Web Architecture: All the Answers You Need
Web architecture is one of the most important ranking factors. In addition to ensuring an optimal user experience,…
David Carrasco
2 years ago
Web architecture is one of the most important ranking factors. In addition to ensuring an optimal user experience, it facilitates crawling by search engines.
The web architecture of a page varies depending on the goals and requirements of the business. But if you are building a website or working in SEO, you already know this.
That’s why we present a comprehensive article where we explore all the questions you may have about web architecture. And we do it with the help of Álex Novoa, freelance SEO and trainer in the Advanced SEO Master’s program at Webpositer Academy.
If you want to create your own website with a top-notch architecture, you need to know what it is, how it works, and other key aspects.
Keep reading and you will find the answers you need!
What is web architecture?
Web architecture involves planning and designing the different components that define a website before it is implemented.
On one hand, web designers will tell you that it is directly related to the visual components, which determine the look and usability level of a website.
On the other hand, SEOs define it as the technical framework that allows for the construction of an organized, crawlable, and indexable website.
In the words of our guest, the structure of a website can be understood in two ways: as architecture and linking, or just as architecture.
The first relates to how the URLs of the website are distributed and how they relate to each other. The second definition is based on the number of URLs and the internal links through which they are connected.
Web architecture, information architecture, and technical architecture, are they the same? How do they differ?
For Novoa, it is very clear.
‘’In theory, information architecture is more focused on the user, both from a visual and content perspective.’’ It relates to how the user navigates websites to ensure a good experience.
On the other hand, technical architecture is what Google reads, the one for the bots. It is what we build so that Google spiders can understand what our website is about, and how each of its components relate.
‘’For example, it comes into play that you can have categories within the navigation menu for the user to enter, but that they are canonicalized or blocked in robots.txt. So you have something for the user, but not for the bots.’’
In practice, when web architecture is performed, it can be said that a technical web architecture is done, as it investigates what has the most searches through keyword research, and URLs are created based on these queries and the needs of the business.
Then, a stage begins that could be called information architecture, which consists of finding the most efficient way to place elements within the website to offer the user a smoother navigation experience.
Ultimately, it is a mix of many elements (UX, SEO, CRO), but undoubtedly, the most important thing is to make smart decisions in the design of web architecture in such a way that the business is prioritized.
How could we define a good web structure?
According to our guest expert, Álex Novoa, optimal web architecture is based on knowing how to distribute all the URLs that the website should have in the most efficient way possible.
Efficiency will depend on the goal you want to achieve. For example, you can create architectures more focused on crawling, or create architectures aimed at passing more internal strength to certain pages.
However, according to Novoa, the ideal would be to maintain both approaches, as both will help enhance the ranking of your website.
How to create a web structure focused on SEO? What aspects should we consider?
To create a web architecture focused on SEO, it is necessary to determine which are the most important business areas of the project. What product or service is the most interesting to enhance with the web architecture? Additionally, always consider the keyword research you conduct to enhance the most important areas of the business.
Both interlinking and crawling and indexing are decisive for ranking, but if the website lacks strength or authority, a good SEO architecture is of no use. However, the web structure can constitute an important factor, as it allows for structuring the website in a more organized and business-focused way.
Why is it important to have a good web structure?
As we have already pointed out, web structure is one of the most relevant factors in SEO. But this is not the only reason why you should take your time when designing the architecture of your site.
Let’s see below what other advantages it brings:
- Improves user navigation, thus enhancing their experience.
- Facilitates crawling and indexing.
- Allows for easier scaling of your website and business.
- Helps in content generation with the aim of enhancing internal linking.
- Enables the distribution of pagerank to the most important areas of the business
Types of Web Structure
There are three structure models that can be used when creating a website: the sequential model, the hierarchical model, and the network model.
The sequential model allows for cataloging the information that is to be provided to the user in a simpler way. On the other hand, the hierarchical model helps coordinate larger dimensions of information, while the network model favors free navigation.
How does keyword research influence our structure?
Álex Novoa defines keyword research as the gateway to a website.
With good keyword research, the main keywords and their derivatives can be grouped into different URLs. This way, it is possible to define the structure of the website and then the main keyword that each URL will target.
Keyword research forms the basis of any SEO project. It is necessary to know which keywords should be included to achieve better content organization and thus an optimal structure.
Similarly, it is very important to have constant monitoring of all components. In this sense, you should evaluate which categories are not receiving the same searches as before, or which keywords you are not targeting and could be new business opportunities.
How should we do our interlinking? The use of clusters
To perform a good interlinking, it is necessary to consider some factors such as the content of the links, where they are placed, and the number of links.
The content of the links should be relevant to the topic being discussed. and the links should be well placed so that they are easily detectable by search engines. The number of links should not be too high to avoid losing the main focus of the content.
To ensure proper organization of these links, the use of clusters is very useful. But what are clusters?
They are groups of related content that help search engines better identify the topics being discussed on the website and direct users to related content. This improves both the browsing experience and the ranking in search engines.
How should we choose our main or pillar pages?
Our SEO expert is clear. Just as with the design of the web structure, pillar pages will depend on keyword research and the most important areas of the business.
In this sense, it will all depend on what your objectives are. ‘’If a pillar is understood as a main page that then has many subcategories, then through keyword research. If a pillar is understood as the business, then you choose what is most important to implement that business.’’
At this point, we are sure you have a more complete idea of what web architecture is, what the most important elements are, and why it is so relevant for ranking.
But since we don’t want you to stay on the surface, we invite you to keep reading to discover what our interviewee thinks about categories, sitemaps, depth levels, and much more.
How should we categorize our content?
When categorizing content on a website, categories are planned in advance. It is essential to define themes that allow for expanding content without extending more than 7 or 8 main categories.
This would cause confusion within the structure, affecting the ranking of the site.
Does the URL structure influence the web architecture? When should we change it?
The structure of URLs has never been officially said to rank, but it is true that it helps Google understand what the website is about and its content. The more organized the URLs are, the more organized the architecture of the page will be, and it will be better for SEO.
Álex Novoa assures that changing the URL structure runs the risk of losing visibility, therefore, this is a practice that he does not usually do. That’s why it is so important to dedicate a good amount of time to design the URL structure coherently and strategically.
Does the size of a website modify the approach to its structure?
Yes. Not so much because of the size, but because of the growth perspective it has. Depending on whether the website is more dynamic or static, a certain type of structure should be determined.
Are depth levels the biggest danger of a large website in terms of structure?
Yes, one of the biggest dangers. It largely depends on the authority you have, but architecture in large websites is a fundamental plan. If you have a very large voice without controlling the structure, you end up having semantic problems.
Do filters, facets, and renderings influence the web structure?
Completely. In an ecommerce, the complexity will lie in the technology behind it to handle all the facets that categories have. In a category, there are many facets, understanding facets as characteristics.
How can we avoid cannibalizations on a large site? What to do if we have them?
To avoid cannibalizations on a large site, content should be focused on a single URL, thus not separating the information and ensuring all potential in a single result. On the other hand, once you have cannibalizations, they can be solved by merging two redirects, using Canonical tags, or clearly defining the search intent of each URL.
Pagination or infinite scroll?
Infinite scroll has become a very common practice on social networks. One of its advantages is that it allows users to consume more information in less time, as navigation occurs more naturally.
In paginations, it is easier to find elements, but navigation is a bit slower.
When should we consider changing the structure of a website?
It is difficult to define when, since many times you have an excellent web structure, but it does not rank due to lack of authority or demand. And these are factors that depend on context, the structure of backlinks, and other elements.
When conducting an audit, how can we…?
- Establish what structure the website has
- Check if it is harming the website and how
The SEO expert believes that this can be checked in the following way: ‘’the ideal architecture of a vertical is done, then once it has what validates it, a study is done and analyzes if the URL to be created is already doing something. A study is usually conducted with the client addressing the URLs that should not be created and those that should be created.’’
What importance do you give to the sitemap?
Thanks to the sitemap, search engines can obtain an overview of all the content available on the website and better understand the structure of the website.
Should we index our entire website or block something via robots?
If you want the website to appear in search engines, it is important to have all pages indexed in Google. The robots.txt file is only necessary if the website has content that should not be indexed.
Web structure and Linkbuilding Do you consider the structure of the website when doing link building?
Yes, the main URLs are usually taken into account. Achieving a good web structure is very important. In this sense, it is necessary to know which external links favor the construction of that structure to increase the visibility of the site.
How do you choose which URLs to do link building for?
You should analyze those URLs with the highest potential, that is, those that are most interesting to rank and those that have the greatest chances of ranking. In this aspect, keyword research plays a fundamental role.
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Contact us nowDo you consider the structure of the source website?
In essence, yes, everything related to the structure is taken into account, especially the semantics.
Now we can assure you that you are a true expert, at least cognitively, in web architecture. Without a doubt, this has been a valuable masterclass by Alex Novoa, which we wanted to share with you so that you can put all his advice on structure and web architecture into practice.
In this way, you will be able to design more organized and strategic sites that favor ranking and the browsing experience of users.
If you liked this post, you can watch the episode of UnanTalks;
