How to Enhance SEO with Good Website Structure?

Who uses search engines such as Google in Australia? The short answer is… Everyone. According to Statcounter, Google alone held an average of 94% market share in 2022. As much as Search Engines are now an important part of our communication, they are also tools for businesses to increase their business visibility. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a must for business sustainability and starts with a quality website, which leads us to the topic of this blog: How to Enhance SEO with a Good Website Structure?

In 2023, SEO requires a holistic approach.

SEO is an integrated part of digital branding. To be found by the right audience, a website must be optimised for specific search terms, but also location, questions, and many other factors.

SEO is more than just sprinkling keywords throughout your content. UX, backlinks, page speed, and site structure are all important considerations.

SEO starts with a good website structure optimisation. Good site structure doesn’t only help brands rank well but also plays a key role in the user experience.

At Sydney Digital Agency, we have search engine optimised hundreds of websites. This article will list seven ways to improve the structure of a website.

What is SEO?

SEO is a digital marketing process aiming to rank higher on Google to drive more traffic on a website. It involves many techniques, both on-site and off-site.

Importance of Site Structure for SEO

Site structure helps both crawlers (the bots used by search engines to render websites) and users in several ways.

Crawlers are programmed to analyse information on websites and send it to search engines.

It is difficult for crawlers to understand what the page is about if they are unable to analyse in an orderly fashion. A poor website structure would have a negative impact on the website’s search visibility.

Website structure has a substantial impact on how your users will find what they’re searching for.

Let’s say your brand has an eCommerce website, selling high-end apparel for men. But your website’s hierarchy lacks tone and content preference, required for a pleasant customer experience. That would leave a negative brand notion.

ALSO READ: Optimise Your Website to Improve Customer Experience

Search engines use parameters to assess the usability of your website. Website structure is one such parameter. Whether your website is crawled by a search engine crawler or visited by a potential customer, a good website structure is a must!

Furthermore, for better website structure, it is important to optimise on-page elements such as title tags, headings, internal links, and content hierarchy.

Paying attention to both technical and non-technical components of a website’s structure is necessary for website optimization.

7 Ways to Improve Site Structure for SEO

1) Plan website structure according to audience

Before starting on website development, you must have a robust plan for website structure. Having a strategy can help you anticipate structural faults, which can save up a lot of time for growth.

A few factors, such as the amount of pages, type of content, content hierarchy, buyer persona, and market you’re targeting, are necessary to create a website structure plan.

Making sure your website’s structure is appropriate for your target audience is the most important part of website structure.

Without defining your buyer personas or knowledge about your target audience, your website structure might not resonate with them. The wrong website structure could lead to poor UX, resulting in a drop in organic ranking.

Want to learn more about researching your target audience? Read Researching Your Target Audience | Why and How?

2) Optimise the navigation bar

A navigation bar is one of the few website elements that users check the most!

Optimising a navigation bar is UX (User Experience) 101.

Important factors to remember:

• The rule of three clicks: Pages must be accessible in less the three clicks.
• Pages must follow a hierarchical order.

Everything being in one place makes it easier to crawl and use! And as a result, your organic search presence improves.

3) Design content hierarchy carefully

What if we told you to turn on your PC first, then the main switch?

Would it work? Not at all.

Regardless of industry, one should follow organisational order. It operates similarly in the content hierarchy as well. Content hierarchy helps website visitors understand services/products in an organised manner.

Best to keep things simple. With some exceptions, website visitors are either looking for information or seeking out goods or services they want to buy. The hierarchy of the content on your website should make it easier for users to complete tasks.

Web designers frequently use typefaces, text size, spacing, colour, and animations to distinguish between different types of content. You must first think about the consumer persona in order to create engaging content!

4) Smart internal linking

Internal linking is probably a substantial element of website structure. Website visitors find more information about other pages via a link placed, and that’s what we called it, an internal link.

Additionally, SEO also serves as the foundation for strategic internal linking. They are some of the most important on-page components that support better organic ranking.

5) Have an HTML and XML sitemap

HTML and XML sitemaps both contain links to a website’s pages. So, what’s the difference? The structure of links makes all the difference. HTML sitemaps’ links are placed as anchor text, while XML sitemap has their own technical structure.

HTML sitemaps are for users, while XML sitemaps are for search engines. Both contribute to creating a good website structure.

With the help of an HTML and XML sitemap, there is scope for improvement in SEO.

An XML sitemap provides information about webpages on a website and their hierarchy. Without an XML sitemap, search engines would have a tough time finding web pages. As a result, it will have an impact on search visibility.

6) Incorporate schema markup

Structured data, such as schema markup (a small piece of JSON snippet), aids search engines in understanding the content of a website.

As it is a key touch point for search engines, it affects SEO. As a business owner, you should hire an expert to incorporate schema into your website. That’s because even a small coding mistake can make a website difficult for Google to search.

Internet giants such as LinkedIn, Yelp, and Monster have integrated schema markup into their SEO strategies. Depending on the industry you’re in, there are different types of schemas available.

7) Integrate analytics tools to measure performance

Creating an effective website structure requires several tests and improvements.

Through the use of analytics tools such as Google Analytics or HotJar, you can measure and improve structure.

These tools provide real-time insights for improvisation. It can help you understand visitors’ interactions, engaging sessions, landing pages, traffic sources, and much more. Furthermore, any positive change in website structure or landing page also affects SEO.

In Conclusion

The structure of a website is a crucial element to consider before starting on the design as it impacts a website’s UX (User Experience) as well as its visibility.Looking to step into your SEO game with a tailored Search Engine Optimised website? Email us at [email protected].