Sitelinks for Your Website

Introduction

Ever wondered how some websites show up in Google search results with extra links like “Download” or “Documentation” under their main listing? That clean, professional layout is called a Google sitelink rich result—and it can massively increase your site’s visibility and click-through rate.

In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how to position your website to earn those coveted sitelinks.

Step 1: Use Structured Data (Schema Markup)

Structured data helps Google understand your site’s content and hierarchy. You want to focus on three key types:

1.1 Website Schema

Add the Website structured data to your homepage. This enables Google to understand your site and possibly show a search box under your listing.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "WebSite",
  "name": "GTGSites",
  "url": "https://www.gtgsites.com/",
  "potentialAction": {
    "@type": "SearchAction",
    "target": "https://www.gtgsites.com/search?q={search_term_string}",
    "query-input": "required name=search_term_string"
  }
}

1.2 Breadcrumb Schema

Add breadcrumb schema to show your site’s hierarchy clearly in search results.

1.3 Page-Level Schema

Use appropriate structured data on blog posts (Article), services (Service), or products (Product), depending on your site’s content.

Step 2: Create a Clean, Logical Site Structure

Google loves clarity. Build your website structure like this:

example.com/
├── /about/
├── /services/
├── /portfolio/
├── /blog/
└── /contact/

Use clean URLs (avoid query strings for main pages)
Organize your navigation menus clearly
Maintain a consistent internal linking strategy

Each page should have a unique <title> and <meta description> that clearly define what the page is about.

Step 3: Submit an XML Sitemap to Google Search Console

This is how you officially tell Google what your site’s structure looks like.

Use WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO or RankMath to generate your sitemap automatically
Log into Google Search Console and submit your sitemap

Step 4: Monitor with Google Search Console

Once your site is verified, regularly check:

Search Appearance > Review structured data detection
Coverage Report > Fix crawl or indexing issues
URL Inspection Tool > Reindex updated or important pages

Step 5: Strengthen Internal Linking

Pages that are heavily linked to from across your site are more likely to appear as sitelinks.

Link to your key pages from the homepage and footer
Use descriptive anchor text
Build content clusters around key service or product categories

Step 6: Optimize for Brand Searches

Sitelinks typically appear when someone searches directly for your brand.

Make sure:

Your brand name is consistent across your website, social profiles, and listings
You have a clear brand-focused homepage
Your business has a Google Business Profile if it’s location-based
Your site is mentioned and linked to on authoritative directories, news sites, or communities

Useful Tools

Final Thoughts

You can’t force Google to show sitelinks—but by following the steps above, you’re giving it every reason to. Structured data, smart site architecture, and brand optimization will put you in the best position to claim that top-tier real estate on the search results page.

Keep your site clean, updated, and strategically built—and those beautiful sitelinks will follow.