One approach I am taking involves utilizing a placeholder element within my search box input:
<input id="searchBarTextbox" type="search" class="k-textbox" placeholder="Search For..." />
My challenge now is to enhance the aesthetics of the placeholder by making the text 'bolder' to closely resemble the actual text displayed in the text box.
If you would like to explore further details, feel free to visit the code snippet on JSFiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/RYBrk/1/