Meta Ads Sitelinks: Better performance for your campaign
What are sitelinks in Meta Ads?
Sitelinks in meta ads are additional clickable links that appear directly below a mobile Facebook ad. They allow you to direct users to various relevant subpages or landing pages - such as product categories, special offers or contact pages. These links are displayed as horizontally scrollable labels and thus offer significantly better navigation and user experience within the ad. They are currently available for the campaign goals Traffic, Engagement, Leads and Sales, provided the website is selected as the conversion location.
Each sitelink consists of a title (display label with a maximum of 15 characters), a target URL and optionally a thumbnail image. A total of up to fifteen sitelinks can be stored per ad, whereby at least four are required.
You can either create the sitelinks manually or use Meta's suggestions. Meta's automatic suggestion function analyzes the structure of your website and suggests relevant subpages that are frequently visited or thematically match the ad. You can accept, reject or customize these suggestions. Sitelinks are currently only available in the mobile Facebook feed.
What advantages do sitelinks offer for your advertising campaigns?
Sitelinks increase the performance of your campaigns on several levels and offer both direct performance benefits and long-term strategic added value.
Better user experience
Users are taken directly to thematically appropriate and relevant pages. This saves time, reduces frustration and increases satisfaction - a win-win situation for both sides.
Higher click rate
Ads with sitelinks offer more choice and have been proven to lead to more interactions and clicks. The additional links increase the attractiveness of your ad and invite people to discover and interact with it.
More conversions
As customers reach the various desired pages more quickly, the chance of purchases and qualified leads increases. The path to conversion is noticeably shorter, which can have a positive impact on your campaign goals.
More visibility
Your ad takes up more space in the feed thanks to the additional links. This increases visibility and draws attention to your ad.
Versatile areas of application
Sitelinks are suitable for numerous industries and targets. In e-commerce, various product categories or sales promotions can be linked. Service companies benefit from direct links to booking pages or contact forms. Information services can link to FAQs or relevant blog articles.
Cost efficiency
You get several destinations in one ad. Instead of having to create an individual ad for each destination, you can combine them all in a more cost-effective way. This saves budget and simplifies campaign management.
Sitelinks in meta ads improve your campaign performance through the following factors
- Direct navigation to relevant subpages shortens the customer journey
- Higher click rates thanks to more options in the ad
- Increased conversion rates thanks to targeted user guidance
- Greater visibility thanks to more space in the mobile feed
- Cost efficiency by bundling several destinations in one ad
- Versatile application options for different industries and campaign objectives
How do you set up sitelinks in your Meta Ads campaigns?
Sitelinks are set up directly in the Meta Ads Manager and can be done in just a few steps.
Step 1
At the ad level of your campaign, search for the "Sitelinks" option under "Ad design". Here you can choose between manual input and automatic suggestions from Meta.
Step 2
For each sitelink, you enter a concise display label (maximum 15 characters), the target URL and optionally a thumbnail image. Meta shows you dynamic suggestions based on your website structure, which you can accept or customize.
Step 3
Create at least four sitelinks to ensure optimal playout.
A practical advantage: once created, sitelinks can be reused in other ads. This saves time when creating campaigns and ensures consistency across different ad groups.
How do you optimize your sitelinks for maximum performance?
Setting up sitelinks is only the first step. For optimal results, various aspects should be continuously reviewed, adjusted and optimized.
Selection of URLs
The correct selection of your target URLs is crucial to the success of the sitelinks. A common mistake is to use redundant or too similar links that overlap thematically and therefore offer no added value. Instead, each sitelink should cover an independent offer or a specific user intention.
You should also regularly check that your links are up to date and replace outdated targets. Linking to offers that are no longer available or outdated content is detrimental to the user experience and wastes valuable advertising space.
Convincing formulation of the link texts
Clear calls to action with a concrete promise of benefits significantly increase the probability of clicks. You achieve the best results with action-oriented terms that precisely describe the goal.
Unclear or overly general phrases such as "Learn more", which do not give users a concrete indication of what to expect, should be avoided. Instead, use specific terms such as "Book a consultation" or "Browse product catalog".
The character limit of around fifteen characters requires precision. Concentrate on the essentials and make sure that the benefit is immediately recognizable.
Mobile optimization and user experience
Since sitelinks are currently only displayed in the mobile feed, mobile optimization of all landing pages is essential. Users who click on a sitelink and then reach a page that is not mobile-optimized are very likely to abandon the interaction - a wasted click and lost advertising budget. It is therefore essential to check the target landing page of the sitelinks for mobile display and loading speed before you use the link for your meta campaign.
Conclusion: How to use sitelinks optimally for your meta ads
Sitelinks in Meta Ads are a powerful tool to increase the performance of your campaigns. They extend ads to multiple relevant destinations, shorten the customer journey and significantly improve the user experience. The setup is straightforward and the benefits are measurable: higher click-through rates, more conversions and more efficient use of your advertising budget.
For optimum results, you should use a variety of relevant URLs when setting up your sitelinks, formulate precise and action-oriented link texts and consistently optimize all target pages for mobile devices. Regularly check that your sitelinks are up to date and adapt them to changing campaign goals or seasonal offers. If you start to gain experience with sitelinks now and establish best practices, you will gain a clear competitive advantage in meta advertising.
Despite all the advantages, sitelinks are not the right choice in every situation. For campaigns with a very specific goal - such as promoting a single product or registering for a specific event - focusing on a single landing page can be more effective. Even if your website has few relevant subpages or you deliberately want to direct users to a single, clearly defined conversion path, sitelinks can be more of a distraction than a support. Therefore, always check individually whether the use of sitelinks fits your specific campaign goals.
Further contributions
Updates on our work and our perspectives on the issues that concern us.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Katrin, Maximilian, and Max-Raphael
Managing Partners