Sitelinks search box: complete setup and optimisation for Wix

The sitelinks search box is a special SERP feature that adds a search field directly within your Google listing, allowing users to search your website without visiting it first. For Wix websites with internal search functionality, this feature can significantly increase engagement by letting users jump straight to the content they need. This lesson covers the complete setup process, eligibility requirements, and optimisation strategies for the sitelinks search box on Wix.

What Is the Sitelinks Search Box?

The sitelinks search box is a text input field that appears within your Google search result, typically between your main listing and your sitelinks. When a user types a query into this box and presses Enter, they are redirected to your website search results page with that query pre-filled. Google selects whether to show this feature based on the quality of your site search, your brand authority, and the presence of WebSite schema with SearchAction markup.

Eligibility Requirements

• Your Wix site must already qualify for standard sitelinks (ranking #1 for brand searches)
• You must have internal search functionality enabled on your Wix site
• WebSite schema with SearchAction markup must be properly implemented
• Your internal search results page must return relevant, useful results
• Google must determine that a search box would be useful for your site and users
• Your site must have enough content to make internal search meaningful (typically 20+ pages)

Step-by-Step Setup for Wix

Step 1: Enable Wix Site Search

Enabling site search on Wix

• Go to your Wix Dashboard.
• Navigate to Site & App > Site Search.
• Enable the Site Search feature if it is not already active.
• Configure which content types are searchable: pages, blog posts, products, bookings, etc.
• Customise the search results page layout and design to match your brand.
• Test the search functionality by performing several searches on your published site.
• Note the URL pattern of your search results page. It will be something like: https://www.yourdomain.com/search?q=test

Step 2: Add WebSite Schema with SearchAction

The SearchAction schema tells Google the URL pattern for executing searches on your Wix site. This is the critical piece that enables the sitelinks search box.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "WebSite",
  "name": "Your Brand Name",
  "url": "https://www.yourdomain.com",
  "potentialAction": {
    "@type": "SearchAction",
    "target": {
      "@type": "EntryPoint",
      "urlTemplate": "https://www.yourdomain.com/search?q={search_term_string}"
    },
    "query-input": "required name=search_term_string"
  }
}
</script>

Adding the schema to your Wix site

• Copy the schema code above and customise it with your brand name, domain, and search URL pattern.
• In your Wix Dashboard, go to Settings > Custom Code.
• Click "Add Custom Code" in the Head section.
• Paste the entire script tag including the JSON-LD markup.
• Name it "WebSite Schema - Sitelinks Search Box".
• Set it to load on "All Pages".
• Save and publish your Wix site.
• Validate the schema using the Google Rich Results Test tool.

Step 3: Optimise Your Search Results Page

Even after implementing the schema, Google will only show the sitelinks search box if your internal search returns useful results. A poor search experience will cause Google to remove the feature.

• Ensure search results are relevant and well-ordered by relevance
• Display clear page titles and descriptions in search results
• Include a message when no results are found with suggestions for alternative searches
• Ensure the search results page loads quickly on both desktop and mobile
• Make the search results page design consistent with the rest of your Wix site
• Include filtering or sorting options if you have a large amount of content

Opting Out of the Sitelinks Search Box

If you do not want Google to display a sitelinks search box for your site, you can opt out by adding a nositelinkssearchbox meta tag to your homepage.

<meta name="google" content="nositelinkssearchbox" />

Add this tag through Wix Custom Code in the Head section of your homepage only. You might want to opt out if your site search functionality is poor, if you have very few pages, or if the search box creates a confusing user experience for your specific use case.

Monitoring and Troubleshooting

• After implementing the schema, wait two to four weeks for Google to process the change
• Search for your brand name regularly to check if the search box appears
• Use Google Search Console to check for any structured data errors under Enhancements
• If the search box does not appear after four weeks, verify your schema validation, site search functionality, and brand authority
• The search box may appear intermittently at first as Google tests it before displaying it consistently
• If Google removes a previously shown search box, check if your site search quality has degraded