Two kinds of sitelinks — don't confuse them

Two kinds of sitelinks — don't confuse them

Today's lesson: sitelinks — those extra page links listed under a search result — come in two flavors that people mix up.

Think of a store's front window versus a search counter inside.

1. Regular sitelinks are the window display: Google auto-picks your most useful pages and lists them. You can't force them, but a clear menu and strong internal links help.
2. A sitelinks search box is the counter: a little search bar under your result that searches your site directly. That one you can request with WebSite schema.
3. They serve different goals — display navigation vs. on-site search.

The tradeoff: you influence regular sitelinks indirectly through site structure; the search box you ask for with code, but Google still decides.

Try this: search your brand name and note which flavor (if any) you have. 🎓