What is a Site Link SERP feature on Google?
A Site Link SERP (Search Engine Results Page) feature on Google consists of additional links that appear below the main URL of a search result. These links point to specific pages within the same website, providing users with quick access to important sections of the site. Site links are typically displayed for branded searches and are designed to enhance the user experience by simplifying navigation and delivering relevant information quickly.
Image source: Google Search Central
Benefits for organic site visibility
Gaining a Site Link SERP feature offers several benefits for organic site visibility:
Increased click-through rate (CTR): Site links occupy more real estate on the SERP, making the main result more prominent and increasing the likelihood of clicks. Plus, the areas of a site included within the Site Link feature, may be closer to the user's intent.
Improved user experience: By providing direct links to important pages, site links help users find the information they need more quickly, enhancing their overall experience on your site.
Enhanced brand visibility: Site links can push down competing results, ensuring that more of the visible space on the SERP is occupied by your website.
Boosted traffic to site pages: Relevant pages can see an increase in traffic if they appear as site links on more popular pages. Site links, closely matching user intent, can encourage more clicks by taking up more real estate.
Reduced bounce rate: By directing users to the most relevant pages, site links can help reduce bounce rates and increase user engagement.
Top page optimisation actions for Site Link SERP feature visibility
To improve your chances of gaining visibility in the Site Link SERP feature, consider implementing the following actions:
1. Optimise website architecture
Ensure your website has a logical and intuitive structure, such as category and subcategory pages. Group topically related content together and organise these groups in a clear hierarchy. For example, if your site is for a pet supply company, you might have a main category for dog supplies with subcategories for dog food, dog accessories, dog medicine, and so on.
Highlight your most important pages to make it easier for Google’s algorithms to identify and display relevant site links.
2. Implement breadcrumb schema markup (structured data)
Structured data is a strong signal of additional information, telling Google what your page is about. Therefore, add breadcrumb schema markup to your content to help Google understand the hierarchy of your pages and their relationships.
Here is an example of breadcrumb schema:
{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Example Home", "item": "https://example.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Dog Supplies", "item": "https://example.com/dog-supplies" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dog Food", }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Dog Accessories", } ] } |
3. Utilise breadcrumb navigation
Breadcrumb navigations often appear at the top of a page, providing a clear path of navigation for both users and search engines to understand your site’s structure and hierarchy.
Implementing breadcrumbs can improve the chances of your pages being selected as site links by making the site’s structure more transparent.
4. Implement internal linking with relevant anchor text
Internal links help search engines understand the relationship between your pages.
You should include internal links to other relevant pages on your site, using descriptive anchor texts for these links to provide context.
Because internal linking can help Google understand your site's hierarchy, it can influence which pages are chosen as site links.
5. Use descriptive and relevant page titles and headings
Ensure that your page titles and headings are informative, relevant, and concise. This helps Google understand the content and importance of each page, increasing the likelihood of those pages being selected as site links.
Include relevant keywords in your page using formatted HTML headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.).
6. Create and submit an XML sitemap
An XML sitemap helps Google to find and index your site’s pages more efficiently. Most content management systems (CMS) can generate an XML sitemap automatically.
Submit this sitemap through Google Search Console to ensure Google is aware of all the pages you want indexed, and, more importantly, their hierarchical relationships for site link placements.
By following these optimisation actions, you can enhance your website’s structure and content, thereby increasing the likelihood of gaining valuable Site Link SERP features on Google.