Optimizing your website architecture should be your first SEO priority
Suppose you have an amazing web page that is highly relevant for an important keyword in your industry. Imagine this page having better and more up to date information than any of your competitors. Now imagine that this page cannot be found by search engine spiders. As you can surmise, the likelihood of this page ranking for that keyword in this situation is very low. For this reason, search engine optimization should always include optimization of your website architecture as perhaps the most important part of the SEO process.
"A web page that cannot be found by a search engine spider is like having a billboard in the middle of the desert."
At the very least it is important to ensure that your pages are found, however, site architecture as it relates to SEO encompasses much more than that. It is important to make sure that search engine spiders will not get lost and then abandon your website as well. All SEO Inc. clients receive a complete evaluation of all website architecture elements evaluated including:
- URL Structure and URL rewrite (not always needed)
- Navigation and sub-navigation
- Canonical issues
- Ensure proper URL redirects are being used
- Look for "spider traps"
- XML Sitemaps
- Web accessibility considerations
Well optimized website architecture can impact the authority of pages for keywords. This is accomplished through the URL structure, which should be closely aligned to the content strategy on the page. In addition, link structure from within the website can provide more impact on rankings when properly optimized. This should not be confused with or considered as a substitute for external link building.
Is a URL Rewrite Necessary?
Another important consideration that is often overlooked by many search engine marketing agencies is the simple fact that search engine marketing is about more than just positioning. When your site is positioned well on the search engines, it will get more clicks, but there are other actions that may improve the chances of your listing getting clicked.
"Shorter URLS get 250% more search marketing clicks"
A recent Marketing Sherpa study indicated that shorter URLs increase the likelihood that the link will be clicked on a search engine results page (SERP). The study showed that executives are 250% more likely to click URLs that are fairly short, and it was enhanced if your short URL is followed by a longer URL.
A URL rewrite of dynamic URLs, which are commonly found in e-Commerce sites and websites that generate content dynamically through a content management system, is now a common practice. Many platforms now have this built in, yet most do not handle the dynamic URL rewrite in an optimal way for building keyword relevancy for the page.
In some cases, there may be improvements that can be made to URLs but it may not be good idea if your pages are already ranking well for keywords. Search engine optimization services our clients may need include a URL rewrite, but it may be deemed unnecessary upon further analysis. One of the reasons to hire an experienced SEO Consultant is to ensure that your site architecture positively impacts rankings and it does not become the reason your website is not ranking.
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