Google
recently started to include a
set of links below some results
to pages within the site. These
new additional links are called
Sitelinks.
It seems that Google displays
Sitelinks if a web site is an
authority site for the search
term. The following screenshot
shows the first results for
a "cnn" search:
What are Google Sitelinks?
Google explains the
new links on its webmaster pages:
How do you compile the
list of links shown below
some search results?
The links shown below
some sites in our search
results, called Sitelinks,
are meant to help users
navigate your site. 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.
We only show Sitelinks
for results when we think
they'll be useful to the
user. If the structure of
your site doesn't allow
our algorithms to find good
Sitelinks, or we don't think
that the Sitelinks for your
site are relevant for the
user's query, we won't show
them.
At the moment, Sitelinks
are completely automated.
We're always working to
improve our Sitelinks algorithms,
and we may incorporate webmaster
input in the future.
How does Google calculate
Sitelinks?
Google claims that the Sitelinks
are created automatically. If
Google uses an algorithm to
calculate Sitelinks, there must
be a way to influence that algorithm.
There are several theories
on how Sitelinks are calculated:
- Google might track the number
of clicks for different results.
If a web site gets a lot of
traffic for a special keyword
then the web site will get
Sitelinks on Google's result
page.
For example, if you use a special trademark term on your web pages
that cannot be found on other web sites then many people will click
on your web site in Google's results when they search for that search
term. It's likely that your web site will get Sitelinks for such a
search term.
- The link architecture of
a web site might help. Links
at the top of the HTML source
of a web site seem to have
a better chance to be included
as Sitelinks.
- Google might use the Google
toolbar to determine Sitelinks.
The more often a page is bookmarked
the more likely it is that
these pages will be used as
Sitelinks. Google's toolbar
can collect a lot of information
about a web site.
At the moment, it's hard to
tell how Google calculates the
new Sitelinks. It's probably
a combination of click data,
toolbar data and other factors.
If you see Sitelinks for your
web site, then Google has probably
classified your web site as
an authority site for the search
term.
How does this affect your
web site?
It seems that Sitelinks are
only used for trademark searches
or searches that are similar
to trademark queries. Most search
engine result pages on Google
don't show these additional
links.
That means that it's better
to invest some time in getting
listed in Google's regular result
pages than trying to get listed
with additional Sitelinks.
Details on how to get your
web site in Google's result
pages can be found in our free
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