Google Launches Improved Sitelinks Search Box
You may have noticed a slightly new look for certain search results. That's becauseGoogle announced a new way for users to perform a site search on a website within the search results with the sitelinks search box.
This new functionality places the search box in a more prominent position and helps remove a step in the search process for users who are looking for content on a site.
From the announcement:
The functionality supports autocomplete, too, and Google says using the right markup will send the user "directly to your website's own search pages":
To implement, sites must have a working search engine function. Then, webmasters can use Schema.org markup on the home page. Google says to use the "website" entity markup with the "potential action" property of the "search action" markup.
Best practices for markup, Google says, are as follows (from theimplementation guidelines):
And some tips from Google on site-wide configurations:
Google says to head over the the Webmaster Help Forum with questions.
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