Creating a Site Structure To Win At SEO. If you want to have a chance ranking on the main search engines such as Google then a solid site structure is important. When a website is all mumbled jumbled Google doesn’t thoroughly understand what you are trying to achieve. As a result, you very well can be buried on page ten.
Throughout this blog post, I will help navigate you through the murky waters of site structure. As a result, your website will be able to be crawled efficiently and you will get the best rankings and SERP results possible.
Does Site Structure Really Matter
When clients come to me who have worked with other SEO companies I am always surprised how there isn’t any thought with the site structure. There are some hints of SEO but when it comes to the layout to the website it’s like they threw darts at the computer screen and put the drop-down menus where ever they felt like it. If a human is having a hard time navigating the website you can surely bet Google will too. Let me help you to design a website that will have a healthy SEO structure.
Good Site Structure Means Good Search Engine Crawling – That’s A Fact
Good site structure means good search engine crawling. Google will love visiting your site. Think of your site structure as your desk. I bet you enjoy working on a nice clean and organized desk. You are more efficient compared to working on a messy desk. Google feels the same way about your site structure. Think of your site structure as your desk.
The Importance of SILOS
The importance of SILOS is what helps Google understand what you are trying to achieve. You don’t want every link in your root directly. Especially if you have a lot of pages. For instance, let’s use pretend we are working on the structure of the site for a plumber. SILO 1 might service. Then under that SILO (Drop Down Menu), you want all the services. Drain Cleaning, Water Heater Repair, Sewer and Water Line, Emergency Plumbing, and so on. This tells Google and other search engines that these are somewhat linked together. Your permalink might look something like MyPlumbingBiz.com/services/WaterHeaterRepair then /services/sewerandwaterlinerepair. You get the point. You want to make all these services a parent page to the service tab. This is very easy to do in WordPress. Take a look at the video below.
From there you want to Link one page to the other within these SILOS. You don’t necessarily want to reciprocate the linking. Rather want Google to crawl your page, see the link and go to the next page. For instance, it’s best not to have a link fro one SILO (Menu Drop Down) to another SILO. Google will easily get confused. It will be like working on a messy desk.
KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid
Keep your structured of your site simple and clean. This allows users to navigate your site easier and Google will reward you. Google will also understand what information is most important and as a result, your key phrase will rank higher. You will also get better ranking power because your links are more valuable.
It’s best to start your SILOS prior to making your site. Working on a site structure on a site that has been around for a while and has a lot of pages can be a daunting task. However, it’s necessary. I like to go old school and draw it out on a piece of paper. I like the visual.
