Google Removes Sitelinks Search Box Documentation via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google has officially removed the sitelinks search box documentation and archived the associated ‘nositelinkssearchbox’ rule, confirming the company’s plans to retire the feature in November.

The sitelinks search box, which allowed users to perform site-specific searches directly from Google’s search results page, was introduced in 2014. However, due to declining usage, Google discontinued the feature earlier this year.

What’s Changing

Google has confirmed two documentation-related changes:

• Complete removal of the sitelinks search box documentation
• Archival of the nositelinkssearchbox rule

This update is part of Google’s initiative to keep technical documentation up-to-date by removing outdated materials.

Reasons For The Change

When initially announcing the retirement of the sitelinks search box, Google cited declining usage as the primary reason behind the decision.

“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.”

What This Means

The document removal indicates that you shouldn’t invest more time implementing or maintaining sitelinks search box functionality on your websites.

However, as previously announced, existing structured data implementations can remain in place without causing any technical issues.

“We’re saying bye to the sitelinks search box in Google Search results starting Nov 21, 2024, as usage has dropped. This doesn’t affect rankings or other sitelinks. The corresponding markup doesn’t need to be removed, but won’t be used by Google.”

For SEO professionals and website owners keeping their technical documentation up to date, this serves as a reminder to remove any internal documentation or guidelines related to the sitelinks search box feature, as it’s now fully deprecated.

Featured Image: Hamdi Ujeb Addakhil/Shutterstock

SEJ STAFF Matt G. Southern Senior News Writer at Search Engine Journal

Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer, has been with Search Engine Journal since 2013. With a bachelor’s degree in communications, ...