Google announced some API news today. "Primarily, we introduced a new dashboard for APIs (APIs Console) to help developers manage their API usage across all their sites and apps," the company tells WebProNews. "We also rolled out a Custom Search API and a Translate API (all built on the API Architecture introduced at Google I/O), and we have rewritten and re-organized API documentation."

he APIs Console lets users log in with their Google accounts to see API projects they’re working on, create and manage project teams for projects that are shared with their co-workers or friends, get developer credentials to track exactly how they’re using each API, and view info about how their site or app is using the APIs, including which of their pages are making the most requests. 

"Initially, the console supports over a half dozen APIs – that number is expected to grow rapidly over time," says the Google Developer Team.

The Custom Search API helps users create a "curated search experience", letting them tailor a custom search engine to their specs. "This is the perfect tool for helping your visitors find exactly what they’re looking for on your site, and is especially useful for businesses that want to create a customized search experience across their public content without the expense or hassle of developing and hosting their own search infrastructure," the team says. 

Google’s legacy Web Search API and Local Search API are being retired, and will be phased out over the next three years, and the company says it will tighten up enforcement of the rate limits for those and the old version of the Translate API over the next few 

More on the API news here.