Sitelinks are the extra links Google sometimes shows under a search result, pointing to pages inside that site. You cannot add or choose them; Google says they are automated and built from your site's link structure. Clear page titles, a logical menu and short, descriptive link text give Google better material to pick from.
| Question | Answer as of October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Can I pick my sitelinks? | No, Google says they are automated |
| Can I remove one? | Yes: delete the page or add noindex to it |
| Is there a form to request them? | Google's sitelinks page lists none |
| Does the sitelinks search box still show? | No, Google began removing it on November 21, 2024 |
| Do I need to delete the search box markup? | No, Google says leftover markup causes no issues |
Updated
Sitelinks tend to appear when someone searches a business by name, when it is plain they want that one site. Your job is to make the pages Google can choose from easy to understand. Paste your menu below to check the labels Google will read.
Your menu links, one per line: Label | URL
Home | /
Services | /services
Roof repair | /services/roof-repair
Learn more | /about
About us | /about
Services | /services/all
Free quotes for every kind of roofing job in town | /quote
Contact |8 links checked, 6 with notes.
| Label | URL | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Home | / | Looks clear. |
| Services | /services | Same label as another link. Give each page its own name. |
| Roof repair | /services/roof-repair | Looks clear. |
| Learn more | /about | Another label points to this same address. Vague label. Say what the page is, for example Roof repair instead of Learn more. |
| About us | /about | Another label points to this same address. |
| Services | /services/all | Same label as another link. Give each page its own name. |
| Free quotes for every kind of roofing job in town | /quote | Long label (over 30 characters, our rule of thumb). Shorter link text reads better as a sitelink. |
| Contact | No URL after the | sign. |
| Google says | On a small business site |
|---|---|
| Informative, relevant and compact page titles and headings | Title each page with what it is, then your name: Roof repair | Smith Roofing |
| A logical site structure that is easy to navigate | Five to eight clear menu items, each leading to one topic |
| Link to important pages from other relevant pages | Link services from the home page and from related blog posts |
| Concise, relevant internal link anchor text | Write Gutter cleaning, not Click here |
| Avoid repetition in your content | One page per service, not three near-copies |
Each item is an a element with a real href and a label that names the page. This is the raw material Google draws sitelinks from.
<nav aria-label="Main">
<ul>
<li><a href="/services/roof-repair">Roof repair</a></li>
<li><a href="/services/gutter-cleaning">Gutter cleaning</a></li>
<li><a href="/reviews">Reviews</a></li>
<li><a href="/contact">Contact</a></li>
</ul>
</nav>Place this in the head of the page you no longer want in results. The page stays on your site for anyone with the link.
<meta name="robots" content="noindex">Google says its systems analyze the link structure of your site to find shortcuts. In practice that means your menu, footer and in-page links, the words in those links, and the titles of the pages they reach.
A menu item labelled Our Work that leads to a page titled Portfolio | Smith Joinery tells a consistent story. A menu item labelled More that leads to a page titled Untitled tells Google nothing.
Build menu items as ordinary links with a real address. Menus that move people only with script click handlers can hide pages from crawlers, and a page Google cannot reach cannot become a sitelink.
You cannot switch them on. Google decides when to show them, using the links across your site. What helps, in Google's own list, is informative and compact page titles and headings, a logical structure, links to important pages from relevant pages, concise anchor text and no repeated content.
Google's sitelinks page gives two options: remove the page from your site, or add a noindex rule to it. The page does not describe any way to drop a sitelink while keeping the page in search.
Google announced in October 2024 that it would stop showing the sitelinks search box, and removal began on November 21, 2024. It said the markup can stay, because unsupported structured data will not cause problems or Search Console errors.
Often because more people search for their name, or because their menu and titles make the main pages obvious. A newer site with few clear sections may simply not trigger them yet.
Related: Google Search Console guide, On-page SEO checklist, HTML sitemap generator, Orphan pages, How to get your business on Google.
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