sitelinks search box
Also called: sitelink search box, sitelinks searchbox, WebSite SearchAction schema
A sitelinks search box was a Google search feature that placed a search field inside a brand's result, letting people search that site directly from the SERP. Google removed it globally on November 21, 2024, so the WebSite/SearchAction structured data that powered it no longer does anything.
What it was, and why it is gone
The sitelinks search box launched in 2014. For big navigational brand queries, Google would sometimes render a search field directly under the top result, so someone could search inside that site without clicking through first. Site owners could influence it with WebSite structured data that declared a potentialAction of type SearchAction, pointing Google at the site’s own search URL template.
Google announced the retirement on October 21, 2024 (the “Farewell, Sitelinks Search Box” post) and removed the visual element globally, in every language and region, on November 21, 2024. The reason given was plain: “usage has dropped.” The related report left Search Console, the highlight left the Rich Results Test, and the nositelinkssearchbox robots rule was archived by late November 2024.
You do not have to rip out the old markup. Google confirmed the change does not affect rankings or any other sitelinks, and leftover SearchAction code causes no errors, it just sits unused. If you are cleaning up schema anyway, you can drop the potentialAction block while keeping the rest of your WebSite and Organization data, which still helps Google read your brand as an entity.
Treat any tool, plugin, or 2023-era guide still telling you to add a sitelinks searchbox as out of date.
How it affects your traffic
On its own, the removal cost you no traffic. The box was a convenience element, never a ranking factor, and taking it away changed no positions. The real cost is misplaced effort: chasing a dead feature, or trusting a schema plugin that still injects markup Google ignores. Sorting live signals from retired ones (which schema still earns rich results and AI citations, which Google quietly killed) is exactly the audit an SEO Consulting engagement runs, so your time goes to brand SERP control and entity signals that still move clicks.
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