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How often do you use the sitelinks search box when you Google something? If your response to that question was “What on earth is a sitelinks search box?” don’t worry—you’re not alone. In fact, Google has noticed that so few people use the tool that it’s now removing it after over ten years of service.
Google Is Removing the Sitelinks Search Box From Search Results
As announced on the Google Search Central Blog, the search giant is removing the sitelinks search box, a feature you’ve likely seen hundreds of times already but never actually used. You can see one in the image below; it’s the little box directly under the main search result that lets you look through MakeUseOf without needing to visit the website first.
Searching a website via Google’s results is a good idea on paper, but apparently, it didn’t see enough use for the tech giant to justify keeping it around. To help reduce the amount of clutter in the search results, Google has opted to axe it:
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.
The change will roll out worldwide in all languages, and Google notes that it won’t affect website rankings. There’s a good chance you won’t even notice the boxes disappear when November 21st rolls around.
If you prefer your results to be more feature-rich, check out these Chrome extensions that make Google Search far better. And if the tech giant hasn’t been giving you good results lately, now would be a good time to try alternative search engines that can find what Google can’t.