Google sitelinks sometimes appear under a website in Google's search results. When you do a search Google doesn't know what you are looking for. If you search for "boston chicken" are you looking for a menu, hours of operation, or something else? Google may show you BostonChicken.com with links underneath for menu, operating hours, contact us, or something else.
Google sitelinks are important for many reasons. Here are a few:
- Sitelinks imply validation, in other words, Google thinks you are important enough to show extra links to your site, so I'm probably better off clicking there;
- Sitelinks make it easier for searchers to find the content they are seeking by going to your site instead of someone else's;
- Sitelinks take up space on the screen and push your competitors down further "beneath the fold";
- The more links in search engine results that point to your page as a percentage of all links on the page, the higher the probability people will click on a link to your site. This is why we always recommend a pay-per-click campaign in addition to search engine optimization.
So how EXACTLY do you get sitelinks? Well, the answer is top secret, only Google knows for sure and for sure they aren't telling. However, a lot of people have been putting effort into figuring it out and we know some definite DO's and things that will improve your chances. Here are some things you should be doing to increase the odds that you'll get sitelinks.
- Create links in your home page. Make sure to have 5-8 links on your home page that point directly to the content you want to show up in site links. Keep these links having brief anchor text, like "download", or "menu", or "hours of operation". Sitelinks are generated from links in your home page.
- Put the links in <ul> tags. Here's a personal observation: I looked at a lot of sites that had site links and searched the source code to their pages. It's no guarantee, but putting your links in an unordered list seems to make a big difference, and this makes sense. A lot of websites make their navigation by using CSS combined with ul tags to make menus. If I were a Google programmer trying to figure out which links on the page were pointing to the top level, most important pages of a site, I'd look in here too.
- Have a sitemap. Make sure the pages linked to from step 1 are included in a sitemap and are indexed. If the pages they link to aren't indexed then they won't get sitelinks.
- Get good search engine placement. You won't get sitelinks unless your site shows up on the top of the results page. If Google doesn't think you're important then you're not likely to get sitelinks. Also, as search engine placement varies over time, your sitelinks may appear, disappear, and reappear.
- Be patient. Anything you do is going to take time to have an effect. The general consensus in the SEO community is that there is a software job that updates sitelinks, so you'll have to wait until that completes before you can show up in sitelinks. Not only that but sitelinks generally do not appear for sites that are new. In general Google offers some preference for sites that have been around a while.
- Don't delete them. When you get sitelinks, you can edit them somewhat using Google webmaster tools. You can delete them, but you can't replace them. If you don't like the sitelinks Google generates for you, do a permanent redirect on the old pages to a new URL.
Here are some links with great information on sitelinks and I recommend them for additional reading if you'd like to learn more on this subject:
Google Webmaster Central Help: Sitelinks the first authority on Google is Google, so always start by reading their online help. In this case, it's not THAT helpful but as a rule of thumb lets always start at the source.
Google sitelinks: The Ultimate FAQ by Christian Mezei, search engine marketing consultant
Google Webmaster Central: Sitelinks, Historical Query Stats, and Surprises by Vanessa Fox, former head of Google Webmaster Central
How to get Google Site Links for your Site by SearchEnginePromotionHelp.com.
How to get Google Sitelinks for your Website by Danielzev.
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