Google Sites Search Not Working? How to Fix It
Is Google Sites search not working on your website? If users cannot find the content they are looking for, your website’s search functionality may need to be fixed.
The default Google Sites search may not always provide the search experience you need. In this guide, you will learn how to check whether your Google Site is published, configure website search, and add a working search bar using Expertrec.
1. Make Sure Your Google Site Is Published
Important: Your Google Site must be published before a search engine can access its public pages.
If your website is still in editing mode, search crawlers may not be able to access its content. This can prevent your pages from being crawled and indexed.
To check whether your website is published:
- Open Google Sites.
- Select your website.
- Click the Publish button in the top-right corner.
- Publish your website if it has not already been published.
- Open the published website in an incognito browser window.
- Check whether the website and its pages are accessible without logging in.
If your website is not publicly accessible, fix the publishing or access settings before configuring search.
How to Check If Your Google Site Is Live
Open your website in an incognito browser window.
If the website asks you to sign in or shows that the page is unavailable, your published site may not be accessible to the public.
Here is an example of a Google Site that is not publicly available:
Make sure your website is published and publicly accessible before moving to the next step.
2. Publish Your Google Site
If your Google Site is not live, publish it first.
- Log in to Google Sites.
- Open the website you want to publish.
- Click the Publish button in the top-right corner.
- Review the publishing settings.
- Make sure the website is available to the intended audience.
- Click Publish to make your changes live.
After publishing, open the website in an incognito browser to confirm that it is accessible.
3. Add Google Sites Search Using Expertrec
Once your website is published, you can configure a search engine using Expertrec.
Follow these steps to create your website search.
Step 1: Open Expertrec
Visit the following website:
https://cse.expertrec.com/?platform=cse
Step 2: Enter Your Published Website URL
Enter the public URL of your Google Site.
Important: Do not enter the Google Sites editing URL. Expertrec needs the public website URL to crawl your pages.
For example, do not use an editing URL like this:
https://sites.google.com/s/1lH7Y6QaaxZkii9IELSV_i__pD7wek96j/p/10SjUsqw2dCjTexmps3SXRiRIXy8OmDSS/edit
This is an editing URL and should not be used as your website URL.
Step 3: Get the Correct Published Website URL
To find your public website URL:
- Open your website in Google Sites.
- Click Publish.
- Select View published site.
- Copy the URL from the published website.
The published website URL should look similar to this:
https://sites.google.com/view/muthalis-site/home
Use your own published website URL instead of the example above.
Step 4: Add Your Sitemap URL
If your website has a sitemap, enter its URL during the search engine setup.
A sitemap can help search crawlers discover the pages available on your website.
If you do not have a sitemap, continue with the available configuration options.
Step 5: Select a Data Center
Choose the data center closest to your location from the available options.
This helps you select an appropriate region for your search setup.
Step 6: Wait for Your Website Crawl
After submitting your website details, allow the crawler to process your website.
The crawler needs to access your published pages before they can become available in the search index.
If your pages are not accessible or your website is not published, the crawl may not work as expected.
4. Get the Expertrec Search Code
After your website crawl and search setup, you can get the search code from the Expertrec dashboard.
- Open the Expertrec search dashboard.
- Visit the code section:
https://cse.expertrec.com/csedashboard/home/code
Copy the search code provided in your dashboard.
5. Add the Search Bar to Google Sites
Now that you have the search code, add it to your Google Site.
Step 1: Open Google Sites
Log in to your Google Sites account:
Open the website where you want to add the search bar.
Step 2: Click Insert and Embed
In the Google Sites editor:
- Open the page where you want the search bar.
- Click Insert.
- Select Embed.
- Choose the option to embed code.
Step 3: Paste the Expertrec Search Code
Copy the search code from your Expertrec dashboard.
- Paste the code into the embed code field.
- Click Next.
- Review the search preview.
- Click Insert.
Step 4: Publish Your Website Again
After adding the search bar, publish your Google Site again to make the changes available on the live website.
Open the published website and check whether the search bar appears in the correct location.
6. Test Your Google Sites Search
Once the search bar is added, test it on your published website.
Check the Following
- Does the search bar appear on the published website?
- Can users enter a search query?
- Are relevant results displayed?
- Are your published website pages included in the search results?
- Does the search work when you open the website in an incognito browser?
You can also check the following example:
For more information, visit the Expertrec site search page.
Conclusion
If Google Sites search is not working, first check whether your website is published and publicly accessible.
Make sure you use the correct published website URL instead of the editing URL. Then configure your search engine, allow your website to be crawled, and add the search code to Google Sites using the Embed option.
After publishing your changes, test the search bar on the live website to confirm that it works as expected.
Following these steps can help you add search functionality to your Google Site and make it easier for visitors to find your content.
