Comments on: Flat Site Architecture is SEO-Friendly – SEO Tip 27

By: johnn Peterson

johnn Peterson — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:33:46 +0000

The site Architecture matters for SEO. Because if the navigation is not proper they just leave the web site.. the home page should be accessible through all the pages and all the pages should have the home page link. And make sure that we should not have any dead links in our web sites.

By: Shell Harris

Shell Harris — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 02:35:29 +0000

For SEO purposes I am referring to the depth of your sub-folders. When we began our work with Snagajob.com that is something we changed immediately with good results. There were items that were one click from the home page but 4 levels deep when looking at the URL. That is not good for SEO. Keep your important pages as close to the root as you can with minimal clicks to get there.

By: Marios Alexandrou

Marios Alexandrou — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 16:09:39 +0000

Unless I misread this post, it sounds like you’re talking about two different issues with a flat architecture. When discussing architecture you can look at the folder structure and you can look at how many clicks something is away from the home page.

If something is in 4 sub-folders, but requires just one click from the home page, would you say the site has a flat architecture?

I believe a while back folder depth mattered, but now it’s largely about click depth.

By: Michael Haislip

Michael Haislip — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 19:26:36 +0000

Flat architecture is good usability, too. I hate going to site with nested directories and getting lost. My first instinct is to hack off the extraneous parts of the URL in an attempt to get back to some sort of navigational element. But, usually, I get a 404 because most servers are set to not display directory content by default.

Was that too complex? It makes sense in my sleep-deprived brain.

By: Shell Harris

Shell Harris — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 22:50:39 +0000

Susan, if you are using WordPress, which is what I know and recommend you can set up your permalinks to be at the top of the the site architecture. You’ll notice on our blog we follow this convention for our posts (Ex. http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/create-a-website-sitemap-seo-tip-week-6/).

I looked at your blog and is appears to be set up this way as well. Everything looks good and I don’t see that you need to change anything. Your directory structure is flat and Google has almost 400 pages indexed for your site. Rest easy, you have done well.

Thanks for the mention on your site and I do love Stumbling.

By: Shell Harris

Shell Harris — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 22:43:04 +0000

Urbanist, Google will spider your entire site unless you instruct them otherwise. You can code your xml sitemap with numbers relating to the importance of each page. If you have the time to do it it can’t hurt but with a large site it can be time consuming. Building external links to important pages may be a more reliable options as Google will notice more links and usually give more importance to those page.

By: Susan

Susan — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 21:14:19 +0000

I understand that a flat structure can certainly help with fewer clicks, less muss and fuss etc. what I don’t get is how this can be applied to a blog, or more intimately my blog. I am sitting here thinking that everything is really no more than 3 clicks away. The homepage links to all the archives, categories etc. Sorry not trying to be dense just trying to see how I can apply this tip to my particular situation. Thanks.

I would like to thank you for making my stumbling that much more enjoyable. Your blog made the Life Is Risky Blog Stumbling for today! (Note: The post is updated as I am stumbling. If you don’t see your site listed check back!)

By: Urbanist

Urbanist — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 08:41:07 +0000

Good advice – but what do you think about submitting something like a Google Sitemap in order to clarify what are important vs. redundant pages on a site. Do you think that helps them sort through things and give more importance to what is important to your site?