Entity reference: SiteNavigationElement

SiteNavigationElement Schema Reference

SiteNavigationElement describes a navigation block on a page, such as a main menu. It is valid Schema.org vocabulary, and no documented Google Search feature uses it.

By SchemaReel Editorial Desk Published October 26, 2026 2 min read

Schema.org type: SiteNavigationElement
Hierarchy: Thing > CreativeWork > WebPageElement > SiteNavigationElement
Google Search feature: No documented Google Search feature.
Status checked: October 26, 2026

Properties worth knowing

SiteNavigationElement properties used on casino and sportsbook sites
Property	Expects	Use it for	Google documentation
`name`	Text	The menu label.	Not listed
`url`	URL	The destination of each link.	Not listed
`hasPart`	WebPageElement	Sub-menus, if you model them.	Not listed

Example

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "SiteNavigationElement",
  "name": "Main menu",
  "hasPart": [
    {
      "@type": "SiteNavigationElement",
      "name": "Reviews",
      "url": "https://ledgerlane.example/reviews/"
    },
    {
      "@type": "SiteNavigationElement",
      "name": "Guides",
      "url": "https://ledgerlane.example/guides/"
    }
  ]
}

A main menu described as SiteNavigationElement. Fictional names on reserved .example domains. Local checklist: no errors or warnings.

On casino and sportsbook sites

Navigation markup is common in older SEO plugins. Google's structured data gallery has no feature for it, and good HTML already tells systems what a menu is: a nav element with clear link text. If your templates output SiteNavigationElement, it does no harm when it matches the visible menu. If you are starting fresh, spend the effort on BreadcrumbList and clear internal links instead.

Where it sits among other types

SiteNavigationElement is a kind of WebPageElement: it describes a part of a page, not a page or a site. That makes it different from the types Google does document for site structure. BreadcrumbList describes where one page sits in the hierarchy, and WebSite on the home page tells Google the site name. A menu block adds neither of those facts, which is why it rarely changes anything a search system already reads from the HTML.

Market editions and changing menus

Casino and sportsbook menus change often: seasonal sports, new game categories, a promotions link that one market allows and another does not. If you keep navigation markup, generate it from the same data that renders the visible menu, so a market edition never describes links its readers cannot see. Hand-maintained navigation JSON-LD drifts within weeks, and markup that describes content readers cannot see goes against Google's general guidelines.

Mistakes to avoid

Expecting sitelinks from navigation markup.
Menus in markup that differ from the visible menu.
Large footer link lists marked up as navigation on every page.

Questions

Does SiteNavigationElement give sitelinks?

No documented Google feature uses it. Sitelinks come from Google's own systems.

Is it harmful?

No, if it matches the visible menu. It is simply optional.

Sources

How SchemaReel chooses, reads and dates its sources is set out on the data sources page.

Google Search Central, General structured data guidelines, last updated July 10, 2026.
Google Search Central, Latest Google Search documentation updates, read October 26, 2026.