Google Wildcard Operator (*)

Question

I am using the google ajax rest api and I'd like to get local results by prefix. For example: I type in "sta" and I get "starbucks".

I wonder if there is a documented or undocumented wildcard operator that that allows you to find results that start with a string.

I know that Google does have a wildcard operator but it works on a word-by-word basis. Like this: starbucks * => starbucks coffee

Here is a list of Google Search Operators none of which offer the starts-with functionality: http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=13...

Thank you.

Answer 1

Probably not the answer you want to hear, but I'm reasonably certain that what you're looking to do isn't supported.

Answer 2

What you're looking for is a Google Suggest API for the local search. Given that there seems to be no official Google Suggest API, you aren't likely to find one for the local search. However, there are plenty of products (including Firefox and the Google Toolbar) that make use of Google Suggest, so the methods they use probably aren't going away. A quick search for a Suggest API turns up many solutions that have been put together by various people. I recommend you pick one that looks like a good fit and try to make it work with the local search (if that actually turns up different results).