Optimising Site Structure: The Definitive Guide

Your website requires a clear structure to avoid becoming a disorganised collection of pages and blog posts. Users need this structure to easily navigate from one page to another. Similarly, Google uses your site’s structure to assess which content is important and which is less relevant. This guide provides all the essential information about effective site structure.

 

What is site structure, and why is it important?

Site structure involves organizing and arranging a website’s pages and content. It outlines the hierarchy of information and acts as a guide for search engine crawlers. A well-organised site structure makes navigation easier for users, enhances their experience, and helps search engines like Google understand and index the content effectively. This can lead to improved site performance, higher rankings, increased traffic, and better conversion rates.

 

Importance for Usability

The structure of your website affects user experience (UX) significantly. If visitors cannot find the products or information they need, they are less likely to return or make purchases. An effective site structure makes it easy for users to navigate and find what they’re looking for. By categorising and linking your posts and products clearly, new visitors should quickly understand what your site offers.

 

Importance for SEO

A good site structure greatly enhances your chances of ranking well in search engines for three main reasons:

 

1. It helps Google understand your site: 

The way you structure your site provides Google with important clues about your site’s valuable content. It helps search engines grasp the main topics or products you offer, making it easier for them to index and rank your site.

 

1. It prevents internal competition: 

If you have multiple blog posts or pages on similar topics, Google might struggle to determine which page is most important. This can lead to your content competing with itself for high rankings. A clear internal linking strategy and taxonomy can help Google understand which pages are most relevant.

 

1. It manages changes on your site: 

As your content and products evolve, your site structure needs to adapt. New products or articles should be integrated seamlessly, and outdated content should be removed or redirected. This helps ensure that Google does not display outdated or irrelevant content to users.

 

How to set up the structure of your site

To create a solid site structure, follow these key steps. We’ll first outline an ideal site structure and then explain how to achieve it for your site.

 

What’s an Ideal Site Structure?

An ideal site structure resembles a pyramid with several levels. Here’s how to organise it:

1. Homepage: This is the top level of your site and should serve as a central hub. It should link to your main sections or categories.
2. Categories or Sections: These are the major divisions of your site, placed just below the homepage. Each category groups related content.
3. Subcategories: For larger sites, categories can be divided into subcategories to further organise content.
4. Individual Pages and Posts: At the base of the pyramid, you’ll find the specific content pages and blog posts.

Your homepage should be at the top, linking to your main categories. For larger sites, categories can have subcategories. The individual pages and posts fall beneath these.

 

Your Homepage

The homepage is crucial as it acts as a navigation centre. It should link to your most important pages to guide visitors and signal to Google which pages are significant. Avoid overloading the homepage with too many links, as it can lead to clutter and hinder navigation. For more optimisation tips, check out our article on homepage SEO.

 

Navigation

Good navigation is essential for usability. Your site should have a clear menu and breadcrumb trail.

 

The Menu:

The menu is a primary navigation tool. It should include the main categories of your site to help visitors find what they need. For larger sites, consider having multiple menus to avoid clutter. For example, eBay uses a top bar menu for account-related links and a main menu for product categories. Ensure your menu is not overloaded with links.

 

Breadcrumb Trail:

Breadcrumbs are clickable links usually found at the top of pages. They show the site’s structure and help visitors understand their location on the site. Breadcrumbs also improve SEO and user experience. Use breadcrumb plugins for WordPress or the built-in feature in our Yoast SEO plugin.

 

Taxonomies

Taxonomies help group content. In WordPress, taxonomies include categories and tags.

 

Categories:

Group your content into categories and subcategories to keep it organised. For example, a clothing store might use categories like ‘shoes’ and subcategories like ‘boots’ or ‘heels’. This structure helps both users and search engines understand your content better.

 

Tags:

Tags describe specific attributes of your content without a hierarchical structure. For example, tags for a clothing store might include ‘Timberlands’. Use tags to highlight key aspects of your content but avoid creating too many unique tags. Ensure each tag is used for multiple items to maintain relevance.

Tags should be visible to visitors, either at the bottom of articles or in a sidebar, to help them find related content. 

By implementing these practices, you can create a well-structured site that improves usability and SEO.

 

Contextual internal linking

Site structure involves organizing and linking the content on your website. While we have covered primary navigation links, such as those on your homepage and in menus, it is also crucial to consider contextual links. These are internal links embedded within the text of your pages that direct users to other relevant pages on your site. For instance, if you mention tagging in an article, linking to a post about it provides readers with additional information.

It’s important to link your most significant pages frequently across your site. Ensure that these links are not only relevant to the page they are on but also fit well within the context of the content.

Google uses the context of these links to understand the linked page better. The anchor text, or the clickable text of the link, helps Google grasp the topic of the linked page. Additionally, Google examines the surrounding content to gain further insights. This helps Google determine how to rank your pages appropriately. Tools like Yoast SEO Premium can simplify this process by suggesting relevant internal links to enhance your site’s structure.

 

Contextual Linking for Blogs

When writing blogs, it’s important to cover your main topics thoroughly. Start by creating cornerstone articles that provide comprehensive information on key subjects. Then, write additional posts that address related subtopics. Link these related posts to your cornerstone articles, and vice versa. This strategy ensures that your most important pages receive the most and most relevant links.

Think of it like a map with cities and towns. Major cities (cornerstone articles) receive the most links, while smaller towns (related posts) are connected to these cities but have fewer links leading to them. This way, your primary content gets the most visibility and relevance.

 

Contextual Linking for Online Shops

In an online store, the focus is primarily on selling products rather than exploring topics. Therefore, contextual links in product descriptions are less common because they might distract customers from making a purchase. However, there are effective ways to use contextual links in e-commerce:

– Link from product bundle pages to individual products.

– Include a ‘related items’ or ‘compare with similar items’ section.

– Feature a ‘customers also bought’ section.

– Add a ‘product bundles’ or ‘frequently bought together’ section.

These strategies can help guide customers to related products and enhance the shopping experience. For more details on setting up a strong internal linking structure for your online store, check out our Site Structure training in the Yoast SEO Academy, where we provide practical examples from real websites.

 

Landing Pages

Landing pages are designed to attract users searching for specific keywords. For example, if you optimise for “free SEO training,” you want users to land on a page detailing your “SEO for Beginners” course. Unlike standard pages, landing pages need a targeted approach to content.

There are two main types of landing pages: cornerstone pages and product landing pages. Both aim to attract visitors from search engines but require different strategies. To effectively create these pages, it’s crucial to understand search intent.

 

Search Intent

Understanding search intent is key when structuring your site. It involves figuring out what users are looking for when they enter a search query. Are they seeking information, comparing products, or ready to make a purchase? Identifying these intents helps in creating content that meets user expectations. Ensure that your landing pages align with these intents to better serve your audience.

 

Cornerstone Content Pages

Cornerstone content refers to the most critical informational pages on your site. These pages aim to provide comprehensive information on specific topics and are not primarily focused on selling products. While blogs are often used for cornerstone content, it can also include other types of articles. The goal is to compile all relevant knowledge on a topic into a single resource.

 

Product Landing Pages

Product landing pages differ significantly from cornerstone content. They are typically shorter and more focused, aimed at providing just enough information to persuade visitors to make a purchase. While cornerstone articles can be extensive, product landing pages should be concise but still contain enough content for Google to understand their relevance and ranking keywords. The main emphasis should be on presenting your product effectively.

For further details on creating effective landing pages, check out the essentials listed by Michiel.

 

Maintaining your site structure

Updating your site’s structure might not always feel urgent, especially if you’re frequently adding new content or blogging. However, it’s crucial to manage your site’s structure to prevent it from becoming disorganized. A well-structured site should be an integral part of your long-term SEO strategy.

 

Review Your Menu

Whenever your business goals or website change, your menu should also be updated. Visual tools like flowcharts can help you plan this effectively. Start by mapping out your menu’s structure and see how well it accommodates your existing content. Some pages might still be relevant but no longer fit well with your current menu. Ensure these pages are still accessible via internal links and sitemaps to avoid losing them from search engines and user access. Your flowchart can also highlight any gaps in your site structure.

 

Reassess Your Taxonomy

Organise your categories, subcategories, and posts using tools like spreadsheets or visual software such as LucidChart or MindNode. Check if your categories logically reflect your content. If you notice a category becoming too large or too small compared to others, consider restructuring it. For instance, a large category might need to be split into smaller ones, while smaller categories might be merged. Remember to set up proper redirects for any deleted categories to maintain SEO value.

 

Update or Remove Outdated Content

Outdated articles can either be updated and republished or removed if they’re no longer relevant. When deleting content, make sure to set up a proper redirect to a relevant page. This prevents users and search engines from encountering 404 errors, which can negatively impact user experience and SEO.

 

Prevent Keyword Cannibalisation

Be mindful of keyword cannibalisation, which occurs when multiple pages target similar keywords. This can cause your pages to compete against each other, leading to lower rankings. To address this, review your content performance and consolidate or redirect overlapping pages. Use tools like the Yoast Duplicate Post plugin to create drafts for merged posts without affecting live content.

For more tips on managing your site structure, including dealing with orphaned content and improving SEO, check out our resources.

 

Internal linking with Yoast SEO

Feeling overwhelmed by internal linking? Yoast SEO offers tools to make this process easier.

The text link counter in Yoast SEO helps you manage and optimise your internal links. It displays links within a post and those pointing to it, allowing you to improve connections between related posts. Use this tool to ensure your cornerstone content receives the most relevant links. You can spot cornerstone articles by looking for the pyramid icon in the tool.

Yoast SEO Premium also supports internal linking with its suggestions tool. This feature shows related articles as you write, making it easy to add links by simply dragging them into your editor. 

Additionally, you can mark your cornerstone content within the tool, ensuring these important articles appear at the top of your internal linking suggestions. This way, you won’t miss linking to your key content.