Frequent Questions (FAQs)

We have posted a number of frequent questions with answers in this section. Please note that questions relating Specialized, Very High Volume Searching or Other Solutions are answered on a strictly individual basis and are not normally posted here. For questions on other products, please refer to the product information site.

Q1. What is a 'Virtual Search Server'?
Answer: Without jargon, a 'Virtual Search Server' is a fully configurable Search Engine. We call it 'Virtual Search Engine' (VSE). It is 100% customizable and does not share any visual settings with other Virtual Engines located on the same Machine/Platform.
In plain English, It is your OWN Search Engine that searches the web or a region the way you want.

Q2. Do I have to move my site to your 'Virtual Search Server' if I want a Virtual Search Engine?
Answer: No. Our search servers are NOT meant for site hosting. Every search server works like an individual Search Engine dedicated to perform searching for a web site. Your site remains where it is now. Only some HTML linking will be required to combine our search server to your existing site.

Q3. Do I need to show any link or Logo of CurryGuide?
Answer: No. It is your own search engine and there will be NO explicit sign of us as the service provider.

Q4. Can I put banners on my result pages?
Answer: Yes. You can put anything. It is part of your site, with your design, adverts, promotions, banners etc. You will have the FREEDOM to update or change its design, layout, options exactly like an ordinary HTML page. NOTE: you cannot show Large Banners on Free Engines.

Q5. Can I buy a search engine from you and install it on my server?
Answer: Our Virtual Search Engines (VSE) are managed and run from our platform; you do not need to install anything on your server. If you want to install such a metasearch engine on your own server; we have a retail version available for purchase. Details are here.

Q6. Will there be any charges for future upgrades or modifications?
Answer: Our VSE packages are fully maintained by us. We will do all the upgrades or modifications (usually without any service interruption) to keep-up the highest possible standard and quality. You will not be charged for such upgrades.

Q7. I maintain a local index of around 11,000 sports related links where visitors can submit their links and search it. Can I integrate this database to your meta search so that it searches my index as well?
Answer: Yes you can (on Diamond packages and above). However, you might require a custom solution depending on your database type, size etc. Please consult our Sales Team for further details.

Q8. Can I output search results without descriptions?
Answer: Yes. You don't need to change any configuration. All you need is change the 'nsum' value to 'y'. Please visit the User-Guide for details and examples..

Q9. I can design a HTML document with Form. Will it be enough to setup and configure your search engine?
Answer: If you can design a Form; you will be able to do it without any trouble and probably asking any question at all. Our jargon free customer service will always be there for you anyway.

Q10. I find your search engine to be a Really good solution for my busy site. BUT, I am worried about being too similar to other sites using your search solutions.
Answer: If we have got it right, you do not want your search engine to look similar to others. Well, if it is the case then our answer is simple. You can make your search engine look whatever way you want and there could be thousands of design options (unlimited). So it is quite unlikely that you will find another site similar to yours.

Q11. I have no cgi-bin permission on my server. Can I use your VSE on my site?
Answer: Yes. You do not need any cgi-bin access at all.

Q12. Once installed, can I change the appearance of all or some part of my 'html Template' at a later time?
Answer: Yes. Anytime, as many times you want and without even telling us. Log on to your Administration Area and it will take two clicks and less than 10 seconds for our Auto-Installer to take care of that.

Q13. Can I give my visitors the option to choose how many results will be displayed on each page of results?
Answer: Yes you can. No change in setup configuration is required. You can do this on your search page simply by adding an extra line of code. (See examples in the User-Guide)

Q14. I want an extra option to allow my visitors to search 'Japanese sites only'. Can I do that?
Answer: Yes. Our VSEs currently include searching 89 individual countries. More country specific search options are likely to be added shortly and they will be available to ALL search-engine owners automatically. As of Japan; you can construct a search engine that searches 'Japan only', and/or 'Worldwide' and/or any other country in a matter of minutes. See the 'Country Search' section in the User-Guide.

Q15. Is there any difference in performance between Lite-Search and Silver-Search?
Answer: There is no difference in performance. All packages up-to Diamond-Search enjoy similar level of resource allocation. The main difference between packages are the number of search requests allowed. (There is no limitation on Free Engines).

Q16. Can I choose the search engines?
Answer: Package solutions below "Mega Search" do not yet offer you to choose engines. Our search servers dynamically pre-select 4 search engines on the basis of faster response time. However, this option is likely to be added to all packages shortly. Please inquire.

Q17. What if my site exceeds the allowed number of search?
Answer: We understand that exceeding the limit is a good news for any site and we encourage all our customers to attract more and more customers. However, if your site exceeds the limit; further searches will be allowed as usual. If it exceeds persistently or beyond realistic proportions; we will contact you to discuss a possible solution.

Q18. Do you offer any kind of FREE services?
Answer: Yes. Information about FREE search engines has been posted here.

Q19. Can I put SSI calls on my Result Pages?
Answer: You can put SSI calls on pages directly served by your own server only. You cannot put SSI calls on the Result pages as they are generated from our search servers but you can put them on the main Search Page.

Q20. Is there any charges for upgrading or downgrading between packages?
Answer: Yes. There is a $20 administration fee while changing between packages (upto Diamond).

Q21. What is 'Intermediary Promotion'?
Answer: Intermediary promotion is a block of HTML code that you may put on dynamically created result pages. They appear between results and can include banners, links etc. It is in addition to the banners and or links that you put on other parts of your Result Page. As a simple example: most sites put a banner on the top of the page (Header) and another at the bottom (Footer). You can include another banner or links or a combination in the middle of results. See Example search 1 for a working example.