Welcome to yet another article. In this article, we will discuss in detail site organization. I have always emphasized that Google is one of the toughest search engines when it comes to ranking factors. A website layout is one of the factors which Google takes into account while assessing the rankings in personal searches.
So in this article let’s look at the factors which are directly related to website organization & structure. Key factors include creating a site map, clear Hierarchy of website, dynamic vs static pages, Robots.txt file, site load time, etc.
1. Create a sitemap
Creating a sitemap and submitting a site map to the Google search console is the first most important task after you create a website. If you go through the link in the previous line you will find an extensive article for creating a sitemap and submitting the same to Google.
Besides the fact that creating a site map helps Google in crawling your website more effectively, it also helps you in creating a structure for your visitors. Post creating a website I would also advise you to create a visual sitemap (Not for SEO purposes) which will help you to create a navigation system for you and your visitors. Creating sitemaps both for SEO and visual navigation is the first important task for a better site Organization.
2. Clear Hierarchy of a website as per website organization structure
The second task that we have on our hands is to create a visitor-friendly clear hierarchy of the website. Whatever content you post on your website should be accessible in 3 clicks at maximum from your home page.
Moreover, there should be a link pointing back to your home page on each webpage. Google-like when a user does not have to hunt around like crazy for something that he or she is looking for. The idea is to serve quality content quickly to the user in minimum clicks.
3. Keep the links limited on a page
Internal and external linking does help a lot with SEO. However, it should not be overdone. Google likes strategically places links and calls to action. Links should be for the benefit of a user and not just because linking is important. Keep them limited in a logical sense that is beneficial to visitors.
4. Dynamic vs static pages in site Organization
Let’s talk about dynamic vs static pages. If you are a blog owner most of your content will be static and not dynamic. To identify a static page has a fixed SEO-friendly URL structure, wherein a dynamic page will not and also it would a “?” in front of few parameters. Moreover, I like static pages as you can customize them to any extent, but not dynamic pages.
5. Robots.txt File
This is one of the most important files in the website root directory. It tells Googlebot how to crawl the website. Usually, Googlebot crawls the entire website. However, there are some pages that might have duplicate content that might not be worthy of getting crawled.
You can make changes in this file and tell Googlebot not to crawl specific pages. I will publish a more detailed article on the Robots.txt file in my upcoming posts. In the meantime, you can check if your website has Robots.txt or not by going to the Robots.txt tester from Google.
6. Check your website in different browsers
Different browsers might load your website differently. Firstly, I would recommend you do a browser compatibility test. This test will tell you in detail about all the issues which your web pages might have when working in tandem with different browsers.
7. Check the site load time
Well, this is probably the most talked about and most important factor with SEO. No one likes to wait. That buffering circle looks so annoying at times. Make sure that you rigorously and continuously check your website speed. I use GTMetrix free tool to check website speed. GTmetrix tells you the website speed accurately.
Furthermore, if there are any issues this online tool will tell you what modification needs to be done for improving site load time. Ideally, I would say that the site load time should be less than 3 seconds. Try to make your home page light. That is the page where people will land first. I will show you the latest report from GTMetrix for my blog. Look at the screenshot below.
If you need help in improving your site load time connect with me at shutterholictv@gmail.com or on Skype my live ID is live:nurav_igayt_1.
So that was all about site organization. If you have any questions please leave them in the comments below.
