Google has announced that the sitelinks search box feature, which has been in place for a decade, will be deprecated starting November 21, 2024. The decision is a result of decreased usage over time and aims to simplify search results. Google stated, '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.' This feature, while sometimes helpful, has not met user search criteria.
The global rollout of this update will affect all search results regardless of language or country. Google emphasized that 'This update will roll out globally across all search results, in all languages and countries,' meaning all users will see the removal of the sitelinks search box by the specified date.
Google clarified that this change will not impact normal sitelinks, rankings, or the Search status dashboard, stating, 'This doesn't affect rankings or sitelinks otherwise, and won't be listed in the Search status dashboard.' This reassures webmasters that other aspects of their search performance remain unaffected.
In addition to removing the visual sitelinks search box, Google is also planning to eliminate the Search Console rich results report for this feature. They noted, 'Once we stop showing sitelinks search box elements in Search, we'll remove the Search Console rich results report for it,' allowing webmasters to understand the implications of this transition for structured data.
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