Google Ads sitelinks give people additional paths from an ad to useful pages such as pricing, demos, product categories, case studies or contact pages. AI can speed up the work, but the valuable part is not producing more link text. It is building a clean, relevant asset set, attaching each asset at the right level and knowing what an edit or unlink will affect.
The safest workflow is: inventory existing sitelinks, map destinations to search intent, draft unique copy, create the approved assets, associate them deliberately, verify the associations and review performance after they have served.
The short answer
To add Google Ads sitelinks well, decide three things before creating anything:
Which landing page genuinely gives the searcher a useful alternative route.
Whether the sitelink belongs across the account, within one campaign or only inside one ad group.
Whether you are creating a new asset, reusing an existing one or replacing a shared asset.
Google requires at least two sitelinks for sitelinks to be eligible to appear. That is a technical minimum, not a good coverage target. Google recommends at least four broadly relevant account-level sitelinks and, for high-volume campaign or ad-group contexts, at least six sitelinks with descriptions. Google may show up to six on desktop and eight on mobile, but adding them does not guarantee they will appear.
AI is most useful when it can inspect the current account, compare destinations, enforce a review checklist and carry out an approved association. It should not guess which page deserves traffic or link a newly generated asset everywhere.
Table of Contents
What a sitelink asset actually controls
A sitelink is a reusable Google Ads asset. The asset contains the link text, destination URL and optional descriptions, mobile URL, tracking settings and schedule. A separate association determines where it is eligible to serve.
That separation matters. One sitelink asset can have multiple associations, so the same “Pricing” asset might be linked at the account level and reused in specific campaigns. Removing one association does not delete the underlying asset or its other associations.
Google can consider eligible sitelinks from the account, campaign and ad-group branch together, then choose the combination it predicts will help. Association makes an asset eligible; it does not guarantee delivery. Ad Rank, predicted impact, approval status, relevance and the available asset pool still influence what appears.
Choose the right association level
Account level
Use account-level sitelinks for destinations that make sense across almost every campaign: pricing, contact, store locator, customer stories or a universally relevant product overview. This is the fastest way to establish broad coverage, but it is also the easiest place to create irrelevant combinations.
Campaign level
Use campaign-level sitelinks for a product line, geography, service category or offer shared by the campaign’s ad groups. Examples include “Enterprise Plans” for an enterprise campaign or “Women’s Running Shoes” for a category campaign.
Ad-group level
Use ad-group-level sitelinks when the destination is tightly connected to one search theme. The closer the landing page and link text are to the ad group’s intent, the easier it is to justify the association.
A useful rule: choose the highest level at which the sitelink remains relevant to every eligible ad below it. If you need exceptions, move down the hierarchy instead of forcing a broad association.
Plan the sitelink set before asking AI to write
Start with destinations, not copy. Build a short matrix with:
Landing page and canonical final URL.
Search intent or user need the page satisfies.
Proposed link text and two optional description lines.
Recommended association level and the reason.
Whether the asset already exists and where it is linked.
Tracking requirements, mobile URL and any schedule.
Google limits sitelink text to 25 characters in most languages and 12 in double-width languages. Shorter labels often leave more room for multiple links. Each label should describe the destination accurately and be meaningfully different from the other eligible sitelinks.
Descriptions are optional, but Google strongly recommends them. They help explain what someone will find after the click and unlock fuller display formats. Write each description for its own destination rather than using two generic lines across every asset.
Avoid duplicate or near-duplicate link text. Google’s policy does not allow multiple sitelinks with the same link text even if they point to different pages, and similar text is unlikely to serve together. The destination normally needs to use the same domain as the ad’s final URL, except for Google’s limited, clearly labelled exceptions.
A review-first AI workflow
Step 1: Inventory existing sitelinks and associations
Before creating anything, list the current sitelink assets, their URLs and every active account, campaign and ad-group association. Look for duplicate destinations, stale offers, expired schedules, missing descriptions and assets whose names do not make their purpose obvious.
Prompt:
List every sitelink asset in this Google Ads account with its asset ID, link text, final URL, descriptions, dates or schedules, and active associations.
Group the results by destination URL. Flag duplicates, missing descriptions, potentially stale offers and any asset used at more than one level.
Do not make changes.Step 2: Map destinations to intent
Give AI the campaign structure and a reviewed list of valid landing pages. Ask it to recommend the narrowest sensible association level. Reject pages that do not provide a distinct next step or fail to match the campaign’s promise.
Prompt:
For this Search campaign, map the approved landing pages to user intent.
Recommend account, campaign or ad-group association for each proposed sitelink and explain why.
Exclude pages that duplicate the main ad destination, do not match the search intent or are not conversion-ready.Step 3: Draft a complete, distinct asset set
Ask for more than the platform minimum so Google has a useful pool, but do not inflate the set with weak variations. For each proposed asset, require the exact link text, destination, two descriptions and a one-line rationale.
Prompt:
Draft six distinct sitelink assets for the approved pages.
Keep link text within Google’s current limit, make each label accurately describe its destination, and write two useful description lines per asset.
Show character counts.
Do not create or link anything yet.Step 4: Review landing pages and policy
A human should open every URL and verify the destination, domain, mobile experience, tracking parameters, offer details and page availability. Check that the link text is not repetitive, misleading or decorated with attention-grabbing punctuation. Confirm that scheduled promotions have sensible start and end dates.
AI can check consistency, but it cannot prove that the live page converts well or that the offer is commercially appropriate.
Step 5: Create first, associate second
Treat creation and association as separate approval gates. Create the approved sitelink asset, inspect the returned fields and resource identifier, then link it to the exact account, campaign or ad group.
Prompt:
Create the approved sitelink asset for ‘Pricing’ with the reviewed URL and descriptions, but do not link it yet.
Return the asset ID, resource name and every saved field for review.Prompt:
Link sitelink asset [ASSET ID] only to campaign [CAMPAIGN ID].
Confirm the association after the change.
Do not create a duplicate asset or attach it anywhere else.Step 6: Verify association separately from delivery
Immediately after linking, verify that the intended association exists. Do not interpret zero impressions or an empty performance report as proof that linking failed: a fresh asset may not have served yet, and an eligible asset may still not be selected for an impression.
Use the asset listing for attachment status. Use performance reporting only after the asset has had a reasonable opportunity to serve.
Step 7: Review performance in context
Compare impressions, clicks, click-through rate, average CPC, cost, conversions and CPA at the level where the sitelink is associated. Segment by day only when the question genuinely needs a timeline.
Do not rank sitelinks on CTR alone. A high-CTR link may divert people to a low-intent page; a lower-volume pricing or demo link may contribute more qualified conversions. Compare the landing-page intent and conversion value before changing the asset pool.
Prompt:
Report sitelink performance for this campaign for the last 30 complete days.
Include impressions, clicks, CTR, average CPC, cost, conversions and CPA.
Separate assets with no rows from assets with zero recorded performance where possible.
Recommend investigations, not automatic removals.Editing a shared sitelink in Google Ads changes the asset anywhere it is associated. That can be useful for a universal correction and risky for a campaign-specific change.
HireOtto currently does not expose an in-place sitelink edit action. The controlled replacement workflow is:
List the existing asset and all of its associations.
Create the replacement without linking it.
Review the new text, descriptions, URL, tracking and schedule.
Link the replacement at each intended level.
Verify every new association.
Unlink the old asset only from the associations being replaced.
Confirm the old asset remains linked anywhere it is still needed.
This is slower than an unrestricted edit, but it makes the blast radius visible and preserves an audit trail. Unlinking removes the association; it does not delete the reusable underlying asset.
How HireOtto helps with sitelink management
HireOtto can turn this workflow into a controlled conversation inside an AI client. For sitelinks, it can:
List existing assets with their IDs, URLs, descriptions, schedules and active associations.
Create reusable sitelink assets with final URLs, mobile URLs, tracking settings, dates and schedules.
Link an approved asset at account, campaign or ad-group level, or reuse the same asset in another compatible location.
Unlink a specific association without deleting the underlying asset.
Report sitelink performance at customer, campaign or ad-group level using delivery and conversion metrics.
The review gates still matter. HireOtto can execute the exact approved operation, but the practitioner should validate landing-page relevance, policy, tracking, association level and shared-asset impact. The product does not currently edit sitelink content in place, and linking an asset makes it eligible rather than guaranteeing it will serve.
Continue with the HireOtto extension-assets guide, HireOtto reporting guide and HireOtto quickstart.
Common mistakes
Treating two sitelinks as sufficient. Two is the eligibility floor; a thin asset pool gives Google little useful choice.
Putting campaign-specific links at account level. Broad coverage is only helpful when the destination is relevant throughout the account.
Creating before inventorying. This produces duplicate destinations and leaves shared assets unmanaged.
Writing labels before choosing pages. The best copy cannot rescue an irrelevant or weak landing page.
Linking in the same step as creation. Separate gates make the final scope explicit.
Assuming association means delivery. Verify the link immediately, then wait for serving data.
Editing a shared asset without checking every association. A small text or URL change can affect several campaigns.
Optimizing for CTR alone. Evaluate downstream conversions and the role of each destination.
Frequently asked questions
How many sitelinks should a Google Ads campaign have?
At least two are required for eligibility. Google recommends at least four broadly relevant account-level sitelinks and at least six sitelinks with descriptions in high-volume campaign or ad-group contexts. Use those as coverage guidance, not a quota: every link still needs a distinct, useful destination.
Should I add sitelinks at account, campaign or ad-group level?
Use the highest level at which the sitelink remains relevant to everything beneath it. Account level suits universal pages, campaign level suits a product line or offer, and ad-group level suits a narrow intent.
Can the same sitelink be reused?
Yes. A sitelink asset can have multiple associations. Reuse an exact asset when its text, URL and descriptions are genuinely appropriate; create a separate asset when the message or destination needs to differ.
Will sitelinks always show after I add them?
No. Google considers Ad Rank, predicted performance, approval and relevance, then selects among eligible assets. First verify the association; evaluate delivery separately.
Does unlinking a sitelink delete it?
No. Unlinking removes one association. The underlying asset and its other associations remain.
Can HireOtto edit an existing sitelink?
Not in place at present. Use the replacement workflow: create the reviewed replacement, link and verify it, then unlink the old association.
About Me
I’m Suyash – badminton junkie, ex‑GroupM ad‑ops grunt, first marketer at a B2B SaaS startup, and creator of Hiretto: Google Ads MCP Server.
My mission: less clicking, more thinking.
Let’s build leverage together.