Google Sitelink for SEO: What and Why

We all want to rule Google. We want our businesses to rank at the top of the page for the search queries that are important to us. We hire one of the top SEO Companies and use different methods to achieve what we want; backlinks, intend-matching, guest posts, social representation, visual content etc. This post is not about the usual SEO tactics that you have read a hundred times in hundred different writing styles. This is about the sitelinks that appear in the Google results for the branded keywords. Let us know in detail.

What are Sitelinks?

While you search for some branded keywords like the name of a site or of a brand, the web link appears with the main link accompanied by the internal links of the website. The main result appears at the top while the rest of the links are arranged in two columns. You can see the results when we searched for the ‘Moz’ keyword online. Google assumes that for the broader queries like that, the user may not want to visit the home page. He may want to see and use the Moz products. As such, it provides an easy access to the internal links of the Moz to the searchers.

See another example. Here we have typed ‘the moz blog’ in place of ‘moz’. The result is the same website but the internal links have changed.

Makes no sense? Well, when you search for Moz, you may be looking for tools, blogs, guides etc. but when you type ‘the blog’ specifically; that means that you are here for the reading purposes. As such Google shows you the results which are more suitable to your query.

When you search for the big brands on the Google, you do not get sitelinks because your purpose is not clear to Google. Google assumes that your aim is to purchase the products and so the results are more about the online shopping sites and the news related to the product. It also generates the knowledge graph to give you a little detail about the big brand.

Why do Sitelinks matter?

Sitelinks are good for searchers as they provide a shortcut to reach the desired page without going an extra mile to the website’s homepage. Google only show the sitelinks when the website allows it to. When the web’s structure is organized and allows the algorithm to find these sitelinks, Google shows them. Sitelinks are important because they establish a good brand reputation. They increase trust and the conversions too. They can help you dominate the SERP and the rest of the results will have fewer chances to be clicked on. The internal pages which are not visited much or gets less navigational traffic will also get organic traffic if they appear on sitelinks.

While Google guides you throughout about making a good position in the search results, there is no definitive guide to generate the sitelinks. They are automated and you cannot trick them to appear for the branded query.