We get asked this at least once a week by clients or prospects “where do the links under the first Google result come from?”, or “how do I get Sitelinks to show up for my site?”. So we decided to give our readers a resource guide for Sitelinks to answer some of the questions they may have about the Google feature.
What are Google Sitelinks?
In 2005 Google started experimenting with an enhanced listing in their natural search results that can increase a site’s visibility by utilizing space below the #1 listing in the search results. The links shown below some of Google’s organic search results, called Sitelinks, are meant to help users navigate your site. Where did the “Sitelinks” name come from? On September 7, 2006, Google’s sitemap guru, Vanessa Fox, wrote a blog entry titled “Information about Sitelinks” in which she explained this new feature.
Where do Google Sitelinks Come From?
The Sitelinks are determined by a Google algorithm and takes the following into account when determining which links to show as Sitelinks.
Our systems analyze the link structure of your site to find shortcuts that will save users time and allow them to quickly find the information they’re looking for. – Google
These links usually show up for focused brand related keywords (usually just primary brand name). What we have seen are these links are often based off user metrics such as click through rate, combined with a small amount of traditional SEO metrics such as links into the page. How do you get Sitelinks to show up for your website? Below you will find some best practices for doing it, but ultimately it is defined by the Google Algorithm for Sitelinks.
- Having navigation that is intuitive for site visitors
- Create a sitemap and submit it to major search engines
- Add useful titles and META descriptions to the site to improve click through rates from the SERPs.
- Use descriptive anchor text for internal linking
- Site age is several years or older
- High click through rates from the search results page
- Useful outbound links
- Minimize use of Adobe Flash, pages with a lot of images, or dynamically generated content
- Keep important pages within several clicks from the homepage.
Can You Add Links To Google Sitelinks?
Currently the Sitelinks in Google are defined based on an algorithm. There are many speculations as to how Google defines what links will be “valuable” enough to add to a sites Google listing.
August 16, 2011 said the Sitelinks will now be “full-size links with a URL and one line of snippet text.” The links and snippets will be very similar to the standard regular results, which Google says makes “it even easier to find the section of the site you want.” Plus, Google is upping the number of Sitelinks from eight to twelve Sitelinks for these queries.
Google also recently (August 16, 2011) made “a significant improvement to our algorithms by combining Sitelink ranking with regular result ranking to yield a higher-quality list of links.” Google said this “reduces link duplication and creates a better organized search results page.”
How To Edit Google Sitelinks?
Google Sitelinks, as mentioned above, can not be added to. There is an area inside of your Google Webmaster Tools (GWT) where you can tell Google that you don’t want a link they have chosen, to appear in your Sitelinks.
- In Google WMT’s click on the site you want to edit the Sitelinks for.
- Click on site configuration (in the left hand nav). This will expand the left nav and expose a link to “Sitelinks”.
- Click on the Sitelinks link which will bring you to the WMT page that shows the Sitelinks that Google has chosen for your site.
- From this page you can block pages from showing in Sitelinks. This is not an instant removal and can take some time to go live. Also note that this will stay in affect for 90 days, so you will have to go back in after that and block the page again.
Benefits of Google Sitelinks
- Your listing is clicked on more often. This is a debated fact and does not apply to all types of pages that Google selects for the Sitelinks program.
- You occupy more “shelf space” on the search results page.
- The majority of sites don’t have Sitelinks. This makes your site stand out even more.
- You get more traffic to internal pages since Sitelinks naturally point to interior pages.
- Users get exposed to more information about your company.
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