Google is officially retiring the Sitelinks Search Box feature. This means that the handy search bar that used to appear under certain search results snippets for specific websites will no longer be available starting November 21, 2024.
The Sitelinks Search Box, introduced over a decade ago, revolutionized the way users interacted with search results. This innovative feature allowed users to seamlessly transition from Google Search to a specific website or app’s internal search function. By providing real-time suggestions and other helpful features, the Sitelinks Search Box streamlined the search process, saving users time and effort.
According to Google, the decision to remove the Sitelinks Search Box is due to declining usage. Over time, the company noticed a significant drop in how often users utilized this feature. To simplify the search results interface, Google has determined that removing the Sitelinks Search Box is the best course of action.
It’s important to note that this change does not affect your website’s search rankings or the regular sitelinks that may appear below your search results. The removal of the Sitelinks Search Box will not be reflected in your Search Console status dashboard.
Google has also announced that it will be removing the Search Console rich results report specifically for Sitelinks Search Box and will no longer highlight the associated markup in the Google Rich Results Test. If you currently have sitelinks search box structured data on your website, Google advises that you don’t need to remove it. Unsupported structured data will not cause any issues in Search and won’t trigger errors in Search Console reports.
While the Sitelinks Search Box provided a convenient way for users to search within your website directly from Google Search, its removal might have some implications for your users. If you believe that your users benefited significantly from this feature, you may want to consider making your website’s internal search functionality more prominent and accessible.