Today I learnt why Google shows a second search result when you search for a websites name, even though the first result has sitelinks. You can see how TechCrunch has a second listing about the Google phone in the image below:
When this first started happening people assumed it was a bug but Matt confirms it is intentional:
you asked why we still show a second result from e.g. starbucks.com even if we show Sitelinks for starbucks.com at the #1 slot. That is intentional (not a bug), and the reason is that some people don’t notice the Sitelinks. We’ve done lots of UI tests to make the Sitelinks have the right amount of visibility, but showing a second result helps in those cases when people don’t notice the Sitelinks, which does happen.
So there you go. I think the algorithm to determine the second listing is to do with pages that have had the most links in the past few months.
Patrick Altoft is Director of Search at Leeds based digital & SEO agency Branded3. Patrick also runs Blogstorm.You can get our blog posts delivered for free by email every day - simply add your email address to the box below or alternatively grab the RSS feed.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
It seems that the second result shows the most recent popular page on a site. Same for a search for my domain, first is homepage as expected. Second changes from time to time, but always is, what has been popular recently.
I wonder how people can NOT notice the sitelinks. They really look “unusual” in the result lists.
The first listing looks different from the other results, and I’ll bet some people end up dismissing it as an ad.
Well at least now we know. You have to wonder if people are actually “missing” these Sitelinks or just not paying them mind because there are not exactly relevant to their search.
Right — but of course not all sites showing sitelinks in the SERPs are getting the nod for a second link. So this begs the question, what sets TechCrunch apart in this example? Is it pure SEO juice, or something else?
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