Creating a website structure optimised for search engines may sound complicated, but getting it right is crucial for on-page SEO in Sydney. The structure and architecture of your site has a significant impact on how search engines crawl, index, and rank your pages.
If done correctly, a well-structured site makes it easier for search bots to navigate and understand your content. However, a poorly organised site architecture can limit your pages’ chances of ranking well in SERPs (search engine results pages).
This beginner’s guide will teach you the fundamentals of developing an SEO-friendly website structure. Follow these key steps, and you’ll be on the right track for search engine success!
Use a Site Map
A site map is an essential part of your technical SEO foundation. It displays the full architecture and hierarchy of pages on your site in an XML format that search bots can easily crawl.
Most content management systems like WordPress have built-in site map generators. You can also use plugins and specialty site crawling tools to auto-generate an accurate sitemap. Submit your XML sitemap to Google Search Console to improve site indexing and page discovery.
Simplify Your URL Structure
The URLs pointing to your site pages hold critical optimisation value. URL formatting best practices include:
- Use hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_)
- Avoid excessive numbers, symbols, and character strings
- Incorporate target keywords naturally
- Keep URLs short and to-the-point
- Create silo page structures around topics
For example: yoursite.com/beginners-guide-seo-website-structure
Implement Responsive Navigation
Your website’s navigation menu enables visitors to browse and land on specific pages. Optimising its responsive design and information architecture boosts on-site user experience and your internal search visibility.
The experts at Make My Website recommends below strategies to optimise navigation:
- Organise pages into categories or silos
- Use descriptive menus and submenus
- Ensure all site pages are linked internally
- Check navigation works on all devices
- Allow easy access back to the home page
By improving navigation, you make it simpler for visitors and bots to locate your important pages.
Set Up Your IA and Categories
Information architecture (IA) defines how your site categorises and presents content to align with user intent. Proper content structure helps search bots understand page focus and determine authority by topic.
Some best practices for site information architecture include:
- Dividing content into logical, themed buckets and categories
- Using categories and subcategories to silo related pages
- Tagging and linking internal pages under common subjects
- Implementing effective, SEO-optimised breadcrumb trails
Optimised IA ensures all your site pages targeting specific topics are interlinked, helping search bots categorise content.
Optimise Page Elements and Layout
Beyond site-wide architecture, the HTML elements and layout of individual pages also impact on-page SEO in Sydney. As a beginner guideline:
- Place critical keywords in prominent page areas like titles, URLs, headings and image ALT tags
- Break up text content with bulleted lists and subheadings
- Ensure page loading speed remains fast on mobile and desktop
- Check that site pages are crawlable and indexable for bots
- Limit video, audio and image files that can’t be read by search engines
Page optimisation establishes relevance and authority to keywords and topics search engines care about ranking.
Use Descriptive Alt Text and Title Tags on Images
Images help make web pages visually appealing, but also present an SEO optimisation opportunity using alternative text descriptions and title attributes.
When adding images:
- Write detailed alt text summaries of image content, using relevant keywords
- Populate the title tag with a concise description
- File names also impact image SEO in Sydney if keywords are included
Optimised image tags strengthen page relevance signals centered on that imagery.
Structure Pages to Align with User Intent
Users reach specific pages by asking questions or researching keywords reflecting their intent. Optimising individual pages to directly answer these user queries boosts search visibility.
Ways to align page content with searcher intent include:
- Front-load pages with critical details via an introduction or table of contents
- Use related keywords and searcher questions in titles, subtitles and during page copy
- Answer the questions or provide the information searchers are specifically seeking
Pages tailored to user intent have greater chances of ranking for valuable search queries.
Interlink Internal Pages Using Anchor Text
Anchor text applied to internal links helps search bots travel between related site content more easily. When linking internally:
- Use descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text summarising the target page’s focus
- Link out to supporting pages from relevant main content sections
- Ensure orphan pages with no external links still link internally to other associated pages
Proper anchor text use reinforces page relevance and relationships for easier crawling.
Final Words
By following these fundamental guidelines, you can sculpt an SEO-friendly information architecture for your site. Optimising website structure boosts technical credibility for search bots to improve rankings over time through better crawling, indexing and page understanding.
Remember – site architecture forms the backbone of on-page optimisation. Invest time structuring your pages correctly from the start, and your content will have the platform it needs to achieve its highest potential for both visitors and search engines. If needed, don’t hesitate to hire professionals at Make My Website to ensure a robust and effective information architecture for your website.