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

Google has officially removed the sitelinks hunt container documentation and archived the associated ‘nositelinkssearchbox’ rule, confirming the company’s plans to discontinue the diagnostic successful November.

The sitelinks hunt box, which allowed users to execute site-specific searches straight from Google’s hunt results page, was introduced successful 2014. However, owed to declining usage, Google discontinued the diagnostic earlier this year.

What’s Changing

Google has confirmed 2 documentation-related changes:

• Complete removal of the sitelinks hunt container documentation
• Archival of the nositelinkssearchbox rule

This update is portion of Google’s inaugural to support method documentation up-to-date by removing outdated materials.

Reasons For The Change

When initially announcing the status of the sitelinks hunt box, Google cited declining usage arsenic the superior crushed down the decision.

“It’s been implicit 10 years since we initially announced the sitelinks hunt container successful Google Search, and implicit time, we’ve noticed that usage has dropped. With that, and to assistance simplify the hunt results, we’ll beryllium removing this ocular constituent starting connected November 21, 2024.”

What This Means

The papers removal indicates that you shouldn’t put much clip implementing oregon maintaining sitelinks hunt container functionality connected your websites.

However, arsenic antecedently announced, existing structured information implementations tin stay successful spot without causing immoderate method issues.

“We’re saying bye to the sitelinks hunt container successful Google Search results starting Nov 21, 2024, arsenic usage has dropped. This doesn’t impact rankings oregon different sitelinks. The corresponding markup doesn’t request to beryllium removed, but won’t beryllium utilized by Google.”

For SEO professionals and website owners keeping their method documentation up to date, this serves arsenic a reminder to region immoderate interior documentation oregon guidelines related to the sitelinks hunt container feature, arsenic it’s present afloat deprecated.

Featured Image: Hamdi Ujeb Addakhil/Shutterstock

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

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