While you might not have given much thought to your website’s architecture, there is more to website structure than meets the eye.
If you want your website to rank high in search engine results pages (SERPs), then you need to create a website that is optimised for SEO performance. This means structuring your website in a way that makes it easy for search engine crawlers to index and understand.
With that in mind, let’s discuss the key elements of optimising your website structure for optimal SEO performance.
What is a Website Structure?
A website’s structure refers to the way its pages are laid out and linked together. This is also sometimes called a site’s architecture. A well-structured website will be easy to navigate, and users will be able to find the information they are looking for quickly and easily.
There are many different ways to structure a website, but most sites will use a hierarchy, with the home page at the top, followed by increasingly specific pages. For example, a site about cars might have a homepage that links to pages about different car brands, followed by pages about individual models.
A good website structure is essential for providing a good user experience, which is becoming increasingly important in the eyes of Google and other major search engines.
How Does Website Structure Affect Your Website’s Ranking in SERPs?
Website structure is vital in the context of SEO for two main reasons: user experience and site crawling optimisation. A well-structured website is easy to navigate, reducing bounce rates and encouraging users to stay on the site longer, which are positive signals to Google and other search engines.
On the other side of the coin, a well-structured website makes it easier for search engine bots to crawl and index pages, improving the time it takes for your site posts and pages to rank in major search engines.
In other words, by optimising your site structure for both people and robots, you can dramatically improve the position of your key pieces of content within search results.
Key Elements of Optimising Your Website Structure for SEO Performance
So, now we’ve explained why optimising your site structure is so crucial in the context of SEO, let’s take a closer look at some of the things you might want to do to improve your website’s architecture.
Create a Logical Hierarchy
A well-structured website will have a logical hierarchy, with the most important pages appearing nearer the top of the hierarchy. This makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index your site and also helps users to find the information they are looking for more quickly.
Create Keyword-Rich Titles and Metadata
Another important element of optimising your website structure for SEO performance is using keyword-rich titles and meta tags. These efforts will help ensure that your website appears in the search results when people are searching for target keywords related to your site and informs search engine crawlers as to the topic and nature of your site (so it knows how and where to rank it).
Use Breadcrumbs to Improve Navigation
Breadcrumbs are a crucial element of optimising your website structure for SEO performance. Breadcrumbs are the links that appear at the top of your web page, usually above the title and meta descriptions. They provide a way for users to quickly navigate back to the home page or previous pages on your site.
Search engines also use breadcrumbs to determine your website’s hierarchy and crawl your site more effectively, further increasing their importance to your site structure.
Utilise Heading Hierarchies
Just as you might install a logical top-level site hierarchy, your pages and blog posts need to follow the correct heading hierarchies. The most important heading tag is the H1 tag, typically used for the page title. Heading tags should be used in order of importance, with H2 tags being used for subheadings, H3 tags for sub-headings, and so on.
By using heading tags appropriately, you can help search engines understand the structure of your content and ensure that your most important elements on each page or post are given prominence in search results. In addition, using headings can make your content more user-friendly by making it easier to scan and navigate.
Optimise Your SEO Performance Today With Help from the Experts
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all of the information presented above on structuring your website for optimal SEO performance, don’t worry. Ctrl Alt Create is here to help.
We are a team of experienced professionals passionate about helping businesses achieve their online marketing goals. We have the expertise and knowledge to help you structure your website for optimal SEO performance, so get in touch today to learn more about our technical SEO services and what we can do for your online presence.
We are available on 0793 9006 826 or via email at hello@ctrlaltcreate.co, and we look forward to answering any questions you may have regarding SEO or improving your online presence.