The organizing of the site and how the web pages are interlinked defines the structure of a website. A good and well-designed website structure will surely help the search engines and users navigate to the particular website quite easily and will do great in improving and supporting the SEO performance. Consult any SEO specialist in New York, and they will tell you about the importance of having an improved website structure.

The way things work is that, the better the structure of the website, the better its chances are of getting a higher ranking than other websites in the search engine. If one is careful and properly plans the structure then it is bound to achieve search excellence. The more appealing the site is to the users, the higher the chances are of it getting a good rating on the search engine. 

On this note, let’s take a look at how a website structure can be improved:

Internal linking

Making use of internal linking and proper navigation in the structure will improve the UX of the site and will also be very beneficial for SEO. This is due to the flow of PageRank through the site.

PageRank or PR is the external and internal backlink of the webpage. It was created somewhere around the time as google was and in today’s world. The ranking algorithm foundation was based on PageRank and is still being used today.

Through the linkage of an adequate number of related pages, one can control the flow of PR in and around his website. 

Properly plan the Hierarchy 

This tip will benefit people who are starting their website from scratch. People who want to modify their website can also do so but it is recommended for the new websites as it is more effective there. Now, the heading says it all, plan your hierarchy very carefully. Use the tools at your disposal, it may be Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets or even on a whiteboard.

A hierarchy is simply a way to organize your information, a product of information that makes sense and is simple to interpret and understand once it is in a hierarchy. During the creation of the hierarchy, it will also become a way of navigating through the website and will also be the structure of the URL. Some specifications and features one should know about hierarchy are,

  • Make it logical. Do not complicate it more than it already is. This will only double the effort and the time. What you should be aiming for is simplicity, as that is what the users want. How you can do that is, each main category should be special and different and it should have sub categories. Now these sub categories should be simple and should be similar to the main category they are under.
  • When designing the site, you should have between two to seven main categories. The site should be unique and have few main features. Again, you do not want to overthink and over compensate. If the main categories exceed the recommended amount then I suggest you re-evaluate it.
  • Keep the number of sub-categories in each main category equal. For example, if there are ten sub-categories to one main category and there are four sub-categories to another main category then this is unbalanced.
  • Always have the site navigation done in CSS or HTML. These two have always been a safe approach as the coding is simple as compared to other languages like JavaScript and flash. JavaScript also limits the site navigation.

Build a small navigation structure

As the navigation structure will be based on the site hierarchy, always make sure that various pages of the site are not buried too deep inside all the excess detail. So, create a shallow and small site as it delivers the main information and straight away moves to the point and attracts the attention of the user for a longer period of time. Which results in better ratings.

Create a header for navigation

The top header or just header should always contain the list of the main pages on the site. Adding anything like sub categories to it will make it unnecessary and unattractive. 

Using drop down or disappearing menus does give a very unique and complex look to the site but it does nothing to enhance the SEO. Also, refrain from using any sort of image-based navigation structure. Words with proper headings and sub categories are the best way to make up a strong SEO.

Implement Fixes From Site Testing

A successful website is a well-structured website. Having structure in your codebase allows you to update, maintain, and improve your site without fear of destroying everything. It can also help you focus on the most important part of your site when adding new features.

The work done when testing for bugs will also aid in improving the structure of your site because it is easier to fix issues found during testing than it is to determine if there are problems in code which users will encounter when using the site.It can be helpful to do some research on the best test automation tools to understand better the value of testing your website or app.

Hope the tips provided help in changing the website in a way it becomes more effective and has a good rating. Once the structure of your website is improved, you can hire local SEO experts and improve the ranking of your website.