A critical web development detail that Internet marketing companies must consider when planning effective websites is website architecture including what type of site structure the Google algorithm prefers.
Site structure as a marketing strategy has been a topic of discussion for decades, with marketers employing different types over the years trying to find the golden ticket of architecture that most pleases Google and creates better organic search results.
Input From Google's John Mueller
Recently, Google developer John Mueller shed some light on what web developers should concentrate on to create a very good user-friendly, search engine-pleasing website structure that will bring better results.
He indicated that the algorithm performance is enhanced on websites that utilize theme pyramid structure over flat structure.
In his explanation of how the algorithm reacts to these two different architecture types, it’s easy to see why theme pyramid architecture is both Google-friendly and user-friendly also.
Website Architecture - Flat or Pyramid?
According to Google’s Mueller, there are two basic site structures:
- Flat architecture where every page on the website links directly to the homepage.
- Theme pyramid architecture where pages are grouped together into themed categories in which the main categorical page links to the homepage.
It has sometimes been thought that a shallower architecture is best for the search algorithm prompting the use of a flat site structure; however, Mueller suggests otherwise.
Internet marketing services looking to improve their website performance must adopt the latter so that the search engine can more easily explore a website and find relevance to search queries more accurately, two of the major considerations for improving site effectiveness.
The Benefits of Theme Pyramid Website Structure
An effective website structure is one of the most important Internet marketing strategies to plan out, as site architecture directly affects how easily a website can be used and how favorable it is to Google’s search algorithm.
Flat architecture may seem less complicated and easier to use; however, it falls short in many areas.
On the other hand, theme pyramid architecture provides many of the benefits that internet marketing companies seek when planning website design and marketing strategies:
- More Intuitive and User-Friendly - Pyramid structure allows users to navigate a website as feels natural to them, with related pages connected through links that are easy to follow. User-friendliness is a key factor in how Google assigns value to any website.
- Easier to Crawl - Search engines can more easily and thoroughly crawl a site designed with a hierarchal pyramid structure, going from page to linked page quickly as opposed to reaching dead ends after a single page on sites utilizing a flat structure.
- Establishes Relevance Between Pages - A properly categorized pyramid that maintains categorical themes helps the algorithm identify those themes within a website, which improves site searchability in terms of context, SEO, and semantics to more easily serve appropriate pages based on user searches.
- Carries Link Value and Page Authority - Relevance among groups of pages also allows those pages to benefit from authority assigned by incoming links, spreading that authority throughout the website.
Putting It All Together
In the middle of all the constant changes happening in the world of website development, there is always one constant that internet marketing services can count on: Google pays more attention to user-friendly websites.
To attract that attention, always use a site structure that’s more user-friendly including themed pyramid architecture.
Using a pyramid structure, users can make their way more easily around a website and find things where they are normally found, context and relevance is more apparent, and page authority goes further.
All of these details are part of what prompts Google’s algorithm to consider a page and a website as valuable and worthy of suggesting to users making search queries!