Google displaying internal links in SERPs

How are they doing this?

[Uber_SEO]

I've noticed something that I've not seen before in the Google SERPs, and I don't think it's been mentioned on WebmasterWorld before.

For a particular query, Google is displaying multiple links to internal pages for the top result. For example, if I'm querying Google for "widgets", the first result in displayed as follows:

Widget Homepage Title
Widget Description Snippet
www.widget.com
widget product 1 - widget product 2 - widget product 3 - widget product 4

Where "widget product 1" links to an enternal page, as does "widget product 2" and so on.

I'm seeing the same format if I search the Google directory, but not if I search DMOZ. As I said earlier, I've never noticed this before, so was wondering if anyone else was seeing it. Where is Google getting these links from?

[emomilk]

I'm seeing it but only on one of my computers. Looks like they're testing something new, and rather clever by the looks of it.

On the few serps I checked my site for the internal links were very reasonable, pointing to my generic product pages. I couldn't get enough examples to figure out exactly how they were doing it though.

It could be some very clever sector analysis. I can't see how they could do this accurate enough if it was based purely on onsite factors

[frup]

I first noticed this about two or three weeks ago, it's been intermittent.

[Lisa]

I have seen it for a few weeks as well. We are only seeing while surfing from Canadian IP addresses. So it looks like they are testing it. And it only appears for the first result in the serp. We suspect Sitemap could help in generating it but would love to know what triggers it. Looks extremely useful and we have used it when we see it show up.

[Cheeser]

My site is now showing those links, and FYI we do not use Google Sitemaps (yet). The text they use is the exact text WE use in our navigation bar to those pages. Pretty darn cool.

[Romeo]

Pretty darn cool.

Yes, and the links are very relevant targeted, too. At least what I have seen yet (saw it first time today).
I like it. Will hopefully make it easier to defend and keep a position one.

Those who haven't seen it yet: a good test case is the search word 'www'. Search comes back with Yahoo on pos 1 and showing these additional links.

Regards,
R.

[angiolo]

I noted it!

It seems thay they are using their tracking system to display what users do prefer.

[Marval]

so far Ive only seen this on one word searches - has it migrated to any phrases that anyone has seen?

[Uber_SEO]

Try the "miserable failure" Googlebomb. I'm seeing these content links for that search.

I thought that Google was choosing the links based on page rank, rather than user behaviour.

[turbo996]

I noticed that if you search for the name of a very popular company with a large internet presence, the internal links display, but if you search for a term, like widgets, that the same company shows up as #1 for, the internal links are not there.

[frup]

I see the same thing as turbo. I also just did a two word search on a famous computer manufacturer and got four links that wrapped onto two lines.

[edited by: frup at 4:12 pm (utc) on Aug. 26, 2005]

[swa66]

Yes, Google is doing it for 2 word keywords as well, noticed it today.

For my site they are using some of the text from the navigation bar as well as a deep link from the welcome message (body).

They have been tracking (throug the clicks being channeled over a redirect) who clicks on it for some time and I noticed the secondary result shifting about a lot more than usual. This might indicate what Google was measuring: the click through rate.
I'm also running their sitemap input thingie for some time now. That might be related as well.

Looks pretty cool indeed. So much that I actually fear it could blend in with the ads served above the result.

Still, I'm all smiles so far as I've noticed a sudden 5 fold increase for one day incoming clicks for my main keyword combo. I don't know if they are related.
- 5 fold would seem too much for just this small change.
- Before you try to get it for your site desperately: the effect is already wearing off.
I'm betting more on a mention of my subject on TV to be honest, much more likely for this pattern.

[swa66]

Ok, got confirmation, was a TV show on that created the interest in my site.

Nothing like the history channel running something on your subject to pump up the interest with the TV viewing audience.

[rjohara]

On the whitehouse.gov site the text of the mini-links is being pulled from a meta element like this:

<meta name="WT.cg_s" content="Past Presidents">