Google Ads sitelink extensions (officially called sitelink assets since Google renamed extensions to assets) are the extra blue links that sit underneath your search ad and send people straight to a specific page: pricing, a booking form, a category, a case study. They cost nothing extra to add, they take up more space on the results page, and they are still one of the fastest ways to lift click-through rate on an existing search campaign.
This guide is deliberately tactical. You will get the exact character limits, the three levels where sitelinks can live, copy examples for service businesses and e-commerce stores, the sitelink themes that actually move CTR, and the disapproval reasons that quietly stop your assets from serving.
Quick answers before we go deep
- Sitelink text limit: 25 characters.
- Description line 1 and line 2: 35 characters each (both optional, but add both or neither).
- Minimum to serve: 2 sitelinks. Google will not show a single one.
- Maximum shown: up to 6 on desktop and up to 8 on mobile, though 2 to 4 is what you will see most of the time.
- How many to build: 8 to 10 per campaign so Google has a real pool to test and rotate.
- Cost: a sitelink click is charged exactly like a headline click. Only one click per impression is billed.
What sitelink extensions actually do for performance
Three things happen when sitelinks serve:
- Your ad gets physically bigger. More vertical space pushes competitors and organic results down the page.
- You pre-qualify the click. Someone who clicks “Pricing & Packages” instead of your homepage link is further down the funnel, which usually means a better conversion rate.
- You answer objections inside the ad. “Free 30-Day Returns” or “No Call-Out Fee” removes friction before the visit even starts.
Typical uplift reported by advertisers sits in the 10% to 20% CTR range when a campaign goes from zero sitelinks to a well-built set of 8. The gain is largest on brand campaigns and on top-position ads, because assets show more often when Ad Rank is already strong.
Google Ads sitelink character limits (exact figures)
| Field | Max characters | Double-width languages | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sitelink text | 25 | 12 | Yes |
| Description line 1 | 35 | 18 | No |
| Description line 2 | 35 | 18 | No |
| Final URL | Practically unlimited (keep it clean) | – | Yes |
Important formatting rule: descriptions are shown as a pair or not at all. If you fill in only line 1, Google will show neither. And on mobile, sitelinks frequently appear as a compact horizontal carousel with no descriptions at all, which is why short text wins.
Practical target: write sitelink text at 12 to 18 characters. Anything close to 25 risks truncation in the mobile carousel.
Account, campaign or ad group: where should sitelinks live?
Sitelinks can be attached at three levels, and the most specific level always wins.
| Level | Use it for | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Account | Evergreen company-wide links: Reviews, About the Team, Contact, Free Quote. A safety net so no campaign ever runs bare. | Lowest |
| Campaign | The workhorse level. One set per service line, product category or geography. 90% of your sitelink work should happen here. | Medium |
| Ad group | High-volume ad groups where you can mirror the keyword theme exactly (for example “Invisalign” ad group gets Invisalign-specific sitelinks). | Highest |
If an ad group has sitelinks, campaign and account sitelinks are ignored for that ad group. Keep that in mind: adding two ad group sitelinks can accidentally replace a strong set of eight campaign sitelinks.
How to add sitelink extensions in Google Ads (step by step)
- Sign in to Google Ads and click Campaigns in the left menu.
- Open Assets, then Assets again in the sub-menu.
- Click the blue plus button and choose Sitelink.
- In the “Add to” dropdown, pick Account, Campaign or Ad group, then select the specific campaign or ad group.
- Enter the sitelink text (25 characters), the two optional description lines (35 characters each), and the final URL.
- Open Advanced options if you need a separate mobile URL, start and end dates, day-and-time scheduling, or a mobile device preference.
- Click Save, then repeat until you have at least 4, ideally 8 to 10.
Faster methods: use Google Ads Editor to paste a whole sitelink set across dozens of campaigns in one go, or the bulk upload sheet. Agencies managing large accounts can also create and audit sitelinks programmatically with Google Ads Scripts via the AdsApp.extensions and sitelink selectors.
Sitelink examples for service businesses
Service accounts win with sitelinks that remove risk, show price transparency and shorten the path to a booking.
| Business | Sitelink text | Description lines |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency plumber | 24/7 Callout Our Prices Blocked Drains Customer Reviews |
“Engineer on site in 60 mins” / “No call-out fee, ever” |
| Law firm | Free Case Review Fees & Payment Plans Recent Case Results Meet the Team |
“Speak to a solicitor today” / “No win, no fee options” |
| Dental clinic | New Patient Offer Implant Prices Emergency Slots Book Online |
“Same-day appointments” / “Finance from 0% APR” |
| B2B SaaS | See Pricing Book a 15-Min Demo Free 14-Day Trial Customer Stories |
“No credit card required” / “Set up in under 10 minutes” |
| Marketing agency | Free Account Audit Packages & Pricing Case Studies Why Choose Us |
“Rolling contracts, no lock-in” / “Google Partner certified” |
| Removals / moving | Instant Quote Packing Service Storage Options Areas We Cover |
“Fully insured, DBS-checked” / “Quote in under 2 minutes” |
Sitelink examples for e-commerce stores
Retail sitelinks should split traffic by category, price tier, offer and trust. Do not waste all four slots on categories.
| Sitelink type | Examples | Lands on |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Shop New Arrivals, Men’s Trainers, Kitchen Appliances | Collection page, pre-filtered |
| Offer | Up to 50% Off Sale, Clearance Outlet, Bundle Deals | Sale landing page |
| Objection handling | Free 30-Day Returns, Free Delivery Info, Size Guide | Policy or help page |
| Trust | 4.8/5 Customer Reviews, Our Guarantee | Reviews page |
| Service | Track My Order, Gift Cards, Student Discount | Account or info page |
| Seasonal (scheduled) | Black Friday Deals, Christmas Delivery | Campaign hub page |
For the current quarter, build your Black Friday and festive sitelinks now with a start date in November 2026 and an end date in early January 2027. Scheduled assets go live and switch off automatically, which avoids the classic January problem of ads still promoting last month’s sale.
Which sitelinks actually lift CTR?
After auditing hundreds of accounts, the pattern is consistent. Ranked from strongest to weakest:
- Price and pricing pages. “See Pricing”, “Our Prices”, “Instant Quote”. Price curiosity is the single highest-CTR theme in most accounts.
- Offer or discount. Only if the number is real and visible on the landing page.
- Risk reversal. “Free Trial”, “No Call-Out Fee”, “Free Returns”, “No Win No Fee”.
- Specific service or category matching the keyword theme of the ad group.
- Social proof. “4.8/5 Reviews”, “Case Studies”, “Client Results”.
- Location. “Visit Our Showroom”, “Areas We Cover” for local intent.
What consistently underperforms: Home, About Us, Blog, FAQ, Careers, Login. They burn an impression slot and send paid traffic to pages with no conversion path. If you have those in your account right now, replace them this week.
How many sitelinks should you add?
Build 8 to 10 per campaign. Fewer than 4 and Google often shows only two, or none. More than about 12 and each individual asset gets too little data to be judged. Google’s system rotates them and picks the combination it predicts will perform best for each auction, so give it genuine variety rather than ten versions of the same idea.
Measuring sitelink performance
Go to Campaigns > Assets > Assets, filter to sitelinks, then:
- Add the columns Clicks, CTR, Conversions, Conv. rate.
- Use the segment “This click type” or “This extension vs. Other” to separate clicks on the sitelink itself from clicks on the rest of the ad.
- Check the Asset performance label (Best, Good, Low) where available.
- Pause or rewrite anything with clear volume and a poor conversion rate, and clone your winners into similar campaigns.
Do not judge a sitelink on conversions alone. A sitelink that pushes your whole ad higher and wider contributes value even when the direct click lands on a reviews page.
Common sitelink disapproval errors (and the fix)
| Problem | Why it happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate sitelinks | Two assets with the same text, or two different texts pointing to the exact same final URL | Every sitelink needs unique text and a unique destination page |
| Destination mismatch | Sitelink points to a different domain than the ad’s final URL | Keep every sitelink on the same domain as the ad |
| Destination not working | 404, redirect loop, page blocked to crawlers, or a broken tracking parameter | Test the URL in an incognito window, strip bad parameters, resubmit |
| Editorial: punctuation and capitalisation | “FREE QUOTE!!!”, “B.e.s.t Prices”, excessive symbols | Use title case, no repeated exclamation marks, no gimmicky spacing |
| Phone number in sitelink text | Not permitted in sitelinks | Use a call asset instead |
| Text over the limit | Pasted copy longer than 25 or 35 characters | Count characters including spaces before uploading in bulk |
| Trademark or restricted claims | Competitor brand names, unverifiable superlatives, regulated wording | Remove the brand name or file the relevant authorisation |
| Approved but never showing | Fewer than 2 eligible sitelinks, low Ad Rank, or competing assets winning the slot | Add more sitelinks, improve bids and Quality Score, check scheduling and end dates |
The silent killer: expired end dates
Scheduled seasonal sitelinks from a previous promotion do not disappear, they just stop serving. If a campaign suddenly shows no sitelinks, sort the assets table by end date before you blame the algorithm.
Automatically created sitelinks
Google can generate automated sitelinks from your website when you have few or no manual assets. They fill gaps, but the text and destinations are out of your control and often land on thin pages. The fix is simple: build a solid manual set. If you want to disable the automatic version, go to Admin > Account settings > Automatically created assets and switch off the sitelink option.
Your 10-minute sitelink checklist
- 8 to 10 sitelinks live at campaign level on every search campaign
- Text between 12 and 18 characters wherever possible
- Both description lines filled in, or neither
- Every destination unique, on your own domain, and conversion-ready
- At least one pricing sitelink and one risk-reversal sitelink
- No Home, About Us, Blog or Careers links
- Seasonal assets scheduled with correct start and end dates
- Account-level fallback set in place so no campaign ever runs bare
- Monthly review of the assets table with the “this extension vs other” segment
FAQ
Can you give me an example of a sitelink extension in Google Ads?
A dental clinic ad for “dentist near me” could show four sitelinks under the main ad: New Patient Offer, Implant Prices, Emergency Slots and Book Online, each with two 35-character description lines such as “Same-day appointments available” and “Finance from 0% APR”. Each one links to its own dedicated page. The piece Google Ads Sitelinks: 25+ Examples That Convert makes a good next read.
How do I add sitelinks in Google Ads?
Go to Campaigns > Assets, click the plus button, choose Sitelink, select whether to add it at account, campaign or ad group level, then enter the sitelink text, optional descriptions and final URL. Save and repeat until you have at least four.
How many sitelinks does Google Ads show?
Up to 6 on desktop and up to 8 on mobile, but you need a minimum of 2 eligible sitelinks for any to appear. In practice most ads display 2 to 4 depending on Ad Rank, device and which other assets are competing for the space.
What is the character limit for sitelinks?
25 characters for the sitelink text and 35 characters for each of the two description lines. For double-width languages such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean, the limits are 12 and 18. A step-by-step version exists if you prefer that format.
Do sitelinks cost extra?
No. A click on a sitelink is charged at the same rate as a click on the ad headline, and you are only charged once per impression even if someone clicks the headline and a sitelink.
Why are my sitelinks not showing?
The usual causes are: fewer than two eligible sitelinks, an Ad Rank too low to trigger assets, an expired end date or schedule, a disapproved asset, duplicate destination URLs, or ad group level sitelinks overriding a larger campaign set. Sitelink Assets (Extensions) Best Practices & Examples tackles the same question from another angle.
Do sitelinks work in Performance Max?
Yes. Sitelinks can be added at the campaign level in Performance Max and serve on search inventory. The same character limits and policy rules apply.