Demote Sitelinks: What You Can Do Today
Demote sitelinks the right way: learn why Google removed the old tool and how to handle unwanted links today.
You can no longer use a Google Search Console “demote sitelinks” tool to manually tell Google which sitelink to suppress. Sitelinks are now generated automatically, so the practical solution depends on the page: improve your site structure when the page should remain available, or remove/noindex the page when it genuinely should not appear.
Why “Demote Sitelinks” Still Comes Up
There is a slightly confusing history behind this phrase.
Google once offered a way for site owners to indicate that a particular sitelink wasn’t desirable. That feature was eventually removed, which is why older tutorials and forum answers can still tell you to look for a control that simply isn’t there anymore. Google Search Central community discussions from 2019 already documented that the demotion function had disappeared from the newer interface.
Today, Google’s documentation says sitelinks are automated. Its systems examine a site’s structure and determine which links may help someone reach useful sections more quickly.
Google does not provide a current manual control for choosing individual sitelinks.
That distinction matters because the right fix isn’t necessarily “remove the sitelink.” Sometimes the underlying page is perfectly valid, and the better approach is to make the site’s structure clearer.
What Sitelinks Actually Are
Sitelinks are additional links that can appear beneath a main result from the same website.
Imagine searching for a company by name and seeing the main homepage followed by links such as About, Pricing, Contact, or Locations. Those additional destinations are sitelinks.
Google describes them as shortcuts intended to help people reach useful parts of a site faster. They aren’t simply a list selected by the website owner.
The important part is that you don’t directly choose the final sitelinks.
Google analyzes signals such as:
- Page titles and headings
- Internal links
- Anchor text
- Overall site structure
- The relationship between important pages
- The relevance of pages to a particular query
Google specifically recommends informative, concise titles and headings, a logical site structure, relevant internal-link anchor text, and avoiding unnecessary repetition.
That gives site owners influence over the underlying structure without giving them a “pick these four links” button.
Why the Old Demote Sitelinks Tool Disappeared
The old control created the impression that site owners could curate Google’s sitelink display directly.
That is no longer how the system works.
Google’s current documentation explicitly says sitelinks are automated and notes that Google may incorporate site-owner input in the future. For now, the documented approach is to improve the structure that Google’s systems use to understand the site.
This is why searching through the current interface for a demote sitelinks setting is a dead end.
If an old article tells you to open a legacy section of Search Console and click “demote,” you’re looking at historical instructions rather than the current process.
What to Do When an Unwanted Sitelink Appears
The right solution depends on why you don’t want the page displayed.
There are two very different situations:
| Situation | Appropriate response |
| The page is useful but appears too prominently | Improve site structure and internal linking |
| The page is outdated | Update, redirect, or remove it as appropriate |
| The page has been replaced | Consider a relevant permanent redirect |
| The page should not appear in results | Use noindex or remove the page |
| The URL is temporarily causing a problem | Consider Google’s temporary removal tools |
| The page is useful and accessible but you simply dislike the sitelink | There is no current manual demotion control |
This distinction prevents a surprisingly common mistake: destroying a useful page simply because it appeared as a sitelink.
If the Page Should Stay: Improve the Site Structure
Suppose your website has these pages:
- /products
- /pricing
- /support
- /old-product
- /contact
Google repeatedly surfaces /old-product as a sitelink, but the page is still legitimate and useful.
Deleting it just to change the sitelink display could create a larger problem than the original annoyance.
Instead, examine how your website internally links to the page.
If /old-product is linked from the main navigation, footer, homepage, product pages, and several prominent articles, those relationships help communicate that the page matters.
Google recommends linking important pages from other relevant pages and using concise, relevant anchor text.
Think of internal links as signposts
A website with confusing signposts is difficult to interpret.
If five different roads point toward an old building while the new building has only one tiny sign, removing the old building’s name from a map won’t solve the underlying problem.
The same principle applies here: make the site’s actual hierarchy reflect what you want people to find.
If the Page Should Disappear: Remove or Noindex It
Sometimes the unwanted sitelink points to a page that genuinely shouldn’t be available in Google’s results.
Maybe it was created accidentally. Perhaps a discontinued service has no useful replacement. Or the page contains information that should no longer be publicly discoverable through Google.
In these cases, Google specifically recommends considering removal of the page or using noindex.
A noindex directive tells Google not to include the page in its search results, provided Google can crawl the page and process that directive.
For a page that should disappear completely, removing it may be appropriate.
If a page should not exist, fixing the page itself is usually more sensible than trying to manipulate the appearance of its sitelink.
When a 301 Redirect Makes More Sense
Consider an older product page that has been replaced by a newer version.
You don’t necessarily want the old URL to vanish without direction. Visitors may still follow old links, bookmarks, advertisements, or references.
If there is a genuine replacement, a permanent redirect can send visitors from the old URL to the relevant new destination. Google also recommends redirects as part of URL changes and site migrations when an old URL has a corresponding new location.
For example:
Old: /product-a
New: /product-a-plus
A redirect communicates that the old location has been replaced rather than simply abandoned.
By contrast, redirecting every unwanted URL to the homepage can create a confusing experience because the visitor asked for one thing and suddenly lands somewhere unrelated.
What About Google Search Console’s Removal Tool?
This is another area where terminology causes confusion.
Google provides a Removals tool for temporarily hiding a page from Google Search results. Google says removal requests generally last about six months; permanent removal requires an underlying change such as removing the content or using an appropriate blocking method.
That makes the tool useful for urgent situations, but it isn’t a replacement for the old sitelink-demotion mechanism.
Think of the distinction this way:
Sitelink problem: Google selected a page you don’t want highlighted.
Removal problem: You don’t want the page appearing in Google’s results at all.
Those are not the same problem.
Why a Sitelink Can Change Without You Doing Anything
Sitelinks aren’t fixed forever.
The same website can display different sitelinks for different searches, and the visible set can change as Google reassesses the site’s pages and relationships. Google community discussions also note that sitelinks can vary according to the query.
That means checking your own branded search once isn’t necessarily enough to understand every possible presentation.
Personalization and other contextual factors can also mean that what one person sees isn’t necessarily identical to what another person sees.
So don’t treat one screenshot as a permanent configuration.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don’t follow outdated “demote” tutorials
If a guide instructs you to find the old sitelink demotion feature in Search Console, check its publication date and compare its instructions with Google’s current documentation.
The feature was removed years ago.
Don’t delete a valuable page just because it appears
A sitelink is not inherently a problem.
If the page is useful to visitors, deleting it simply because Google selected it can make the website worse for the people you’re actually trying to serve.
Don’t use noindex casually
noindex is a powerful instruction. If you apply it to a page that should remain discoverable, you have solved the sitelink issue by creating a different issue.
First decide whether the page itself deserves to exist in Google’s results.
Don’t confuse temporary removal with permanent removal
Google’s Removals tool is designed for temporary hiding. Permanent exclusion requires an appropriate change to the page or its indexing directives.
Don’t obsess over one search result
A sitelink is only one presentation of your website.
Before making structural changes, ask a more important question: Is the underlying page actually useful, accurate, accessible, and in the right place within the site?
A Practical Decision Guide
If you’re staring at an unwanted sitelink right now, work through these questions in order:
- Is the page still useful?
If yes, don’t remove it simply because it was selected. - Is the page outdated but replaced by another page?
Consider updating it or using a relevant permanent redirect. - Should the page exist for visitors but not in Google’s results?
Consider noindex. - Should the page disappear entirely?
Remove it appropriately. - Is the page useful but poorly represented?
Review navigation, internal links, anchor text, titles, and headings. - Is the problem urgent?
Google’s Removals tool can provide temporary hiding while you address the underlying issue. - Are you simply trying to choose which sitelink Google displays?
There is currently no manual demotion control.
That last answer is often the most important one.
The Bigger Lesson Behind Sitelinks
The old demote sitelinks concept encouraged a very specific way of thinking: find the unwanted result and tell Google not to show it.
The modern approach is more structural.
Google’s systems look at the relationships between pages rather than relying on a simple owner-selected list. Its current guidance therefore focuses on clear titles, useful headings, logical navigation, meaningful internal links, and avoiding repetition.
That is actually a useful distinction for website owners.
Instead of asking, “How do I force this particular link away?” ask, “What does my website currently communicate about the importance and purpose of this page?”
That question usually leads to a better technical decision.
FAQ
Can I still demote a sitelink in Google Search Console?
No. Google no longer provides the old manual sitelink demotion feature. Sitelinks are currently generated automatically.
How do I remove an unwanted sitelink?
If the underlying page should not appear in Google’s results, Google recommends considering removing the page or using noindex. If the page should remain, improve the site’s structure rather than trying to manually demote the sitelink.
Can I choose which sitelinks Google displays?
There is currently no documented control that lets site owners manually select individual sitelinks. Google generates them automatically based on its understanding of the site’s structure and relevance.
Does deleting a page remove its sitelink immediately?
Not necessarily. Google needs to recrawl and process the change. For urgent temporary hiding, Google provides its Removals tool, while permanent removal requires an appropriate underlying change.
Is the sitelinks search box the same thing as sitelinks?
No. Google removed the sitelinks search box feature globally beginning November 21, 2024. That change did not remove the regular sitelinks shown beneath some results.
Key Takeaways
- Demote sitelinks is an outdated control rather than a current Google Search Console feature.
- Google currently generates sitelinks automatically.
- If a page is valuable, improve the site’s navigation, internal links, titles, and headings rather than deleting it.
- If a page genuinely shouldn’t appear, consider removing it or using noindex.
- Use a relevant permanent redirect when an old page has a genuine replacement.
- Google’s Removals tool is designed for temporary hiding, not permanent sitelink control.
- The old sitelinks search box was discontinued in 2024, but regular sitelinks remain.
Additional Resources
- Google Search Central, Sitelinks: Google’s official documentation explains how sitelinks are generated and provides practical guidance for improving site structure and internal links.
