X-Cart:Rich Google Search Results

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This article is a draft.

Overview

What Rich Google Search Results does?

Rich Google Search Results module allows to display products on a web search results page in an enhanced format which is more convenient and intuitive for customers. The extension adjusts your site in the way which will allow pages to display the following data right on the search results pages as soon as it’s indexed by a web search engine:

  • breadcrumbs
  • whether review is available for the product
  • precise product price or a range of prices if product has options
  • availability of the product

Why Rich Google Search Results?

Compare these two screenshots:

The first snapshot is taken from the Google search results without the add-on installed:

Poor snippet.png

Now compare it with a screenshot taken as soon as the module is installed and your store pages are indexed by Google search bot:

Rich snippet.png

As you can see the search result has been considerably changed and it’s looking more attractive to customer. It is needless to say that if customers see useful and relevant information from the page, they are more likely to click through.

Key points of Rich Google Search Results module?

  • Path to your store page is displayed as a chain of breadcrumbs instead of a simple URL
  • Product price is shown directly at the search results page
  • If your product has any options or variants that modify the product's price, it will be shown as a range of the prices
  • Customer star rating is shown directly on the search results page
  • Indicates whether reviews are available for the product

This module focused on to meet the Google requirements at the first place, but it uses the schema.org format of data and this data is understood by other search engines as well.

System requirements

To be able to successfully install and use Rich Google Search Results module you must have a working copy of X-Cart Gold or X-Cart Pro version 4.1.0 or higher already installed on your server. Make sure that the version of the module is the same as the version of the installed copy of X-Cart.

Note: If you do not remember the version of X-Cart on which your store is based, you can look it up in the Environment info section of the Summary page in X-Cart Admin area.

Versions of module for X-Cart 4.2.3 and lower does not support star rating that is why they do not display this information in search results. In order to enable star rating you might want to use Advanced Customer Reviews X-Cart module.

Installation

The instructions on how to install the Rich Google Search Results module are the same both for X-Cart Gold and X-Cart Pro.

Installation for X-Cart 4.4.x - 4.5.x

To install the module for X-Cart 4.4.x - 4.5.x: 1. Obtain a distribution package for the Rich Google Search Results add-on module by downloading it from the File Area section of your Qualiteam Account. The distribution package you need is contained in the archive file x-rich-gsearch-results-x.y.z.tgz where x, y andz are the version numbers of the module. Make sure the version of the module is the same as the version of the installed X-Cart.

2. Put the distribution package to the X-Cart root directory on your server or hosting account.

If you use a Windows-based server, or a UNIX-based server without terminal access:

a) Decompress the archive with the Rich Google Search Results distribution package to a directory on your system using your favorite compression program (WinZIP or any other archiver with support for TAR files).

b) Use an FTP client to upload all the files contained in the archive (retaining the directory structure) to the X-Cart root directory on your server or your hosting account.

If you use a UNIX-based server with terminal access:

a) Use an FTP client to upload the archive with the distribution package to the X-Cart root directory on your server or your hosting account.

b) Decompress the package using the following commands. 

tar -xzvf x-rich-gsearch-results-x.y.z.tgz
Important: After you have uninstalled X-ProductNotifications, be sure to remove the X-ProductNotifications distribution package from your web directory as well.

3. In a web browser, run the installation script httр://<YOUR_XCART_DOMAIN>/install-rich-gsearch-results.php replacing the variable <YOUR_XCART_DOMAIN> with the true name of the domain where X-Cart is installed.

4. Enter the Auth code, accept the License Agreement and click the Next button.

Note: The Auth code is a random code that was generated after you installed your copy of X-Cart. If you do not remember the Auth code, find it on the Summary page in X-Cart Admin area before the License info subsection. Another way to know the code is to retrieve the value of the variable $installation_auth_code from the file <xcart_dir>include/install.php.

5. The installation script patches the files and activates the module. Click the Next button to continue the installation.

Note: if you are using custom skin, you will need to manually apply the patches to it. Otherwise, the module will not work in this skin.

6. The installation script generates a new system fingerprint. Click the Next button to complete the installation.

7. Use the ADMINISTRATOR AREA link to log in to the Admin area.

Installation for X-Cart 4.1.12, 4.2.3, 4.3.2

To install the module for X-Cart 4.1.12, 4.2.3 or 4.3.2:

1. Obtain a distribution package for the Rich Google Search Results add-on module by downloading it from the File Area section of your X-Cart Account. The distribution package you need is contained in the archive file x-rich-gsearch-results-x.y.z-without-installer.tgz where x, y and z are the version numbers of the module. Make sure the version of the module is the same as the version of the installed copy of X-Cart. 2. Put the distribution package to some directory on your server or hosting account (it can be not X-Cart directory)

If you use a Windows-based server, or a UNIX-based server without terminal access:

a) Decompress the archive with the Rich Google Searh Results distribution package to a directory on your system using your favorite compression program (WinZIP or any other archiver with support for TAR files).

b) Use an FTP client to upload all the files contained in the archive (retaining the directory structure) to the X-Cart root directory on your server or your hosting account.

If you use a UNIX-based server with terminal access:

a) Use an FTP client to upload the archive with the distribution package to the X-Cart root directory on your server or your hosting account.

b) Decompress the package using the following commands. tar -xzvf x-rich-gsearch-results-x.y.z.tgz

Important: Make sure you keep the directory structure while unpacking and uploading the distribution package, otherwise some necessary files can be overwritten!

3. In the directory find the 'INSTALL.X-RICH-GOOGLE-SEARCH-RESULTS' document and use instructions from this file in order to manually install the module.

Enabling and Configuring

To begin using the module:

1. Enable Rich Google Search Results module (Settings menu->Modules).

When the module is enabled, you can see the Rich Google Search Results section in General settings->Modules section.

2. Adjust the module settings via General settings/Modules->Rich Google Search Results.

Rgsr settings.png
  • Code of your primary currency: 3-letter currency code according to ISO 4217.
  • Use Star rating instead of Socialize Like button: This setting allows to use default Customer Reviews star rating even though Socialize module is enabled. Socialize’s Facebook comments will keep working.

3. Click the Save button.

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