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Monday, October 21, 2024
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.
(Search result showing a sitelinks search box)
This change will apply globally across all search results, in all languages and countries.
This doesn't affect rankings or the other sitelinks
visual element, and won't be listed in the Search status dashboard.
Once we stop showing sitelinks search box elements in Search, we'll remove the
Search
Console rich results report for it and stop highlighting the markup in the
Rich Results Test.
While you can remove
sitelinks search box structured data
from your site, there's no need to do so.
Unsupported structured data like this won't cause issues in Search, and won't trigger errors in
Search Console reports.
If you decide to remove sitelinks search box structured data, note that
site names also uses a
variation of WebSite structured data, which continues to be supported.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle will be removing the sitelinks search box visual element from search results starting November 21, 2024, due to declining usage.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThis change is global and won't impact search rankings or other sitelinks visual elements, nor will it be reflected in the Search status dashboard.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe Search Console rich results report and Rich Results Test highlighting for sitelinks search boxes will be removed after the visual element is discontinued.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWhile unnecessary, removing sitelinks search box structured data from your site won't cause issues, but be aware that site names also use similar structured data that remains supported.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Google will remove the sitelinks search box visual element from search results globally, starting November 21, 2024, due to decreased usage. This change won't impact rankings or other sitelinks, and will be removed from Search Console reports and the Rich Results Test. While users can remove sitelinks search box structured data, it's not required, as unsupported data won't cause issues. Site names which use `WebSite` structured data, remain supported.\n"],null,["Monday, October 21, 2024\n\n\nIt's been over ten years since we initially announced the\n[sitelinks search box in Google Search](/search/blog/2014/09/improved-sitelinks-search-box),\nand over time, we've noticed that usage has dropped. With that, and to help simplify the search\nresults, we'll be removing this visual element starting on November 21, 2024.\n\n\n(Search result showing a sitelinks search box)\n\n\nThis change will apply globally across all search results, in all languages and countries.\nThis doesn't affect rankings or the [other sitelinks\nvisual element](/search/docs/appearance/sitelinks), and won't be listed in the Search status dashboard.\nOnce we stop showing sitelinks search box elements in Search, we'll remove the\n[Search\nConsole rich results report](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7552505) for it and stop highlighting the markup in the\n[Rich Results Test](https://search.google.com/test/rich-results).\n\n\nWhile you can remove\n[sitelinks search box structured data](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/sitelinks-searchbox)\nfrom your site, there's no need to do so.\nUnsupported structured data like this won't cause issues in Search, and won't trigger errors in\nSearch Console reports.\nIf you decide to remove sitelinks search box structured data, note that\n[site names](/search/docs/appearance/site-names#add-structured-data) also uses a\nvariation of `WebSite` structured data, which continues to be supported.\n\n\nIf you have any questions, feel free to drop by our\n[Search Central help community](https://goo.gle/sc-forum), or\nping us on [social media](https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/googlesearchcentral/).\n\n\nPosted by [John Mueller](/search/blog/authors/john-mueller), Search Advocate, Google Switzerland"]]
