How to create website architecture that will enhance SEO
When developing a successful search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, website architecture cannot be ignored.
It’s one of those things you really need to plan and set up correctly at the very beginning of the development process.
In this article, the Drupal maintenance and support team at Drudesk explores why website architecture matters to SEO and explains the best practices to create an SEO-friendly site structure.
What is website architecture?
Website architecture is a particular structure that organizes all the content on your platform. This is the hierarchy of web pages that helps users find necessary information, as well as search engines to crawl the website.
Well-thought out site architecture is created in a way to ensure that both users and search engines can move easily through your website.
Why is website architecture important for SEO?
Website architecture is a crucial element of successful SEO performance. It also helps search engines find and display content from your website in the search engine results pages. These reinforce each other.
- Well-organized architecture means a positive user experience.
- Google will crawl and index your most important pages.
- Site architecture sends link authority around your website.
How to set up SEO-friendly website architecture?
1. Use a sitemap
XML sitemap is a URL list that simplifies the search for your content. Here are a few shot tips on how to create an excellent sitemap:
- your website’s sitemap should be displayed behind site.com/sitemap.xml
- the sitemap should collaborate with the robots.txt file
- it shouldn’t have 404 errors
- submit the XML sitemap to Google
- prioritize high-performance pages
2. Use an SEO-optimized URL structure
It’s not a secret that Google prefers simple URLs. Make sure you keep this in mind when you create a new page on your site. How to create an optimized URL?
- join words with hyphens
- use only lowercase words
- keep URLs short (up to 128 characters)
- use keywords
- use logical folders for categories and subcategories of content
Here is a great example of an SEO-optimized URL for a blog post: blog/seo/website-architecture-enhance-seo
Keep an eye on your website links to avoid broken links, as they have a negative impact on your SEO.
3. Make your website user-friendly
Your website should provide a positive UX (user experience) for users. That’s why it is important to pay attention to the following aspects:
- website speed: reduce page load speed where possible
- high security: protect your platform from hackers and malware code
- mobile optimization: make your website look and function well on all devices.
4. Create intuitive navigation
Intuitive, clear, and logical website navigation does a world of good for your website — it:
- boosts conversions by helping users find the desired things
- improves customer satisfaction
- reduces bounce rate
- confidently leads users through the website
- showcases more options to users
- benefits your SEO
As you can see, websites with intuitive navigation work better, both from a usability and SEO perspective.
5. Develop a comprehensive internal linking structure
Internal linking is important for logical site hierarchy. It allows users to navigate the website and spread links around your website. The main idea with comprehensive internal linking is that each page on your site should have a link to and a link from another page on the website. The more internal linking you have across all pages, the better.
What is SEO-optimized site structure?
SEO-friendly site structure should look like a pyramid:
Level 1: Homepage
Level 2: Sections or categories
Level 3: Subcategories
Level 4: Individual posts and pages
Once you’ve managed to develop the optimal website architecture, you’ll need to maintain it. The best option is to hire a web support team who will not only provide ongoing website support but will also ensure that website architecture is SEO-optimized and keeps benefiting your business.