Invalid Search From Google (not a XF forum issue, but XF main page issue)

[Kevin]

Didn't know where else to put this since it affects the main xenforo.com page and not XF itself.

The Good News: When searching in Google for "XenForo" the powers that be at Google have enabled the site search box for the domain.

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The Bad News: Any search request ends up with an error. Maybe a missing opensearch.xml or one that needs to be updated on the server?

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[Old Nick]

xenforo.com/search/ doesn't exist.

 

[Chris D]

Yeah... not sure why they're displaying a search box. We don't really have anything searchable on the front end.

 

[Chris D]

        <script type="application/ld+json">
        {
            "@context": "https://schema.org",
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "url": "https://xenforo.com/",
            "potentialAction": {
                "@type": "SearchAction",
                "target": "https://xenforo.com/search/search?keywords={search_keywords}",
                "query-input": "required name=search_keywords"
            }
        }
        </script>

 

[RobinHood]

It looks like you might be able to alter the search schema to change the target to use the community search URL, or opt out of it completely as some sites have done

Your Guide to Understanding Google's Sitelinks Search Box

Have you ever Googled a website only to find a second Google search box embedded underneath the first? That’s a recently updated Google feature, the Sitelinks search box. It has the capability to streamline your own website’s search function, but opinions are mixed regarding the benefit it...

www.semrush.com

 

[Chris D]

Solution in the case of the XF site is to simply disable searching:

 

[Chris D]

Thanks for reporting @Kevin

 

[Kevin]

Solution in the case of the XF site is to simply disable searching:

View attachment 260234

That'll get rid of the schema markup but since Google has already turned it on you may want to either put a redirect in place to the forums or add the meta tag to request no search box (but the redirect may be the better choice).

Having Google deign the domain worthy to have it enabled is a nice problem to have.

 

[Chris D]

They've turned it on because of the schema markup. I'll keep an eye on it but it should sort itself out.