WebSite Search Schema
Checks for WebSite schema with SearchAction to enable the Sitelinks Searchbox in Google Search results.
- Add `WebSite` schema with `SearchAction` to signal that your site has search functionality to Google
- This enables Google to show a Sitelinks Searchbox below your brand's search result for branded queries
- The Searchbox only appears at Google's discretion — the schema is a signal, not a guarantee
- The `query-input` property must follow the format `required name=search_term_string`
Rule Details
The WebSite schema with a SearchAction tells Google your site has a search function, enabling it to display a Sitelinks Searchbox — a search field embedded directly in your brand's search result.
Code Example
When a user searches for your brand (e.g., "Wikipedia"), Google may show:
Wikipedia
https://www.wikipedia.org
[___Search Wikipedia_____________] [Search]
The Free Encyclopedia...Why It Matters
The Sitelinks Searchbox lets users search your site directly from Google's search results page, reducing friction for brand-aware users and increasing the click-through quality from branded queries.
Schema Implementation
<!-- Place on homepage in <head> -->
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "WebSite",
"name": "My Site",
"url": "https://www.example.com",
"potentialAction": {
"@type": "SearchAction",
"target": {
"@type": "EntryPoint",
"urlTemplate": "https://www.example.com/search?q={search_term_string}"
},
"query-input": "required name=search_term_string"
}
}
</script>URL Template Format
The urlTemplate must contain {search_term_string} as a placeholder that Google fills with the user's query:
https://www.example.com/search?q={search_term_string}
https://www.example.com/search/{search_term_string}/Replace the placeholder path with your actual site search URL structure.
❌ Common Mistakes
// Wrong: missing query-input
{
"@type": "SearchAction",
"target": "https://example.com/search?q={search_term_string}"
}
// Wrong: query-input value incorrect
{
"query-input": "name=q" // Must be: "required name=search_term_string"
}
// Wrong: placed on inner page instead of homepage
// WebSite schema should be on the canonical-url homepage✅ Verification
- Google's Rich Results Test (opens in new tab) → test your homepage URL
- Look for "WebSite" as a detected item
- Check for errors in the
potentialActionproperties
Important Notes
- Google decides whether to show the Searchbox — valid schema is a signal, not a guarantee
- The Searchbox typically only appears for well-known brands with strong branded query volume
- Schema must be on the canonical-url homepage (or the URL that Google uses as the site root)
- The search URL must return relevant results — a broken or poor search experience may cause Google to suppress the Searchbox
Exceptions
- Necessary utility or compliance pages can be intentionally brief and should not be judged by the same editorial-depth expectations as ranking-focused content.
- AI-assisted drafting is not a failure by itself; flag unsupported claims, missing editorial review, or low-originality output instead.
- When a page has both trust-signal issues and crawl/index problems, make the page eligible to rank first and then improve the content quality signals.
Standards
- Use these references as the standard for the final search-facing HTML, metadata, and crawl behavior.
- Check the implementation against Google: Sitelinks Searchbox structured data before treating the rule as satisfied.
- Check the implementation against Schema.org: SearchAction before treating the rule as satisfied.
Verification
Automated Checks
- Inspect rendered HTML and HTTP headers to confirm the expected metadata or crawlability signal is present.
- Test the affected URL with Google Search Console or equivalent tooling where relevant.
- Re-crawl a representative page set after deployment.
Manual Checks
- Confirm the change does not create conflicting canonical-url, robots, or structured-data signals.
Use with AI
Copy these prompts to use with your AI assistant, or install the MCP server to use directly from Claude, Cursor, or Windsurf.
Check
Verify implementation
Check the homepage (or primary entry URL) for a `<script type='application/ld+json'>` block with `"@type": "WebSite"` and a `potentialAction` of type `SearchAction`. Verify `target` is a valid search URL template and `query-input` is correctly set.
Fix
Auto-fix issues
Add `WebSite` JSON-LD schema to the homepage `<head>`. Set `url` to the canonical-url homepage URL. Set `potentialAction` with `SearchAction`, `target` pointing to your search results URL with `{search_term_string}` placeholder, and `query-input` as `required name=search_term_string`.
Explain
Learn more
Explain how the WebSite SearchAction schema works, what the Sitelinks Searchbox is, why Google may choose not to show it even with valid schema, and how to construct the search URL template.
Review
Code review
Review metadata generation, rendered HTML, structured data, and response headers related to WebSite Search Schema. Flag exact routes or templates where search-facing output violates the rule, and describe how to verify the final page output.