There are four main options right now for search on a Joomla! website.
1. The first is Joomla!'s core search component. It has limitations - only 20 characters of a search phrase can be used, and there are no options for drill downs, spelling corrections, etc. So what do you do if you need better search?
2. A Joomla! extension - JXtended Finder $50 includes upgrades and support for one year, can be installed on unlimited sites.
3. Google Site Search - with or without Adsense results. Google Site Search can be integrated by using a Joomla! extension such as googleSearch component and module (free).
4. Enterprise Search Integration - you install an enterprise search engine (separate from your Joomla! site) and then use a Joomla! extension to use that search engine on your site. The free IBM OmniFind Yahoo! edition search engine can be integrated using the TNR ESearch Component. Plans are in the works for a new extension that will use the Solr search engine. This is an option mainly for large enterprise Joomla! sites - and it's the best way to get fine tuned control over how search results are generated and displayed.
