A Sitelinks Search Box allows users to search directly within your website or app from Google’s search results. This feature, powered by Google, provides a quick and seamless search experience by displaying a search box that is specific to your website or app.
However, Google has removed the sitelinks search box feature from its search results starting November 21, 2024. This means that websites and apps no longer have the opportunity to display this visual element in search results, and any existing sitelinks search boxes will be removed.
While the feature is no longer available, it’s worth understanding how the sitelinks search box and sitemap worked for those still looking to optimize their websites for similar functionalities.
Website:
Ensure your website has a functioning search engine that can process search queries. The search engine must support UTF-8 encoded queries, as specified in the structured data markup.
Apps:
For Android apps, refer to the Android Developer’s Search Overview to integrate the search box. Your app should be able to handle the Action_View intent from search results, which corresponds to the URL specified in the potentialAction.target property in your markup.
For websites, the structured data must be added to the homepage, even if it's a single-page site. Here’s how to proceed:
Add SearchAction markup only to the homepage.
Make sure that even if the app is the preferred search target, the SearchAction must be linked to the website.
Verify the structured data using Google’s Rich Results Test.
Ensure that the search engine’s implementation is correctly configured by testing the URL that handles the query (replacing {search_term_string} with a test search term).
Use the rel="canonical" link element on all homepage variants to prevent Google from indexing the wrong URL.
For Android apps, ensure that your markup specifies the correct URL for the app’s search handler. Follow Firebase App Indexing documentation for Android to set up the necessary intent filters.
If you don’t want the sitelinks search box to appear for your website, you can add the following metadata to your homepage:
<meta name="Google" content="nositelinksearchbox" />
This will prevent Google from displaying the search box in search results for your site.
When implementing the Sitelinks Search Box Schema, you will need to understand the properties involved in the markup:
Website: The entity representing the website.
PotentialAction: The entity that holds the URL to which the query will be sent, along with the syntax for the query. Ensure the search handler can receive and process the query.
SearchAction: This object is needed to enable search functionality for desktop and app searches. It includes the following properties:
potentialAction.@type: Specifies the type of the action.
potentialAction.query-input: The required string (search_term_string) or a placeholder.
potentialAction.target: The URL format for sending the query (search_handler_uri{search_term_string}).
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "WebSite",
"url": "https://www.yourwebsite.com/",
"potentialAction": {
"@type": "SearchAction",
"target": "https://www.yourwebsite.com/search?q={search_term_string}",
"query-input": "required name=search_term_string"
}
}
Once you’ve implemented the sitelinks search box schema (while it was still available), you could monitor its performance and troubleshoot issues using Google Search Console. Make sure to check for any errors related to the markup and verify that your search box displays correctly in search results.
While Google has removed the sitelinks search box feature as of November 21, 2024, it’s important to understand how this schema worked in the past and what you could do to optimize your website or app for similar functionalities. Even though this feature is no longer available, following best practices for search engine optimization and structured data markup remains crucial for improving user experience on your site.
Google Updated Search Quality Raters Guidelines Focusing On Spam
Top Google Discover Metrics You Should Track For Better Performance
Google Dropped Breadcrumbs From Mobile Search Results Snippets