Google Announces Deprecation of Sitelinks Search Box Feature in Search Results

Google: It’s been over ten years since we initially announced the sitelinks search box in Google Search, and over time, we’ve noticed that usage has dropped. With that, and to help simplify the search results, we’ll be removing this visual element starting on November 21, 2024.

Google will discontinue the use of the Sitelinks Search Box feature in search results next month.

It is said that usage of this feature has dropped, and in order to simplify search results, the search box (based on structured data) will be removed.

This continues a trend we’re seeing in the SEO industry: less reliance on Google’s end on structured data, giving site owners less freedom to manipulate the look of their snippets.

In general, this is probably for the best. We saw the deprecation of FAQ-rich results not too long ago for the vast majority of sites, which we can all agree was being abused, with eCommerce-rich results now being heavily powered by Merchant Center feeds.

With the removal of a feature like the sitelinks search box, many may think that Google is doing this to make way for ads. In reality, we’re seeing a shift in the opposite direction, with ads often being placed below organic listings in many cases – giving greater prominence to organic results for branded queries.

Instead, we’re going to see more of Google testing out different algorithmic features in place of the search box. We even saw a version of this happening earlier this month. As with the deprecation of most rich result features based on structured data, Google’s advice is that there is no need to remove the markup. However, if you do, just make sure that it doesn’t impact other markup types on your site if you decide to go down that route. More details on this here.