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Video Summary
Website structure refers to the way you organize the elements in your website, so your site visitors are able to navigate easily and find what they are looking for. That means a good structure provides a better user experience.
In today’s video, I want to help you avoid 5 common mistakes that people make with their website structure. You see, your site’s structure essentially deals with how your content is grouped together in your presentation to your site users. In other words, the structure defines how your pages are connected to each other.
And as you add more content, you end up with more and more pages added to your website. This can lead to your site getting messy. If you don’t fix this issue, the visitors to your site will not easily find what they are looking for.
Here are 5 common mistakes in your website structure, and what you can do to fix them…
Video Transcript
Hello, my name is Jeffrey Kirk.
So, a few weeks ago I wanted to buy a part for my bicycle tire pump. I found a website with the part, and I found exactly what I was looking for, and so I added it to my shopping cart. But there was no obvious way to get to the shopping cart after that. I couldn’t figure out how to check out! What the heck. It was so frustrating! It’s exactly what I needed, and I couldn’t figure out how to actually pay for it on the website.
Has that ever happened to you? You wanted to make a purchase but you can’t find the “Buy” button? Or maybe getting from one page to another was confusing or there were some other kind of roadblocks in the way?
If a business goes through the trouble of putting up a website, it should work. It should be easy to use, right? Well, an effective and organized website structure helps with this problem.
Website Structure
Website structure refers to the way you organize the elements in your website, so your site visitors are able to navigate easily and find what they are looking for. That means a good structure provides a better user experience. Check out my previous video about the importance of website structure.
In today’s video, I want to help you avoid 5 common mistakes that people make with their website structure. You see, your site’s structure essentially deals with how your content is grouped together in your presentation to your site users. In other words, the structure defines how your pages are connected to each other.
And as you add more content, you end up with more and more pages added to your website. This can lead to your site getting messy. And if you don’t fix this issue, the visitors to your site will not easily find what they are looking for.
Before I get to the mistakes you should avoid, please subscribe to my channel and hit that notification bell so you know when there’s a new video published. Thanks for doing that. Okay, let’s dig in.
Here are 5 common mistakes in your website structure, and what you can do to fix them…
Mistake #1 – Hiding Your Cornerstone Content
Cornerstone content is the valuable and most important foundation of your website. It’s like a special piece of content that’s meant to attract lots of people to your site and make them aware of what you do. This content should be closely related to what your business is all about. It helps you become an expert in your field and brings in the majority of visitors to your site who might be interested in what you offer, either now or in the future.
Sometimes, people forget to include links to their cornerstone content, and that’s not good for your website structure. When your articles don’t link to your other content, search engines like Google might have a hard time finding your best content. Or, they simply might not realize which content you consider to be the best content, the cornerstone content.
If Google knows and understands what you believe is the most important, then that content can show up in the search results. That makes it easier to find than requiring someone to first get to your site and then click around looking for something. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to link the underlying pages too.
This is where hierarchical post types become useful. Organize your pages in different levels, with a main or “parent” page at the top, followed by “child” pages underneath it, and possibly even “grandchild” pages underneath those.
So, here’s what you do to fix mistake #1.
Let’s say you have a piece of cornerstone content on its own page, directly linked to by a top-level item in your website menu. That’s great. Then, as you create blog posts or other content related to the cornerstone content, include links back to the cornerstone. When you create more related content, link those blog posts together too, and include a link to the cornerstone in each one.
Doing this not only helps users see the connections between your content, but it also assists search engines in understanding these connections along with the topics you’re discussing. So, remember to link between these hierarchical pages.
Mistake #2 – Using Only One Large Category
Usually, it’s a good idea to make sure the categories on your website are roughly the same size, about the same amount of content. However, what often happens is that people end up writing a lot more about one topic than others, sometimes without even realizing it.
And as a result, one category can slowly become much bigger than the others. And when this occurs, it throws your website off balance. It also becomes tougher to get your blog posts to rank well when they’re part of a really big category with tons of posts on the same topic.
Here’s what you can do to fix this:
If you notice that one of your categories is growing much larger than the others, consider dividing it into two or even three smaller categories. To prevent categories from becoming overly large, it’s a good practice to occasionally check their sizes, especially if you write a lot of blog posts.
Mistake #3 – Creating Too Many Tags
Be careful when creating tags for your posts, and ensure they are used appropriately. Some people tend to make tags very specific. However, if you give each post one or more entirely new and unique tags, you’re going too far.
This doesn’t provide any structure because your posts won’t be grouped or linked together. So, when creating tags, think widely and make sure that several of your current or future posts will be related to that specific tag.
Here’s how to fix this problem:
Use tags in moderation. Make sure tags are used more than just once or twice, and that they actually group articles that belong together. And, make sure that visitors can easily find these tags, preferably at the top or bottom of your post.
Tags are helpful for your visitors to explore more on the same topic, and in some cases, they can also help your SEO.
Mistake #4 – Failing to Use Breadcrumbs
Some people forget about using breadcrumbs on their websites, and this is a mistake when it comes to how your site is organized. Breadcrumbs make it easy for visitors to navigate your site by showing users where a page fits within the bigger picture of your website.
This makes it much easier for visitors to understand how the current page relates to the rest of the website and how to move back and forth or navigate to other relevant sections. Breadcrumbs are also valuable for search engines in understanding how your site is structured.
So, how do you fix this?
It’s simple, add breadcrumbs.
If you’re using WordPress, you can install a breadcrumb plugin. This is an easy way to improve both user experience and your site’s search engine performance.
Mistake #5 – Forgetting to Visualize Your Website Structure
A common mistake in website structure is simply not thinking about it at all, dedicating no time or effort to organization. Visitors expect to easily find what they’re looking for on your website, so the key content areas of your site should all be accessible from the homepage menu.
At the same time, don’t go overboard with menu items and categories.
Too many items will clutter a menu and make it difficult to use. The menu should provide a clear overview, showing the main structure of your website, and, ideally, help visitors understand how your website is arranged.
To fix this issue:
Optimize the choices on your menu by prioritizing user experience. While the perfect menu depends on a specific site, remember to include the most important pages, and avoid adding too many others. Also consider what your visitors are searching for and how you can assist them in navigating your site.
When you focus on user experience, you make it much easier to establish a clear website structure that benefits your site’s users.
The big takeaway from these 5 mistakes is that a good website structure has a clear benefit for your business.
The structure itself is like a blueprint for a successful SEO plan. How you organize your site tells Google which content, which articles, posts, and pages matter the most to you.
And, especially as you continue to add new content, it’s vital to keep an eye on how everything is organized and watch for any issues that might pop up.
Not only does an organized and effective website structure help Google index your site, but the great user experience you offer also leads to more inquiries, more sales, and even higher ranking in the search results!
Now let me ask you a quick question. Do you have competitors who are doing better online than you are?
If so, join me on an upcoming training webinar. I’ll show you how to get the advantage in the search results. It’s free. Just go to upatdawn.biz/webinar to get registered.
Your business deserves to be seen online, and I will help you get there.
Thanks for watching and have a great day!
