Sitelinks are the extra links Google sometimes shows under a search result, pointing to other pages on the same website. They usually appear when someone searches for a brand by name, letting them jump straight to a pricing page, a login, a contact page or a popular product.
For a business, sitelinks make your result bigger, more useful and harder to miss. You can't buy them or switch them on in organic search, but a clear site structure makes them more likely. That same clarity also helps search engines and AI tools understand which of your pages matter most.
What are sitelinks?
Google's sitelinks documentation describes them as links from the same domain grouped under a single text result. Google's systems analyze a site's link structure to find shortcuts that help people reach the information they're looking for faster.
Sitelinks are fully automated. Google shows them only when it thinks they'll be useful for the search. If a site's structure doesn't allow for good sitelinks, or Google doesn't think they're relevant to the query, they won't appear.
The term has a second meaning in paid search. In Google Ads, sitelink assets are links that advertisers add to their ads themselves. This entry focuses on organic sitelinks, with a short comparison further down.
Why sitelinks matter
They take up more space. A result with sitelinks fills more of the SERP than a single blue link, which pushes other results further down on searches for your name.
They shorten the path. People searching for a company often want one specific page. Sitelinks let them skip the homepage and go straight there, which saves them a click and a search.
They protect your brand searches. On branded searches, sitelinks help steer people to your official pages instead of a reseller, a directory or a review site.
They reflect how well Google understands your site. Because Google builds sitelinks from your link structure, sensible sitelinks suggest your navigation is doing its job. Odd or outdated sitelinks often point to navigation or internal linking problems worth fixing.
How sitelinks work
Google picks them automatically
There's no markup, setting or request form that creates organic sitelinks. Google decides when to show them and which pages to include, based on the search and its understanding of your site. Google's documentation says it may use input from site owners in the future, but there's no control today. Search Console once had a feature for demoting individual sitelinks, but Google retired it, saying its algorithms had gotten better at finding relevant ones.
What influences them
Google lists a few best practices. Use page titles and headings that are informative, relevant and compact. Build a logical site structure that's easy for people to navigate, and link important pages from other relevant pages. Keep the anchor text on internal links concise and relevant to the page it points to. And avoid repetitive content.
Removing a sitelink you don't want
Since you can't choose sitelinks directly, Google's advice for an unwanted one is to remove that page from your site or use a noindex rule. Both take the page out of search entirely, so save this for pages that genuinely shouldn't be found, like an expired promotion.
The sitelinks search box is gone
For years, some branded results also showed a search box under the result. Google announced in a Search Central blog post in October 2024 that it would drop the sitelinks search box worldwide. As Search Engine Land reported, the change started on November 21, 2024, and Google said it doesn't affect rankings or other sitelinks. Leftover search box markup won't cause problems, and the WebSite structured data that supports site names is still in use.
How to earn better sitelinks
- Make your main navigation obvious. Link your most important pages, like services, pricing, about and contact, from a clear menu that appears across the site.
- Use short, descriptive titles. Give each key page a specific title tag and heading. "Pricing" tells Google more than "Plans That Fit Every Business."
- Link with clear anchor text. Point internal links at your key pages using plain words that describe them.
- Consolidate duplicate pages. If several pages cover the same thing, Google has a harder time deciding which one to show. Merge overlapping pages where it makes sense.
- Keep key pages indexable. A page that's blocked, noindexed or returning errors can't appear as a sitelink.
- Check your branded results. Search your brand name on desktop and mobile every so often, note which sitelinks appear, and fix pages that look outdated or confusing.
Common mistakes and misconceptions
"Schema markup creates sitelinks." No structured data type produces organic sitelinks. Google builds them from your site's structure and content.
"You can pick your sitelinks in Search Console." You can't. The old demotion option is gone, and there's currently no way to choose or reorder sitelinks.
"No sitelinks means something is wrong." Sitelinks only appear when Google thinks they help. Plenty of healthy sites never get them for non-branded searches, and newer brands may not see them until more people search for their name.
"Noindexing is a quick sitelink fix." A noindex rule removes the page from search results altogether, not just from sitelinks. Use it only when the page shouldn't be found at all.
"Losing the search box hurt rankings." Google said the 2024 removal of the sitelinks search box didn't affect rankings or other sitelinks.
Organic sitelinks vs. sitelink assets in Google Ads
Organic sitelinks are free and automatic. Google chooses them, and you influence them only through your site's structure. Sitelink assets in Google Ads are chosen by the advertiser. According to Google Ads Help, they're free to add, a click on a sitelink costs the same as a click on the ad's headline, and Search campaigns can show up to 6 sitelinks on desktop and up to 8 on mobile. If you need direct control over which links appear for a search, ads are the only way to get it.
How Butter approaches sitelinks
There's no sitelinks service at Butter, because nobody can switch them on for you. What we work on is the structure Google uses to choose them. On the GEO plan, our monthly on-page recommendations cover navigation, page titles and internal links. On the GEO+SEO plan, unlimited on-page optimization lets us make those changes directly, and our technical SEO fixes handle broken links and crawl issues that keep key pages out of view.
The same clarity helps beyond Google's results. Indexing strategy is part of every GEO plan, and clear structure with descriptive headings makes it easier for search engines and AI crawlers to see which pages matter most. We don't promise sitelinks, since Google decides when to show them. You can see what's included on our SEO services page.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get sitelinks on Google?
You can't request them. Google shows sitelinks automatically when it thinks they'll help searchers. The best you can do is build a logical site structure, use clear titles and headings, link to important pages internally and avoid repetitive content.
Can I remove a sitelink?
Not directly. Google suggests removing the page from your site or adding a noindex rule if you don't want it to appear. Both take the page out of search entirely, so use them only for pages that shouldn't be found.
What happened to the search box under my result?
Google stopped showing the sitelinks search box worldwide starting November 21, 2024. Google said the change doesn't affect rankings or other sitelinks, and leftover markup won't cause problems.
Do sitelinks help my rankings?
Sitelinks are a way Google displays a result, not something that lifts it higher. They tend to appear when your site is already a strong match for the search, most often for searches on your brand name.