Last week, Google announced they are going to begin more strictly enforcing their sitelink policy that each link must go to a unique landing page or destination URL. Now you may be thinking what is a sitelink and why do I care? Sitelinks are part of the pay-per-click ad to allow searches to find specific content on your site. Below is an example from Zappos for a search for “Women’s Shoes,” and below the traditional text ad are 4 sitelinks to help the searcher further refine what additional options Zappos has. Zappos has added these four options through their Adwords account most likely because they are top categories of women’s shoes.
Why use sitelinks? They help increase the options a searcher has to come to your site. Suppose I was searching a generic term like women’s shoes but I really was looking for flats. By having the site link for flats I could go specifically to the content I wanted right away, and therefor be less likely to drop off the site before making a purchase. Also, by making your ad bigger you take up more real estate on the page and stand out more to searchers as they decide which ad or organic listing to click on.
Google’s Updated Policy:
If you currently use sitelinks it’s time to review your sitelinks and make sure they are going to the unique destination URLs. If you’re thinking about adding them to your campaign keep in mind that they need to go to unique destination URLs.