Blogs without Sitelinks Search Box Schema = only site link in Google. With Schema = Google shows search box under your site.

In this tutorial, you'll add Sitelinks Search Box Schema to Blogger theme. Follow along and you'll get Google's search box under your site name in 2025.

Step 1: Why Sitelinks Search Box Wins Branded Search 2025

When someone searches "Your Blog Academy", Google can show box to search inside your blog.

  1. Search box in Google: Shows "Search YourBlog.blogspot.com" box under your homepage result
  2. Direct internal traffic: Users search your blog without clicking homepage first - 30% more pageviews
  3. Branded dominance: Your result takes 2x height, pushes competitors down
  4. App-like experience: Google suggests your popular posts in search box autocomplete

Image: Google showing yourblog.blogspot.com result with "Search this site" box underneath

Step 2: Add Sitelinks Search Box Schema to Blogger Theme

This goes in Theme, not per post. Only once for entire blog.

  1. Blogger → Theme → Edit HTML → Find <head> → Paste JUST BELOW <head>:
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "WebSite",
  "name": "Your Blog Academy",
  "alternateName": "Blogger SEO Academy",
  "url": "https://yourblog.blogspot.com/",
  "potentialAction": {
    "@type": "SearchAction",
    "target": {
      "@type": "EntryPoint",
      "urlTemplate": "https://yourblog.blogspot.com/search?q={search_term_string}"
    },
    "query-input": "required name=search_term_string"
  }
}
</script>
  1. Replace ONLY:
Field Replace With Example
name Blog name exact as in title Your Blog Academy
url Blog homepage URL with / at end https://yourblog.blogspot.com/
urlTemplate domain Same domain as url https://yourblog.blogspot.com/search?q=

Do NOT change: {search_term_string} and search?q= - Blogger search format fixed. For custom domain, use https://www.yourdomain.com/search?q={search_term_string}

Step 3: If You Have Custom Domain - Use This Version

For www.yourdomain.com:

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

Step 4: Combine With Sitelinks - Bonus for Full Site Structure

Add Organization + WebSite together for sitelinks menu + search box:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Your Blog Academy",
  "url": "https://yourblog.blogspot.com/",
  "logo": "https://yourblog.blogspot.com/logo-200x200.png",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.facebook.com/yourpage",
    "https://www.instagram.com/yourpage",
    "https://www.youtube.com/yourchannel"
  ]
}
</script>

Paste Organization script right AFTER WebSite script in head. Both required for sitelinks + search box.

Step 5: Check Blogger Search Works

  1. Open https://yourblog.blogspot.com/search?q=adsense → Must show search results page
  2. If you get 404, check blog search gadget enabled: Layout → Blog Search → Show
  3. Blogger search URL must be /search?q= not /?s= (WordPress format)

Step 6: Test Sitelinks Search Box Schema + Fix Errors

  1. Rich Results Test: search.google.com/test/rich-results → Enter homepage URL → Must show "Sitelinks search box" valid
  2. Schema Validator: validator.schema.org → Check target URL template valid
  3. Google Search Console: Enhancements → Sitelinks search box → Should appear after 2 weeks
  4. Live test: Search on Google: site:yourblog.blogspot.com or your brand name → Search box appears only for branded searches, not all keywords
  5. Fix: Search box not showing: Google shows only for brand queries after 50+ posts + domain authority. New blogs wait 3-6 months. Must have unique brand name, not "My Blogger Blog"
  6. Fix: Invalid urlTemplate: Must include {search_term_string} exact spelling with curly braces. Must start with https://
  7. Fix: Duplicate WebSite Schema: If theme already has WebSite Schema from SEO pack, edit that one and add potentialAction inside it, don't add second WebSite

Bad practice to avoid: Adding Sitelinks Search Box Schema to every post. Add ONLY to homepage/theme head once. Adding to posts creates duplicate WebSite Schema and Google ignores. Also don't use WordPress format /?s= - Blogger uses /search?q=

Important: Search box appears only when user searches your brand name, e.g. "Your Blog Academy" or "yourblog.blogspot.com". It never shows for "how to start blog" queries. To get brand searches, build brand: use same name in logo, Facebook, YouTube. After adding, submit homepage in Search Console → URL Inspection → Request Indexing. Takes 2-4 weeks to appear. Combine with Logo Schema - logo must be 112x112px minimum for sitelinks. Keep search box code in theme head permanently.