If your site architecture is wrong for your SEO strategy, you are not going to see the ROI you expect. This may seem simple, but many SEO managers tend to ignore site architecture as a key piece of the SEO puzzle. By getting your site architecture in line with your objectives, you will not only raise the level of ROI, you will encourage visitors to have a better user experience on your site.
Bulletproof Digital can help you with site architecture through our website design and development strategies. Talk to us about how we can help you design your website to meet your objectives and raise your internet traffic.
Start With A Lexicon
Semantics or language is key to understanding how users view your site. Start with a keyword search and make a spreadsheet to determine frequency of use. One way to do this easily is to use the Google Adwords Editor’s grouper function. You can find out how to “generate common terms” by reading the article “How To Organize Keywords.” Another tool you can try is the Google Contextual Targeting Tool.
Base Your Site Structure On Visitor Language
Group your keywords into thematic units. Link each unit to sub themes that are relevant to your users.
These groups will help you compose your navigation lists and establish your keyword hierarchy. Remember, all of this is based on actual user language, not an arbitrary scheme.
Evidence Based Navigation
It might seem logical to base your navigation on things you know are important to your users, such as price or size. However, if your research does not show that users are searching with those terms in mind, you are better off to leave those functions for sorts and other tools on your website and focus your navigation on search terms instead.
Integrate Site Navigation All Over Your Pages
There is a tendency to leave site navigation on the left side of the page. Of course it should be there or at the top, but you should also embed navigational directions in your content. Users like being able to click as they read to find out more about a topic, and they are actually more likely to use these links when they flow naturally in the course of reading a page.
Using Site Architecture To Defeat Panda & Penguin
Unfortunately, click-backs can hurt your Panda rating. If your users refuse to move through your website, it indicates to Panda that your website is not relevant or valuable. The easier you make it for visitors to move through the site, the less risk you run in this regard.
To avoid Penguin problems, do not use variable keywords to point to a specific page. Instead, be sure your links are relevant to specific content.
Bulletproof Digital can help you revamp your website so that it meets the exacting standards search engines are putting out. In order to help you make your site the best, contact us today to learn more about our search engine optimization services.
