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Google is set to retire the sitelinks search box feature this November, a move driven by its decreased usage over the years. This change, which will take effect on November 21, will not impact search rankings or the display of other sitelinks.

Introduced in 2014, the sitelinks search box allowed users to search within specific sites directly from Google’s search results. It typically appeared above sitelinks for well-known brands or websites when users searched by name.

Why It’s Being Retired

Google explained that usage of the sitelinks search box has steadily declined, stating, “Over time, we’ve noticed that usage has dropped.” Given its reduced popularity, Google has decided to discontinue this feature.

What’s the Impact?

Google assures that removing the sitelinks search box will only change the appearance of search results, with no effect on a site’s search rankings or visibility. This update is strictly a visual change and will not influence a site’s ranking or other sitelinks.

Rollout Details

The update will be applied worldwide across all languages and regions. Since this is not a significant algorithm update, Google has stated that the change will not be mentioned in the Search status dashboard.

Updates to Search Tools

With the sitelinks search box removal, Google will adjust several related tools:

• The Search Console rich results report will no longer include data for the sitelinks search box.
• The Rich Results Test will stop highlighting sitelinks search box markup.

Structured Data Guidance

Although site owners can remove the sitelinks search box structured data from their sites, Google clarifies that doing so is unnecessary. Unsupported structured data won’t affect search performance or cause issues in Search Console. Notably, the ‘WebSite’ structured data, which is also used for site names, will continue to be supported.

Looking Back

Launched in 2014, the sitelinks search box was designed to help users find specific website content easily. It featured autocomplete functionality and enabled schema markup for better integration with on-site search pages.

Do Site Owners Have To Do Anything?

While no immediate changes are required for site owners, they should be aware of this update. SEO professionals may choose to monitor its impact but don’t need to take specific actions in response to this change.

Must Read: Strategies to Boost Blogger Traffic After Google Update

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