In the ever changing world of search engine optimisation (SEO), one of the biggest questions webmasters and digital marketers have is how to get their login pages to show in Sitelinks or Sitemap.
As mentioned in the recent Google Search Central video, “SEO Work Hours – Aug 2024”, getting your login page to show can really impact user engagement and site navigation.
So many webmasters are asking: what are the strategies or best practices to get your login page to stand out?
In this post we will go into the details shared by Google experts on how Sitelinks are generated and shown in search results.
Get ready as we reveal the key elements that will make all the difference in your SEO. Stay tuned for practical tips to boost your website’s search visibility!
Google Answers: How do you get your login page in Sitelinks
To the original question in the Google Search Central video,
“How can software as a service companies ensure their login page appears in their sitelinks?”
we must remember that webmasters can’t control what shows in Sitelinks but we can do things to increase the chances of our login page to show.
Here are the concepts and practical tips based on expert advice:
- Content Visibility: “If you have content behind a login page, redirect logged out users to the login page and let search engines see that”. By redirecting logged out users to the login page, it allows search engines to crawl and recognize the page’s existence and relevance and get it indexed.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Login Redirect Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<!-- Login Page -->
<div id="loginPage" style="display:none;">
<h1>Login</h1>
<form action="/authenticate" method="POST">
<label for="username">Username:</label>
<input type="text" id="username" name="username" required>
<label for="password">Password:</label>
<input type="password" id="password" name="password" required>
<button type="submit">Login</button>
</form>
</div>
<!-- Script to Handle Redirection for Logged-Out Users -->
<script>
// Function to check if a user is logged in
function isLoggedIn() {
// This is a placeholder. Implement your login check logic here.
return false; // Assuming user is not logged in for demonstration
}
// Redirect logged out users to the login page
window.onload = function() {
if (!isLoggedIn()) {
document.getElementById('loginPage').style.display = 'block';
// Optionally, set the page title for better SEO
document.title = 'Login - Your Service Name';
}
};
</script>
</body>
</html>Here is the HTML example of a basic login page that shows only to users who are not logged in.
It has a script that checks the user’s login status and shows the login form if the user is not authenticated.
Make sure to replace isLoggedIn function with your actual authentication logic for this to work in a production environment. By doing this you are letting search engines see the login page and get it to show in Sitelinks as mentioned earlier.
- Indexability:”Make sure your login page is indexable. Don’t use no index, and don’t block crawling with robots.txt.”. Ensure your login page is indexable. This means don’t use noindex and don’t block crawling with robots.txt. When search engines can crawl and index your login page it will increase the chances of it to show in search results.
User-agent: *
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /tmp/
Disallow: /login?
Allow: /login
Allow: /public-content/In this example:
- User-agent: * means the following rules applies to all web crawlers.
- Disallow: /private/ and Disallow: /tmp/ means crawlers can’t access those directories.
- Disallow: /login? means any URL parameters for the login page is blocked while Allow: /login means crawlers can access the login page itself.
- Allow: /public-content/ means search engines can index public content in that directory.
This setup balances protection of sensitive parts of your site and letting search engines to access your login page and get you visible in Sitelinks.
- Normal Page Treatment: Once your login page is accessible and indexable “then your login page will be seen as a normal page on your website and can be indexed accordingly”. This is the recognition by search engines that will improve your overall visibility in Sitelinks.
By doing this businesses can increase the visibility of their login page in Sitelinks and user navigation and engagement. Remember to review these practices as the search engine algorithms change.
Summary
In summary, getting your login page to show in Google Sitelinks is not just a technical thing but a strategic one that requires careful thought of several factors.
By making content visible, indexable and treating your login page as a normal site element you are setting your website to be more discoverable in search results.
Remember to review and adjust your strategies as the search engine algorithms change.
This will also boost your website’s SEO and get users to your site.
