When the matter comes to Search Engine Optimization, site structure is a foundational part. This is one of the things you really want to get right at the first attempt itself. There might be situations wherein you would gain new insights on your website when you almost thought that you have nailed it. If your site needs a few tweaks or if you are planning an overhaul, then in that case you should have a closer look at website information architecture. SEO in one of the integral part for businesses to strive better results.
The better your site structure is the better are your chances of ranking higher in the search engine platforms. Each Page has a structure in itself. It might have a streamlined structure or it might be a disorganized one. But if you are careful in creating your site structure, it will help in achieve search excellence.
Why does site structure matter?
It’s very strange to see how often businesses overlook the site structure. But it’s important to note your site structure is one of the crucial aspects of your better SEO performance. Some webmasters definitely understand the importance of site structure that helps enhancing the SEO. Here are a few reasons why site structure becomes so crucial in creating your SEO-friendly site structure.
A great site structure has a greater user experience
Having a great site design is about having a great structure. According to a study, a human mind craves cognitive equilibrium – wherein they put together pieces logically, finding the things that they are expecting and trying to locate what they have been seeking. Hence, having a strong, logical site structure satisfies the needs of users.
As you would note the more your site is appealing to the users the more appealing it is to your search engines. In order to rank your site, Google’s algorithm uses information from the searches. But do note that if your site has poor CTRs or lower dwelling time then it is for sure that it will not help in the SERPs. On the contrary, when a user finds a site that they are looking for, that is a site with a great structure they don’t bounce off to other websites as well as stay longer on your page. Having an accurate site structure to your site helps you in reducing bounce rate along with increasing the dwelling time and both of which are going to lead to the improved rankings of your website.
Site structure helps provide the site with site links
Sitelinks are a form of listing in the search engine that helps to show your site on the main page along with several other internal links indented. As mentioned below site links are a huge advantage to your SEO. These site links help in easily navigating your site thus pointing your users to relevant information that they are looking for, increasing your brand reputation, and improve their trust which will, in turn, help you in dominating SERPs. Sitelinks work wonders.
But how can you get sitelinks? You simply can’t go to Google Search Console and fill in forms or you can’t even request for issuing a site link. On the other hand, Google’s algorithm automatically awards your websites with site links that too based on the great site structure you have. If your site has a poor site structure then it is less likely that your site will ever receive a site link.
Great Site structure leads to better crawling
There are web crawlers such as Googlebot which crawl your entire website’s structure as their main motive is to index the content such that it returns to the search results. What works well for you is having a better site structure that enables easy crawling for crawlers and indexing your content.
Mentioned below are a few steps towards creating a site structure:
- Have a well-planned hierarchy before developing a website.
- Creating an efficient URL structure that helps following your navigation hierarchy.
- Creation of site navigation in HTML or CSS
- Make sure to have a shallow depth navigation structure.
- Creation of header lists especially for your main navigation pages.
- Create a comprehensive internal linking structure.
