Sitelink: definition and challenges for your natural referencing

What is a sitelink?

A sitelink (or "annex link") is an internal link that appears below the main entry on a web page in the SERP (search engine results pages) of a search engine like Google. It provides direct access to subdivisions or additional sections of the site concerned.

These secondary links, also known as sitelinksThese are generally presented in the form of a list with a short text description to clarify their content.

They give users quick, one-click access to relevant pages on your site without having to navigate through all the URL available. In doing so, they greatly improve theuser experience and can directly increase the click-through rate, both of which are crucial to the success of your online presence.

How do sitelinks work?

Sitelinks are generated automatically by search engine algorithms based on the keywords used to formulate a query. It is therefore not possible to manually choose or create the links that will be displayed as appendices.

Their selection is based on a number of criteria, includingsite architecturehis plan in siloThese include the quality of the content and its relevance to demand, the popularity signals gathered (external incoming links), as well as the data collected on web users and their browsing habits.

Example of sitelinks in Google search results

For example, if you search for " blog women's fashion" on Google, you may come across a result with several sitelinks pointing to headings such as :

• Trends for spring-summer 2021
• New accessories
• Streetstyle
• Latest blog posts
• Contact

However, it is important to note that sitelinks can vary from one user to another depending on certain variables, such as their geographical location, personal preferences or search history.

What are the benefits of sitelinks?

When they appear under your ads in the search engine results pages, sitelinks offer a number of benefits for your natural referencing:

1. Improving the user experience By making it easier for visitors to access additional content and sub-pages on your site, you can satisfy their curiosity more quickly.
   
   
2. Increased visibility Displaying related links allows you to occupy additional space in the results pages (increasing the display area) and thus increase your chances of being noticed and clicked on by web users.
   
   
3. Increased click-through rate By offering direct access to specific, useful sections, you encourage potential visitors to explore your site further. website (going beyond the simple home page).
   
   
4. Optimising natural referencing Sitelinks: generated automatically, sitelinks are not subject to penalties. However, they can indirectly help to improve your positioning in the SERPs by boosting the number of clicks and the quality of the user experience offered on your site through easier navigation.

How can you encourage Google to generate sitelinks for your site?

There are five best practices for optimising the appearance of sitelinks in search results:

• 1. Clearly structure your site the silo architecture must be coherent and easy for customers to understand. indexing robotswhich will promote your different sections or headings in the form of complementary links.
  
  
• 2. Use relevant page titles They must accurately reflect the content offered on these sites and make it easier for Google to understand the context.
  
  
• 3. Create clear and explicit URLs The web addresses corresponding to each page of your site are fundamental in helping the search engine to determine which sections could generate interesting sitelinks.
  
  
• 4. Think about the semantic tagging of your content