Standard Search
Standard Search is included in every Benecaster plan at no extra cost. It adds full-text keyword search to your site — covering episode titles, descriptions, and show notes — so subscribers can find what they’re looking for as your archive grows.
No API key. No configuration beyond placing the search box. No per-query cost.
What Standard Search Covers
- Episode titles
- Episode descriptions and show notes
- Transcript text, when the Transcription Service add-on is installed
- Results are tier-aware — subscribers only see episodes available at their access level
Placing the Search Box
Use whichever method fits your site:
Shortcode — works in any page builder or classic editor:
[benecaster_search]
Gutenberg block — available when the Blocks & Widgets Library add-on is installed. Search for “Benecaster Search” in the block inserter.
Elementor widget — available when the Blocks & Widgets Library add-on is installed. Find it in the Benecaster widget group.
Common placements: a sidebar widget, a dedicated search page, or a modal launched from the header.
Standard Search Vs. AI Search
| Standard Search | AI Search | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Included free | $79/year + your own API key |
| Search type | Keyword matching | Semantic / natural language |
| API key required | No | Yes |
| Ongoing API cost | None | Yes — billed by your provider (~$1–5/month at podcast scale) |
| Finds “Episode 42” | ✓ | ✓ |
| Finds “productivity while traveling” (without those exact words in the episode) | ❌ | ✓ |
| Setup | None | Provider selection + API key |
Standard Search is the right call for most podcasters. It handles the majority of subscriber searches — finding episodes by title, guest name, or topic keyword — with no ongoing cost and nothing to configure.
AI Search is worth evaluating when your back catalogue is large and you want subscribers to discover episodes by concept rather than keyword.
Running Both Side by Side
Because Standard Search and AI Search use different shortcodes — [benecaster_search] and [benecaster_ai_search] — they can run independently on the same site.
A common pattern: Standard Search on the public episode archive for all visitors, AI Search inside the member area for paid subscribers only. Free and lower-tier subscribers get keyword search at no per-query cost; your top-tier subscribers get semantic, natural-language search as a tier perk.
See Also
- AI Search — semantic search as an upgrade layer
- Blocks & Widgets Library — Gutenberg block and Elementor widget for Standard Search
- Shortcodes Reference — full
[benecaster_search]parameter list
