A site's structure: why it matters and how to change it

A site's structure is one of the key factors determining how successful a resource will be. Structured information is preferable both from the users' point of view and from that of search robots. So choosing the optimum structure is one of the most important decisions, and it has to be made while the site is still being built. 

Optimising the structure is a continuous process. Once a site is running, both small cosmetic changes to meet current needs and a serious rebuild are possible. The second option does not always mean mistakes were made during development.

 

Why does a site's structure matter so much? 

The structure is the scheme by which the main elements of a site — pages, subcategories, categories — are arranged in relation to one another. Technically it is described by a particular sequence of URLs. At the same time the structure is directly connected with the resource's semantic core : it is largely the core that determines which content belongs in which section.

So why does the right structure matter so much?

The effectiveness of SEO

 If a site's structure is arranged optimally, a search robot will spend considerably fewer resources analysing the pages. Thanks to that:

• The site is indexed faster.

• The time it takes for newly added documents to enter the search engine's index is kept to a minimum.

• Link weight is distributed optimally.

 

As a result, optimising the structure directly affects how the resource ranks in search engines. Hardly worth saying that this is one of the key factors of SEO promotion.

The search engine's trust

The second important aspect is the search engine's trust in the resource. The more time a user spends on a site and the more actively they use what it offers, the higher search robots rank it. And that is achieved in part through the right structure — content organised properly lets the user find the data they need faster. That raises conversion and lowers the bounce rate.

Kinds of structure

The most popular type of structure is hierarchical. All the information is divided into categories, subcategories are picked out within each category, and so on right down to individual items, be they files, products or anything else. The structure can become more complex because individual items may belong to several subcategories at once. That is not always justified, but in some cases it makes it easier for a user to find the item or the information they need.

Besides that, there are other types of structure:

• Chronological.

• Alphabetical.

• Geographical.

• Organisation by target audience.

On large portals a hybrid arrangement is sometimes used. In essence it is several structures working in parallel — the user decides which one is more convenient to use.

General requirements for a structure

Above we talked about the optimum structure of a site. But which structure can be considered optimum? The answer will be different for every resource, yet several key requirements can still be picked out:

1. The structure has to be clear to the target audience (a simplified, intuitive arrangement of categories is better than a more complex scheme that demands additional knowledge).

2. Navigation — moving between the individual elements of the structure — has to be simple, logical and technically flawless.

3. Nested catalogues are a necessary condition for building most structures. But here it is important to keep a balance between specificity and depth of nesting. Sometimes items of the same type are worth combining into broader categories.

 

Why does a structure sometimes need changing?

The structure is originally developed while the site itself is being built. But sometimes it may need changing. The two most common situations are: 

• The structure has not matched the tasks the site has to solve from the very start, or has not matched them fully. A resource with a badly built structure can work for a while — but attempts at search optimisation and promotion make it clear that the data is organised unacceptably.

• The structure does not suit changing conditions. If major adjustments are made to the business process, the range of goods or the company's line of work, the old structure may be modified or changed completely.

 

Technical work at the preparatory stage

If a change of structure is inevitable and cannot be put off, it is worth thinking about how to get through the process with the smallest possible loss of positions in search results. The risks here are quite high — part of the link mass is almost inevitably lost, and there is a chance of losing target traffic. To minimise those risks, the change of structure has to be prepared for. To do that:

We analyse the resource's positions for the key queries. Pages in the top results demand close attention, while those at the bottom of the results can be deleted.

We analyse the traffic, working out which pages bring you the most users. This only partly duplicates the previous point — a high position in the results does not always mean a page is attractive.

We analyse the link mass. The recommendations are the same: we work only with the pages that bring target traffic and delete the rest.

 While changing the structure it is worth deleting existing pages rather than editing them (if they brought no traffic) and creating new ones. Changing page URLs to human-readable ones will also help keep, and sometimes improve, your positions — a bonus for SEO. And do not forget the 301 redirect, which lets users reach the site by following the old links. It will not rule out the loss of positions entirely, but most of the link weight is preserved thanks to it.

What is taken into account when designing a structure

So how do you develop a structure that will be optimal both from the user's point of view and from that of a search robot?

• The basis of a structure is the semantics. It is the semantic core that makes it possible to understand which subcategories and categories the site should have. At the same stage the list of keywords and queries the promotion will be built on is drawn up.

• The next important stage is creating the "category tree". Objects or groups of objects with similar characteristics or purposes have to be grouped into categories. That gives the user the chance to find the path to the product, service or information they need without error.

• Next comes setting priorities. The categories and items that bring the company the most money should come first. They will form the basis of the structure, while additional services and related goods are worth moving to the periphery.

• Room to expand. Do not count on a structure created once working forever. Sooner or later — most likely sooner — new elements will have to be added to it. The ability to scale has to be built in at the preliminary stage; then adding a new product group or a new category of services becomes a purely technical task.

 

Possible mistakes in building a site's structure

Creating the right structure matters a great deal, yet sometimes even experienced developers make mistakes. Those mistakes can affect usability and SEO badly — and the result of introducing the new structure will either be insufficient or fail to appear at all. So what happens most often?

• Deep nesting because the range of goods is broken into categories too finely. Yes, it is convenient when all the products are divided into groups. But on the other hand it makes the path to a product longer: to reach the item they need, a user has to make up to ten clicks. The way out is to enlarge the categories and implement the finer breakdown through a system of tags or in some other way.

Note! In some niches — electronics, spare parts, medicines — there is a risk of not being specific enough in the classification. Here it makes sense to create a deep, branching structure; otherwise decent navigation between the many product groups will be impossible.

• Imprecise category names. It is very important that the user understands where exactly the product or content they need may be. For items that cannot be assigned to one category or another, separate sections are usually created — Accessories, Related goods or Miscellaneous.

• Using synonyms in a category name. From the SEO point of view the gain is minimal, while usability suffers. If you want to bring synonyms in, write them into the category description.

• Duplicating categories. Sometimes there is no way around it. But it means one product has to appear in several categories, and creating duplicate pages will affect SEO badly.

These are only the most typical mistakes met in work on a site's structure. As we noted above, structures have to be developed with a whole set of factors in mind. And they have to be modified and improved constantly. Only then can a resource count on good traffic and financial results.

Conclusions 

An effective site structure makes promoting it simpler and faster. The main things to take into account when designing a site:

• the decisions competitors have made;

• a properly collected and clustered semantic core;

• analysis of the UX factor (logically grouped products in an online shop, the lowest possible level of page nesting and so on). 

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