Having a well-structured website is key to success when it comes to achieving optimal search engine optimization (SEO) results.
Even if you have implemented all the other necessary SEO steps – such as appropriate keyword usage, accurate meta tags and interesting content – none of this will make any difference if your site’s structure is not sound. Site structure refers to the URL and internal linking structure, which is most visible in the website’s navigation.
In this article, we’ll explore four reasons why having a strong site structure is essential for both user experience and SEO success, leading to more conversions.
Great User Experience Starts with a Well-Structured Website
Navigating a website is much like exploring a large building. A logical layout and clear structure make it easier to get where you need to go, while being lost can lead to frustration and even distress.
When someone visits your website, they should always know exactly where they are in the structure.
Search engine algorithms take UX into account too. If they detect that visitors are leaving a site quickly, it is an indication of poor user experience and will result in lower rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs). This means your website won’t appear often – and when it does, it will not be prominently displayed.
Structuring Your Site Properly Helps Search Engines Crawl It More Efficiently
On the other hand, an inadequately structured site will limit a search engine’s ability to crawl and index it properly. A search engine’s bots “crawl” a website by following its URL and internal link structure in order to quickly read the content. All this information is stored in the search engine’s “index”.
When someone performs a search, the search engine goes through its index to find relevant pages that it can present in the results.
While doing this, however, the search engine is limited by time and will not be able to properly index your website if its structure is too difficult to crawl. As a result, your content will not appear in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) no matter how relevant and high-quality it may be.
Internal Links Enhance and Strengthen your Site
Internal linking is an essential element of effective site structure. It not only supports the main navigation, but also helps to promote pages within a website that do not have external backlinks. This type of linking directs attention to content that may be deeper in the hierarchy or otherwise important on your site.
Link equity, otherwise known as ‘link juice’, is a ranking factor which determines how much value and authority one page can give to another. In terms of internal linking, this means that high ranking pages can pass on the benefit to lower ranking pages. This not only helps promote those lower ranking pages within your own website, but it can also help to distribute the equity of external links (links from other websites linking back to your website).
The anchor text used for internal links is also an important factor, as it helps both users and search engine bots better understand the content of your site.
it’s essential that you ensure all internal links are relevant and useful, while avoiding over-doing it as this could be seen as spammy by search engines.
A Structured Website Facilitates Sitelinks in SERPs
Sitelinks are a useful and tidy display of a website’s main page and several internal links that appear within the SERP (Search Engine Results Page). Having sitelinks can increase navigability, click-through rate, and trustworthiness which all have positive spin-off benefits. In other words, sitelinks are great to have!
Sitelinks act like shortcuts to important pages and show search engines that your website structure is clear and well-organized for both humans and bots. Although the process of being awarded with sitelinks by a search engine isn’t direct, having a strong website structure is essential. When a search engine is able to identify the most fitting pages to a query, it will then display those in the results.
Key Points & What’s Next
Ensure that your website structure is in top shape! Not only will this create an enjoyable experience for those who visit your site, but it will also boost the visibility of your site to search engines. If you’re looking for assistance with optimizing the structure of your website for maximum user satisfaction, don’t hesitate to get in touch.