools in the dashboard.

More information:

What Is the Difference Between Additional Domains and AddSearch Accounts?​

Each AddSearch account corresponds to a search index with its own settings and analytics and requires a subscription plan.

You can add multiple domains to a single account in Domains and crawling; these are called Additional domains and share the same index and analytics.

By default, searches return results from all domains linked to the account.

Create separate AddSearch accounts only if you need independent indices with separate configurations and analytics, for example, for different clients.

See Multiple domains for more.

Add domains as Additional domains in your account settings.

All Additional domains share a single search index. You can filter search results by domain, subdomain, or path.

This simplifies providing unified search access across multiple websites.

For details, see Adding multiple domains.

How Can I Create a New AddSearch Account?​

Create a new account (index) by selecting the index dropdown in your dashboard's top-left corner and clicking Add New Index.

Each account requires its own subscription plan.

More guidance is available at Creating another account.

Can AddSearch Index Content Behind a Login?​

AddSearch supports crawling and indexing content behind authentication using its authenticated crawling feature.

This allows crawling content protected by login credentials while securing index access.

See Authenticated crawling for technical details.

Contact support@addsearch.com to configure authenticated crawling.

How Often Does AddSearch Update the Search Index?​

AddSearch adapts crawling frequency based on your site's content update patterns.

Initially, updates may be slower, but over time AddSearch learns your update frequency and indexes changes more promptly.

See Crawling frequency for detailed information.

Contact and Support​

For additional help or questions, contact AddSearch support at support@addsearch.com.