Website structure significantly impacts SEO in several ways. Strong website structure makes it easier for search engines to understand and index your website, potentially improving your rankings on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). It also helps users navigate your site more effectively, improving user experience and potentially leading to higher conversions.
Firstly, a good website structure helps search engines crawl your site more effectively. When a search engine’s bots come to your site, they follow links to discover content. If your site structure is well-organized and all content is easy to find, these bots can index more of it, leading to more pages appearing in search results. According to Moz, a leader in SEO software, a well-linked website helps disseminate link equity across the site, which can enhance your overall ranking power.
Secondly, your site architecture plays a crucial role in eliminating duplicate content issues. Suppose you have two pages displaying the same content, and they are accessible from different URLs. In that case, search engines may consider them as separate pages with duplicated content, which can negatively influence your SEO. Google suggests using 301 redirects or the canonical link element to fix this issue.
Additionally, website structure affects SEO because it influences the user experience. Barry Feldman, a renowned digital marketing strategist, indicates that a website with a clear structure and logical navigation keeps users engaged for longer and reduces bounce rates. Enhanced user engagement and reduced bounce rates signal to search engines that your site is a valuable resource, which may improve your rankings.
Furthermore, Google uses schema markup, a form of microdata, to understand the content on your site better. Adding schema markup to the HTML of your pages can improve how your pages display in SERPs by enhancing the rich snippets that appear beneath the page title. According to Neil Patel, a top influencer on the web, as recognized by The Wall Street Journal, through the use of schema markup, you can boost your site in search engine results, although it’s not entirely clear to what degree it helps.
Lastly, a site with a strong structure can help you implement an effective internal linking strategy. Internal linking can help spread link equity throughout your site, which can improve the SEO of lower-level pages. An article in the SEMrush blog further explains this concept – having internal links on your site boosts its SEO because it improves crawlability and distributes authority throughout your website.
Your website’s overall structure should be a crucial part of your SEO strategy. By focusing on the hierarchy, ease of navigation, removing duplicate content, schema markup, and an internal linking strategy, the structure of your site can significantly enhance your SEO efforts.
Sources:
- Moz: https://moz.com/learn/seo/internal-link
- Google Webmasters: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/guidelines/duplicate-content
- Barry Feldman: https://feldmancreative.com/2017/09/google-rankbrain-seo/
- Neil Patel: https://neilpatel.com/blog/get-started-using-schema/
- SEMrush: https://www.semrush.com/blog/anatomy-of-a-url/
