Traditionally, a Google search provides you with a list of individual links to explore as you search for the most relevant response to your query.
Sometimes, however, Google will provide you with a short list of links grouped together that take you to different pages of the same website. This cluster is referred to as Google Sitelinks.
What are Google Sitelinks?
Take a look at this grouping of Google Sitelinks for The Brand Brew® website:
Thanks to Sitelinks, The Brand Brew takes up a larger chunk of the search engine results pages (SERPs), and potential clients now have up to six separate links rather than just a single link like the typical Google result.
Pretty valuable, right?
Why Sitelinks Are Important
Clicks, Clicks, Clicks!
The success of your website is dependent, above all, upon users clicking through to your site. If no one visits your website, the rest doesn’t really matter, does it?
Google Sitelinks help to increase your click-through rate. When you take up more visual space in the search results page and increase your clickable links, your click-through rate improves. And we love that!
Direct Traffic to Internal Pages
Through Sitelinks, users are presented with a medley of links for your site. They can click on the result that’s most relevant to their search.
That way, your website's internal pages can receive more direct traffic than if users click on the main page and navigate from there.
Brand Awareness, Yes Please!
If there’s one thing we love here at The Brand Brew, it’s brand awareness (and tea, of course).
When Google Sitelinks presents a cluster of results for your business, users pay more attention. They learn more about your business than with a standard search result and are more likely to remember your business and what you offer.
A Show of Trust
Google doesn’t display site links for just anyone. The search engine must determine that your website is trustworthy and your content is valuable before granting you the honour of Google Sitelinks.
You should be flattered, honestly!
Google Sitelinks and SEO
Google Sitelinks are one element in the overarching world of SEO. Just like you can employ an SEO strategy to impact the placement of your website in Google’s results pages, you can take steps to optimize the appearance of those results.
1. Simplify Your Site Structure
You can’t directly control the links that Google displays in your Sitelinks, but the links are often created based on your site structure.
To increase your chances of appearing in search results with Sitelinks, be sure to:
Use Google Search Console to monitor your site's performance in SERP
Maintain a simple hierarchical website structure with no more than three levels
Replicate your site structure in your website’s main menu
Include the most essential pages of your website in your main menu
2. Heed Your Headings
Your header tags and metadata (page titles and descriptions) ought to be concise, unique, and informative. This goes hand in hand with simplifying your site structure.
By highlighting the most important aspects of your business through your structure and website menu, complemented by compact headings, you can really up your chances of landing a coveted Google Sitelinks result.
3. Create Killer Content
High-quality, relevant, and engaging content is the name of the game for improving your website’s visibility and increasing the likelihood of Sitelinks appearing in search results.
Make sure that relevant keywords are laced throughout your content, helping Google and readers alike understand what your website is all about. Don’t forget to regularly update and improve your site with fresh content (blogs, for example), as this shows Google that you’re active and relevant—plus, it keeps you at the top of your game!
4. Take Care of Technical SEO
Technical SEO is the side of SEO that optimizes your website’s infrastructure. It involves things like mobile friendliness, page loading speed, and schema markup.
Schema markup is a type of structured data that provides Google with additional context and information regarding your website. It helps Google better understand your content, which helps your chances of getting Sitelinks.
5. Integrate Internal Links
Internal linking is an element of on-page SEO, one of the four main types of SEO. It involves inserting links into your content that bring users to another page on your website – hence, internal linking.
The more internal links a given page earns, generally, the more important that page is within your website. Google knows this and uses internal linking to indicate your website’s most valuable pages, influencing the links shown within your Google Sitelinks.
6. Build High-Quality Backlinks
When it comes to backlinks, quality is key.
Backlinks—other websites that link to your website—are helpful because they show that your website is reputable and produces high-quality content. However, backlinks are only trustworthy when the source websites themselves are high-quality.
It makes sense, right? When Google sees other high-quality websites linking to your website, it’s a big green flag. The more green flags you collect, the more likely you are to snag Google Sitelinks!
Get the Most Out of Google Sitelinks
As you can see, optimizing your site for Google Sitelinks requires a multifaceted approach. It’s much more than a single button you can toggle on or off – it requires effort, expertise, time, and, frankly, a little bit of luck.
With the help of The Brand Brew®’s Website Design Experience, we can tip the scales in your favour. Book a call with us today to take the first step toward achieving Google Sitelinks and giving your business the SERP real estate it deserves.
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