Site structure

Unsuspecting Internet users don’t give it much thought, but site structure is an important part of a Web site. On the one hand, this ensures that visitors to the site can easily find what they are looking for. On the other hand, site structure plays a role in determining search engine ranking. A good site structure is the foundation for a successful SEO campaign.

What is the site structure?

Site structure refers to the relationship of the various pages to each other. The goal is to choose such a design that visitors can navigate the website in a logical manner.

The site structure is also reflected in what is called the url structure. This is important for how search engines evaluate the interrelationship between pages.

Examples of a site structure

A site structure should be logical and support the visitor in navigating (and to rank high in Google ). This can be quite a challenge because there are very simple sites that consist of only a few pages. For websites with a web shop, building a good site structure is very complex, especially if the products must be able to be sorted or filtered in a specific way.

The importance of site structure

It should not be underestimated how important site structure is. The ease with which visitors navigate through the site is captured by this structure, and that means direct influence on the organic performance of the website.

The resulting url structure directly determines organic findability. Once a good structure is chosen, you are guaranteed a good organic ranking in the search engines for years to come.

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The impact of site structure

It is recommended to pay adequate attention to the site structure and its url structure for the purpose of online findability. If later website performance shows that it is inadequate, the structure must be modified. This is time-consuming and not conducive to future effects on findability and ease of use.

My advice

A site structure and url structure are the basis for website performance and organic findability. It is important to devote ample time and attention to this, preferably under the guidance of specialists.

Setting up a site structure for a new site is somewhat less complex than modifying an existing site structure. In that case, you have to consider the old url structure. If this is omitted, the accumulated ranking in the search engines is lost.

Senior SEO-specialist

Ralf van Veen

Senior SEO-specialist
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I have been working for 10 years as an independent SEO specialist for companies (in the Netherlands and abroad) that want to rank higher in Google in a sustainable manner. During this period I have consulted A-brands, set up large-scale international SEO campaigns and coached global development teams in the field of search engine optimization.

With this broad experience within SEO, I have developed the SEO course and helped hundreds of companies with improved findability in Google in a sustainable and transparent way. For this you can consult my portfolio, references and collaborations.

This article was originally published on 22 March 2024. The last update of this article was on 22 March 2024. The content of this page was written and approved by Ralf van Veen. Learn more about the creation of my articles in my editorial guidelines.