If you’ve been watching your Google Search Console reports or tracking your website’s search visibility lately, you might have noticed some confusing shifts. Maybe your impressions dropped overnight. Perhaps certain rich results you were counting on have vanished. Or possibly your website just doesn’t seem to appear the same way it used to in search results.
You’re not imagining things. Over the past two years, Google has systematically removed, reduced, or replaced several search features that many business owners relied on for visibility. For party rental companies, bounce house operators, and event equipment businesses, understanding these changes matters because they directly affect how potential customers find you when searching for services in your area.
The good news? While some features have disappeared, the elements that matter most for local service businesses—particularly the Local Pack and Google Business Profile—remain strong. This guide walks through exactly what Google has removed, what’s being phased out, and the practical adjustments party rental operators should make to maintain visibility in this evolving landscape.
Why These Changes Matter for Party Rental Companies
Before diving into the specifics, it’s worth understanding why search result changes hit local service businesses differently than national brands or e-commerce sites.
When a parent searches for “bounce house rental near me” or “party tent rental for Saturday,” they’re looking for a local provider who can deliver equipment to their backyard within a specific timeframe. Unlike someone researching a product they can buy online from anywhere, your potential customers need a business that serves their geographic area, has availability on their event date, and can handle the logistics of delivery and setup.
This means certain search features—like local results, map listings, and business profiles—carry outsized importance for party rental SEO compared to features like FAQ snippets or video carousels that matter more for informational content.
Understanding what’s changed helps you avoid wasting time optimizing for features that no longer exist while doubling down on the elements that actually drive phone calls and booking requests.
Complete List of Removed Google SERP Features
FAQ Rich Results (Removed August 2023)
Perhaps the most significant removal for small businesses, Google eliminated FAQ rich results for the vast majority of websites in August 2023. These were the expandable question-and-answer dropdowns that appeared beneath search listings when websites implemented FAQ schema markup.
Previously, a party rental company might have had FAQs like “What’s included in bounce house rental?” or “Do you deliver on weekends?” displaying directly in search results, giving their listing significantly more visual real estate than competitors.
Google now reserves FAQ rich results exclusively for “well-known, authoritative government and health websites.” For everyone else—including party rental businesses—those FAQ dropdowns no longer appear regardless of whether you have the schema markup implemented.
What this means for your business: If you spent time adding FAQ schema to your website specifically to get those expandable results in Google, that effort no longer produces visible search results. However, keeping FAQ content on your actual pages still provides value for visitors who land on your site, and other search engines like Bing may still display this markup.
HowTo Rich Results (Removed September 2023)
Shortly after limiting FAQ results, Google completely removed HowTo rich results—the step-by-step instructional panels that displayed for how-to content. Initially restricted to desktop only in August 2023, Google eliminated them entirely the following month.
For party rental companies, this affected content like “How to Set Up a Canopy Tent” or “How to Anchor a Bounce House Safely.” While this type of educational content remains valuable for your website visitors, it no longer receives special visual treatment in Google search results.
Sitelinks Search Box (Removed November 2024)
Google officially retired the sitelinks search box on November 21, 2024. This was the search field that sometimes appeared beneath prominent websites in search results, allowing users to search within that specific site directly from Google.
For most party rental companies, this removal has minimal impact since this feature primarily appeared for large websites with extensive content. However, if you noticed this disappearing from your branded searches, now you know why.
Google cited declining usage as the primary reason: “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.”
Indented Results (Removed September 2024)
Google removed the visual indentation that used to show multiple pages from the same website grouped together in search results. Previously, if your site had several relevant pages for a query, Google might display them stacked with the secondary results indented beneath the primary one.
This subtle change means individual pages now compete more directly with each other in results rather than being visually grouped. For party rental websites with multiple service pages—perhaps separate pages for bounce houses, tents, tables, and chairs—each page now stands alone in search results without that visual association.
Video Thumbnails (Significantly Reduced April 2023)
Google dramatically reduced when video thumbnails appear in search results. Previously, if your page embedded a video, Google would often show a video thumbnail in your search listing, making it visually stand out. Now, video thumbnails only appear when video is the primary content of the page—not when it’s supplementary content.
A party rental company that embedded a YouTube video showing bounce house setup on their rental page would have previously seen that video thumbnail in search results. That thumbnail no longer appears because the video isn’t the main content—it’s supplementary to the rental information.
The num=100 Parameter (Disabled September 2025)
This technical change primarily affected SEO professionals and tracking tools rather than business owners directly, but it created significant confusion industry-wide. Google disabled the ability to view more than 10 search results per page, which was primarily used by ranking tools to track where websites appeared in search results.
If you noticed sudden drops in your SEO tool dashboards in September 2025, this change may have caused apparent visibility losses that don’t reflect actual ranking changes. Your actual position in search results likely hasn’t changed—the tools simply lost access to tracking data beyond the top 10 positions.
Features Being Displaced or Reduced
Beyond outright removals, several features are being progressively reduced as Google expands AI-generated content:
Featured Snippets Declining Rapidly
Featured snippets—the prominent answer boxes that appeared at position zero in search results—are being systematically replaced by AI Overviews. Industry data shows featured snippets dropped from appearing in roughly 15% of searches in January 2025 to just 5-6% by mid-year, a decline of over 60%.
For party rental businesses, featured snippets were never a primary traffic driver since most customers search with local intent rather than informational queries. However, if you created content specifically targeting featured snippet opportunities, understand that this strategy yields diminishing returns.
Discussions and Forums Reduced
Google has scaled back visibility for the Discussions and Forums SERP feature—which prominently displayed Reddit threads and Quora answers—in favor of increased People Also Ask boxes. This shift affects businesses differently depending on whether their industry had active online communities discussing their services.
Video Results Declining in Commercial Searches
For product-related and service searches, video carousels are appearing less frequently than in previous years. Google is increasingly favoring image-heavy results and AI-generated summaries over video content for commercial queries. If you invested heavily in video content for SEO purposes, this reduced prominence may affect your return on that investment.
What Remains Strong for Local Businesses
Here’s the reassuring news for party rental operators: the search features that matter most for local service businesses remain robust and are even gaining importance.
Local Pack Results
The three-pack of local business results with the map continues to appear prominently for location-based searches. When someone searches “party rentals near me” or “bounce house rental [city name],” the Local Pack typically dominates above-the-fold visibility.
This feature appears in over 90% of searches with local intent and remains largely unaffected by AI Overviews. Google still prioritizes showing local business options when searchers clearly want services in their area.
Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile has become more important, not less, as other features disappear. With fewer opportunities for rich results and featured snippets, the Local Pack and your business profile represent your primary path to prominent visibility.
People Also Ask
PAA boxes continue appearing frequently and even increasing in prominence. These expandable question boxes can drive traffic when your content answers questions potential customers commonly ask.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Panicking Over Dashboard Drops
The September 2025 technical changes caused many SEO dashboards to show dramatic visibility losses that don’t reflect actual ranking changes. If your tracking tools showed sudden drops but your actual phone calls and website traffic remain stable, the tools are likely reflecting data access changes rather than ranking losses.
Before making drastic changes to your website or SEO strategy, compare Search Console impressions and clicks to your actual business metrics like calls and booking requests.
Continuing to Optimize for Removed Features
Some businesses continue investing time in FAQ schema implementation or HowTo content specifically designed to trigger rich results that no longer exist. While this content can still help your website visitors, don’t expect it to provide enhanced search visibility.
Redirect that effort toward elements that still deliver visible results: your Google Business Profile, review generation, local content, and service page optimization.
Ignoring AI Overview Optimization
As AI Overviews expand, appearing in these summaries becomes a new form of visibility. Content that clearly answers common questions, uses natural language, and demonstrates expertise has better chances of being cited in AI-generated responses.
Neglecting Your Google Business Profile
With fewer paths to search visibility, your GBP carries more weight than ever. Incomplete profiles, outdated information, or lack of recent photos and posts represent missed opportunities that matter more now than when multiple other features provided visibility.
Practical Steps for Party Rental Businesses
Prioritize Google Business Profile Optimization
Complete every available field in your profile. Add all services you offer—bounce houses, water slides, tents, tables, chairs, concession equipment. Specify your service areas down to specific cities and neighborhoods. Upload quality photos showing your equipment at actual events. Post weekly updates about availability, seasonal offerings, or company news.
Businesses with fully optimized profiles appear in Local Pack results significantly more often than those with basic listings.
Focus on Review Generation
With fewer SERP features providing visibility, the elements that differentiate your listing matter more. Reviews remain one of the strongest trust signals for both Google’s algorithm and potential customers.
Implement a simple system for requesting reviews after successful events. A text message the day after an event thanking the customer and including your Google review link consistently outperforms email requests.
Create Location-Specific Service Pages
Rather than one generic “Service Area” page, create individual pages for each city or neighborhood you serve. “Bounce House Rental in [City Name]” pages with unique content about serving that area perform better than generic regional pages.
Include specific details: mention local parks where you’ve delivered, reference local event venues, discuss delivery logistics for that area. This specificity signals relevance both to Google and to potential customers.
Build Content That Answers Real Questions
The questions parents ask before booking haven’t changed even as SERP features have shifted. Create clear content addressing common concerns: safety measures, weather policies, what happens if equipment fails, cancellation terms, what’s included in the rental price.
This content may not trigger fancy search features, but it converts visitors into customers and signals expertise that helps across all search elements.
Update Schema Markup Strategy
While FAQ and HowTo schema no longer produce visible results, LocalBusiness schema remains important for Google’s understanding of your business. Ensure your schema markup accurately reflects your business type, service area, hours, and contact information.
Monitor What Actually Matters
Stop obsessing over ranking position numbers and start tracking what drives business: phone calls from Google, direction requests, website contact form submissions, and actual bookings. These metrics tell you whether your visibility is generating business regardless of which SERP features are appearing.
Looking Ahead: What Party Rental Businesses Should Watch
The search landscape continues shifting rapidly. Google’s AI Overviews are expanding and will likely increasingly affect how local business results are displayed. Testing shows Google experimenting with AI summaries for local queries that could eventually modify how the Local Pack appears.
However, local businesses have built-in advantages that informational websites don’t share. Google cannot AI-summarize away the need for a local company to physically deliver a bounce house to someone’s backyard. The fundamental intent behind local service searches requires connecting people with nearby businesses that can fulfill their needs.
Staying informed about search changes helps you adapt, but the fundamentals of good local SEO remain consistent: maintain accurate business information everywhere it appears online, earn positive reviews from satisfied customers, create helpful content that demonstrates your expertise, and make it easy for potential customers to contact you and book services.
The party rental businesses that thrive through these changes are those that focus on serving customers well while maintaining their online presence, rather than those chasing every new search feature or panicking over each Google update.
The Bottom Line
Google’s removal of FAQ rich results, HowTo snippets, sitelinks search boxes, and other features represents a significant simplification of search results—but not necessarily a negative development for local service businesses.
The features that drove phone calls and bookings for party rental companies were always the Local Pack, Google Business Profile, and organic search results. Those remain intact. The removed features primarily affected informational content and national brands competing for attention across broader audiences.
For bounce house rental operators, party tent companies, and event equipment businesses, the practical path forward involves doubling down on local SEO fundamentals: a complete and active Google Business Profile, consistent positive reviews, location-specific content, and a website that clearly communicates your services, coverage area, and booking process.
The search results page looks different than it did two years ago. Your strategy for appearing prominently in it should evolve accordingly—not toward complexity, but toward focusing resources on the elements that actually connect you with customers ready to book party rentals in your area.
