Has Google found what you're looking for?

Google Sitelinks is one of those nebulous tools that can either get you some valuable extra clicks or produce far less desirable results, without an obvious way for you to control what happens. But with a little analysis, you can manage it: The key is to understand how Google populates Sitelinks so you can put your best links forward.

Sitelinks are relevant keywords (linked, of course, to an appropriate url) that appear directly beneath the top ranking, giving the searcher a shortcut to the pages that Google is betting are most relevant to your search. For example, a search for "fender" produces Sitelinks to "Products," "Merchandise," "Custom Shop" and "VG Stratocaster." These links are helpful if you're interested in a guitar, and not so helpful if you've recently dented the front of your sedan. But it's a good start.

In Google's quest to make search as pleasant and fruitful as possible, it's been playing around with Sitelinks and the more recently added Onsite Search box. The results can be a little mixed, even potentially damaging to your brand's reputation. Case in point: I typed in "nasa" and got a link to NASA's home page, NASA.gov. The Sitelinks beneath it included practical suggestions like "Space Shuttle Station," "Latest News," and "Missions." But it also included, just as prominently, "work for masa."

What is that? Work for masa? That Sitelink directs you to NASA's employment opportunities page. But where was Google getting the phrase "work for masa"?

An advanced Google search turned up the rogue code. Work for masa is contained in the Alt tag on a main navigation link on a sub-domain. Out of all the content it could have used to generate a Sitelink, Google chose some random Alt tag on a navigation link. The most interesting thing is that the same navigation link had a link title attribute that contained the phrase "work for nasa." Why did Google use the Alt tag to populate the Sitelink? Who knows? The lesson here is to make sure all of your Alt tags and Title attributes are optimized and spelled correctly, because you just never know when, how or where they will be used to represent your brand or site. It could turn up in the very first search result on Google.

If Google sometimes uses obscure Alt tags to populate Sitelinks, what else could it use? We've seen Google use the following on-site elements: Title tags, product names, category names, main navigation links, H1 and H2 tags and various links on a page. This begs the question: How and why does Google choose certain urls for use as Sitelinks over others? The answer to that is not easy, but there are a few theories. Most SEO strategies develop out of trial-and-error and observation. Our team has observed that several factors play into the generation of Google Sitelinks:

The main site's overall popularity, domain authority and brand popularity. If your site ranks No. 1 for a search term, you have better chances of having Sitelinks listed in the first place.

Optimized internal link structure. Tell Google which pages are important through optimized internal linking.
Optimal anchor text in all links on the site. Reinforce keywords in all links, and place very important links toward the top of the page.

Solid SEO implementation for all pages and on-page factors. Implement solid SEO strategies for every page on the site. This helps tie everything together for relevancy and authority.

Competition of the vertical. The tougher the competition in the vertical, the tougher it will be to rank No. 1 for certain terms. It's easier to gain Sitelinks for searches with less competition.

The bottom line is you need to diligently police your tags and content and work with Google to make sure it knows what's the most pertinent. You'll increase your visibility and clicks - without any embarrassing results.

Kerry Dean is SEO account manager at Range Online Media.