Best Practices for SEO Site Structures

What Is Website Architecture?

Website architecture (also called website structure) is how a site’s pages are organized. A well-structured site helps users and search engines navigate your pages. This organization can improve your SEO and rankings.

Below is a visual example of website structure:

These pages are linked by internal links (links that point to other pages on the same site). These internal links can appear in your content, filters, related content modules, or in your site’s menu and footer.

Why Is Website Structure Important for SEO?

Site architecture is important for SEO because:

• It helps search engines find and index all your site’s pages
• It gives search engines additional context for each page
• It spreads authority throughout your webpages via internal links
• It helps visitors find the content they want

It Helps Search Engines Find and Index Your Site’s Pages

Good site architecture helps your pages rank in search results. Google often uses internal links to find pages and stores them in its index (database). Your pages can only rank—and drive traffic—if they are in Google’s index.

An organized structure helps Google follow internal links and discover new pages to index. It also prevents orphan pages, which are pages with no internal links pointing back to them. Orphan pages can be difficult for Google to discover and index.

It Gives Search Engines Additional Context for Each Page

Context helps search engines decide which queries fit a page.

For example, imagine you sell pet supplies. You have separate pages for dogs, cats, and rabbits.

Search engines can use your internal links to see which toys belong to which animals. They also check anchor text (the clickable text in a link).

If a dog toy links from a page labeled “dog toys,” search engines can understand that connection and may rank that product page for dog toy searches.

Search engines may struggle understanding each page’s purpose without a clear site structure. This confusion can hurt your organic rankings.

It Spreads Authority Throughout Your Webpages

PageRank is a Google algorithm that measures a page’s authority based on the quality of backlinks (links from other sites).

Pages with strong authority can pass some of that authority to the pages they link to. This can boost less authoritative pages’ rankings and drive more traffic.

It Helps Visitors Find the Content They’re Looking For

A clear site structure can improve user experience. Users are more likely to explore your site if they find it easy to navigate. This can increase conversions over time.

Plan your structure so users can move smoothly through your marketing funnel. Make finding your products, services, or other important pages easier for users.

Sephora does this well with its user-friendly navigation that organizes products into logical categories (e.g., “Makeup,” “Skincare,” “Makeup for Eyes,” etc.). Shoppers can find what they want with just a few clicks.

What Does a Good Site Architecture Look Like?

A good website structure:

• Is flat
• Groups topically relevant content together
• Has no orphan pages

Flat Website Architecture

A flat website architecture allows users to reach content in as few clicks as possible. This lowers user effort and can create a better experience. Below is a flat site architecture diagram:

And here’s an example of a deep architecture (users need to click more times to reach certain pages):

Aim for a click depth (the number of clicks from the homepage to any page) of three clicks or fewer.

Group Topically Relevant Content Together

Grouping topically related content helps search engines see how pages connect. It can also build topical authority, improving your rankings and driving more organic traffic.

No Orphan Pages

Search engines follow internal links to navigate your site and may miss orphan pages. Users may only reach orphan pages by directly entering the URL. This navigational difficulty harms SEO and user experience.

You can find orphan pages using Semrush’s Site Audit:

1. Enter your domain and click “Start Audit” (or “Create project” if needed).

2. Adjust Site Audit (our configuration guide can help you if you get stuck) and click “Start Site Audit.” 

3. Click “Issues” after completing the site audit.

4. Type “orphan” to find a list of orphan pages.
5. Click the “# orphaned pages” link to view the pages.

6. Create relevant internal links to each orphan page. This helps users and search engines find these pages more easily.

9 Website Architecture Best Practices

These best practices can improve SEO and user experience.

1. Use the Right Type of Structure for Your Site

There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Consider your site’s size, goals, and users.

An ecommerce site might use product categories (e.g., Indigo’s book categories). A content site might organize content by topic (e.g., Business Insider).

You can paginate results (i.e., display products or search results on separate pages) to display products. Pagination offers more internal linking opportunities to help search engines understand how your pages connect.

Content sites might structure their site based on content categories. Like Business Insider:

Study how competitors organize their sites. Your audience may expect a similar structure for easier navigation.

2. Plan the Information Architecture of Your Site

Information architecture is the process of structuring content.

One strategy is to use content pillars and topic clusters. Pillars cover broad topics, and clusters include subtopics.

For example, if your pillar is “digital marketing,” cluster pages might include “digital marketing campaign examples” or “digital marketing framework.”

Use the Keyword Strategy Builder to research potential pillar topics and subtopics. Then, write content for each page and link it properly.

1. Enter your seed (broad) keywords. We’ll use “email marketing,” “digital marketing,” “social media marketing,” and “content marketing.” Select your country in the drop-down and click “Create list.” 

2. The tool will analyze each seed keyword and give you pillar page ideas with lists of relevant subpages.

3. Go through the different suggestions and pick which ones you’d like to create content for. For example, you might create a topic cluster for “digital marketing” that has these subpages:

• Digital marketing campaign examples
• Benefits of digital marketing for small businesses
• Types of digital advertising
• Digital marketing framework
• Digital marketing elements

4. Follow this process for each pillar page you want to create.
5. Write content for each selected page by clicking “Write content.” 
6. Choose which device you’d like to write content for (e.g. select “Desktop” if most of your audience reads your content on a desktop). Then click “Send keywords.”

That process opens Semrush’s SEO Writing Assistant. The writing assistant is an AI-powered editor that helps you optimize your content’s readability, SEO, tone of voice, and originality.

Finally, use internal links to link your homepage to the pillar page, the pillar pages to one another pillar page, and the new pillar page to its relevant topic clusters.

3. Use Internal Linking Strategically

When you link one page to another, you show search engines (and users) a connection. Links also pass authority.

Use Semrush’s Site Audit to locate broken links or other internal link issues:

1. Open your Site Audit report.
2. Click “View details” next to any detected link issues.

3. Click the “# issues” button next to any internal link issues to review the problems. You can also click “Why and how to fix it” to get tips that will help you fix each issue.

4. Fix those issues to maintain a clear and authoritative link structure.

Also check “Pages passing most Internal LinkRank.” Internal LinkRank is a Semrush metric quantifying your site’s pages’ authority.

Consider placing your highest authority pages near the top of your structure so they can pass authority to other pages.

4. Make Sure Users Can Access Your Pages in Just a Few Clicks

Aim for three or fewer clicks from the homepage to any page. This helps users and search engine crawlers find content faster and more efficiently.

Use Site Audit to find pages more than three clicks away:

1. In the “Notices” section of the “Internal Linking” report, look for “Page Crawl Depth more than 3 clicks.”

2. Examine those pages and consider simplifying your site’s architecture.

5. Use Categories and Tags

If you publish blog posts, use categories and tags to group them by topic. This structure helps users and search engines.

• Categories cover broad topics. For example, Semrush’s blog has “SEO,” “Marketing,” and “News & Research.” Each category includes several subcategories, like “Keyword Research” and “On-Page SEO.”

• Tags often transcend these categories. For example, a hiking blog might use tags like “beginner” or “advanced” to group posts for different audiences.

You have several ways to choose blog categories, including: 

• Determine which topics you write about the most. Turn these main topics into your categories.
• Use pillar page topics to form categories
• Analyze competitor blogs and model your categories off the ones they use
• Use Semrush’s Keyword Strategy Builder tool to generate category ideas
• Organize content by type (rather than topic). Like “how-to guides,” “tutorials,” and “case studies”

6. Optimize Your Site’s URLs

Google uses URLs to understand page hierarchy. Short, clear URLs that include your main keyword are best.

For example

is better than 

If you must change live URLs, remember to set up proper redirects. Read our guide to redirects to learn how.

Users expect clear paths to key pages. Most sites use:

• A header (or top) navigation menu
• A footer navigation menu
• A mobile navigation menu

Some sites also have secondary or contextual navigation. Keep your navigation simple so users can find important pages quickly.

Header navigation lives at the top of your pages. Some common styles include: 

Drop-down menus. Drop-down menus work well for sites with lots of content. You can highlight many pages while still providing a clear path for the user.

Horizontal menus. Horizontal menus work well for smaller sites and should provide categories users expect (like “Shop,” “Contact,” “About Us,” etc.). 

Vertical sidebar menus. Vertical sidebar menus can provide more real estate for top-level navigation links, but they can take up valuable space on your site. These types of menus could also cover important content that you don’t want users to miss.

If your site has many content categories, use drop-down menus to organize them.

Footer navigation appears at the bottom of websites:

Your footer is a good place for links to press information, policies, and your contact page. These are useful but don’t usually belong in the main menu.

Mobile Navigation

Google’s mobile-first indexing requires clear mobile navigation. Many sites use a “hamburger” menu to list the same main links available on desktop.

Note: For JavaScript-heavy sites, ensure all links load properly for both users and search engines. See our JavaScript SEO guide for help.

8. Use Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs are text-based links that show the user’s path through your site structure. They can also help search engines understand how your site is organized.

Add breadcrumb structured data markup so breadcrumbs appear in search results. This helps users navigate back if they click deep into your site.

9. Use HTML and XML Sitemaps

A sitemap shows your site’s pages, images, and files. Search engines use this to discover and process new content.

HTML sitemaps are user-facing. They list every page so users can locate anything if they get stuck.

XML sitemaps are search-engine–facing. They list all URLs in a crawler-friendly format.

You can create multiple sitemaps for different site sections (products, blog posts, categories) to improve crawlability.

Use Site Audit to find sitemap errors. 

1. Go to “Issues,” then search “sitemap” to see and fix any errors.

2. Review the list of potential XML sitemap errors, like formatting errors and incorrect pages.

3. Click “Why and how to fix it” to get tips for fixing each issue.

4. Finally, submit your sitemap via Google Search Console.

Take the Next Steps to Improve Your SEO

Defining your website’s architecture helps users and search engines. It also boosts SEO and can improve your rankings.

What to do now:

1. Use Site Audit to check for internal link issues, orphan pages, and high Internal LinkRank pages.
2. Use the Keyword Strategy Builder to develop content clusters and pillar pages.
3. Build your navigation based on your site’s architecture.

Try Semrush for free today to get started.