How to Block Sitelinks in Google Search Results

How Is Your Web Site Represented in Google Search Results?

by Yoshie Yager (@yoshie_s_y)

When searching for your Web site, you want to see your Web site listing in the SERPs (search engine results pages) to be the representation of your company/site.  For instance, you want the title and the snippet to include the information about your site/page and a marketing statement that will generate clicks. This can be done by optimizing your title tag and meta description tag.

What Are Sitelinks?

But what about sitelinks in Google search results?  Are these links showing up in the SERPs satisfactory?

Take a look at these sitelinks:

Is this really a fair representation of the site? Is this helping users understand where they can land and what kind of information they get from those pages?  This Web site is all about a community for girls who are experiencing puberty, but is this how they want their Web site to be displayed in the SERPs?  Maybe the shock-factor generates clicks so this might be working for them.  However, if those sitelinks fail to communicate their business objectives, brand image, etc., maybe those should be altered.

Unfortunately, these are completely automated links that are generated by Google’s perusal of the Web site’s content and structure, which means you don’t have control of which links to display in the SERPs.

How to Disable Sitelinks Using Google Webmaster Tools

However, this does not mean you are stuck with the links Google picked.  These  unwanted sitelinks can be blocked via Google Webmaster Tools.  I’ve discussed how you can create Google Webmaster Tools account as a part of my previous post on country specific search, domain/URL structure, and how to geotarget using Google Webmaster Tools.

So, to ensure that your sitelinks are up to your standards, block those unwanted ones.

Last 5 posts by YoshieYager

• Perhaps It’s Time Hollywood Agencies Hire SEO/SEM Firms for Reputation Management - July 14th, 2010
• Rhea Drysdale's Efforts to Terminate SEO Trademark Registration - March 23rd, 2010
• Country Specific Search and Domain/URL Structure - September 4th, 2009

Tags: Add new tag, brand, consumer, Enterprise, Google, marketing, Webmaster Tools

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 at 5:20 pm and is filed under Enterprise Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.