One question many people have when trying to optimize their web presence is whether It is a good question because many people do not understand what sitelinks are, how they work or a sitelink can give customers quick access to multiple pages on a business’ website.
The following is a summary of sitelinks and why they may make sense for you.
What Are Sitelinks?
Sitelinks are the words and links you choose directly or the data you use on your website that Google picks up on that gives customers quick access to commonly selected pages on your website. They are natural promotional strategies that anyone selling something on the internet should capitalize on, regardless of whether they are focused on organic sitelinks or sitelink extensions.
Here are some reasons why.
AdWords Sitelink Extension
These are a service provided by Google AdWords that build additional sublinks that starts downloading instantly when clicked on. A sitelink extension gives customers conducting search campaigns quick access to specific pages of an advertiser’s website. The sitelink extension appears as a single line of keywords.
These have no relationship with the organic Google sitelinks that are part of your normal internet search results.
Organic Google Sitelink
These are links that appear under some Google Search results that have information a Google algorithm has determined is relevant to your website. So, for instance, under a company’s website, advertisers use sitelinks to highlight popular destinations, such as “Store Hours,” “Find a Store,” “Find Parts & Products,” “Login,” “Make an Appointment,” etc.
Like the extensions, when customers click on a sitelink it provides quick access to multiple pages within a website. While you cannot choose the link words, you can use structured data to oriented towards the Google sitelink algorithm.
Why Use Sitelinks?
There are several reasons to use either kind of sitelink to make it easier to get to the pages of an advertiser’s website.
Expanded, Easier Access
Through relevant ads with sitelinks, you can tailor your ad messages to entice customers to visit your website. Clicking on a sitelink that immediately starts downloading and gives customers quick access to information like store hours or ongoing sales versus performing a Google or Bing ads search and then having to search on the advertiser’s website for the right page.
Plus, since advertisers create multiple sitelinks to specific pages with different information, a sitelink is an easy way to provide customers quick access to multiple pages.
To Showcase Customer Reviews
High-quality survey data and customer reviews are a great form of free advertising. An advertiser can use sitelinks to showcase customer reviews leading to a higher conversion rate. By tailoring an attention-getting ad message with high-quality survey data or direct reviews, you can increase your customers’ click rate just by showing how popular you are with existing customers.
To Prompt an Action
The goal of any marketing campaign is to entice a customer or customers to take a specific action or series of actions. Sitelinks can send interested customers to multiple pages that prompt a customer to take an action. For example, one page might prompt joining a subscriber list, another might move a customer to buy a product.
Streamline Contact Information
When a customer visits a site to get contact information, finding it can be a hassle and even prompt someone to stop looking. Sitelinks can make getting to contact information easy, saving the customer time and potentially saving you a customer.
More Responsive Customer Service
A direct link improves how customers feel about your business. More options that are instantly available add to that good feeling. By providing pertinent information to your customers via sitelinks, you can enhance their experience, which makes them feel good about you. That can lead directly to sales.
Better Ad Performance
More options for customers to get to your site or a part of your site increases your clickthrough rate, especially if you tailor your sitelinks to what customers indicate, by surveys or actions, want to see. That will prompt more potential customers to give your site a look, which will lead to more sales.
Enhanced Reputation
Web searchers tend to view sponsored content with suspicion. It resembles spam or can come across as less than legitimate. Many customers do not even give it a second look. Sitelinks lead to pertinent information, which tends to add credibility to a site.
Higher Visibility
A list of websites is not very enticing in terms of advertising pop. Businesses can get lost in the crowd as potential customers scan through web search results. Utilizing site links increases a business’ profile and gets them noticed. By using extensions strategically, the information customers want is right before them.
The principle behind this is simple: People notice what is different about an advertisement, object, or person if no other factors distract them.
Sitelink keywords are separate links focused on specific topics and presented in a different color than the text ad’s main headline. If the option is verbiage on the same line or bullet topics in a different color, customers will overlook the unbroken words on the same line every time.
Why Would an Advertiser Use Google Sitelinks?
Sitelinks are free. Would an advertiser use free advertising if it gave their website credibility? Or would an advertiser ignore the free advertising in favor of paying for it?
Barring any other factors, of course, they would use free advertising; they would be foolish not to use it.
With sitelinks, you have one headline and up to two lines if your ad ranks high in the SERP. In addition, you can add up to six sitelinks on a desktop or laptop and up to eight on a mobile device.
That is six or eight opportunities to give customers quick access to the information customers want in front of them for free, in addition to having up to two lines of verbiage describing what the business offers.
Final Thoughts
Why would an advertiser use Google sitelinks? The short answer is that you can give customers quick access to multiple pages of an advertiser’s website. The longer answer is that sitelinks are free and sitelink extensions use words a customer would use, thus increasing the customer engagement.
