27-05-2025
How to Structure a Website for Long-Term SEO Success
If your search traffic is dropping and your rankings are falling behind your competitors, it might not be your content that's the problem. Many websites struggle to gain visibility because their site structure creates confusion for both users and search engines.
If your site is cluttered, confusing, or not neatly structured into an SEO-friendly hierarchy, you probably won't outrank competitors who structure their sites in a more optimal way. Google likes a simple, logical hierarchy ( and so do human visitors) .
At Matter Solutions, we've worked with businesses across Australia to improve their SEO without changing a single blog post.
In this article, you'll learn how to build smart SEO silos, improve crawlability, and audit your website layout using proven methods. These are the same techniques we use every day with our own clients. Let's dive in.
Site structure has a major effect on SEO performance, because it determines how easy it is for Google to crawl and index your pages. It also affects how easy it is for users to navigate your site, which sends positive ( or negative, if you do it wrong) signals to Google.
If your website structure confuses users, your rankings will likely reflect that confusion, because Google will index fewer pages and also get negative signals from users about your site. On the other hand, a clear layout helps search engines crawl pages efficiently and ensures visitors can find what they need quickly. So, Google will index more pages AND get better user signals.
Here's some advice from our personal SEO experience…
Each page on your site should serve a clear purpose and sit logically within a larger framework. Without internal links supporting it, a page may never be indexed. If important content is hidden under too many layers, it becomes invisible to your audience and to Google.
Think of your website like a city. Roads and signs help people understand the location. If there's no map and everything looks the same, people will get lost and leave. The same goes for search engines. When there's no clear flow, they skip your content in favour of something easier to crawl.
A well-structured site helps content get discovered, increases time on page, and lowers bounce rates. These improvements show search engines your site is helpful and trustworthy, which boosts your rankings over time.
The answer depends on the size of your site and what you need it to do.
Flat structures keep all pages within three clicks of the homepage. This suits smaller websites, such as service-based businesses or portfolios, where content remains fairly stable.
Silo structures group related pages under broad topic areas. For example, a digital marketing site might organise content into sections like SEO, content strategy, and paid ads. Each section would then include subtopics that build on the main theme. This setup helps improve internal linking and strengthens topic relevance.
For WordPress users, categories and parent pages are simple tools that can shape silos without making the menu cluttered. Just watch out for overly deep nesting or too many tags, as these can create crawl issues.
If you're looking to explore siloing further, Ahrefs has a helpful guide to SEO silos.
Effective site layout doesn't need to be complicated. What matters most is that the content is easy to access and logically grouped. Now that you've outlined your layout, it's time to check what's slowing search engines down.
Over 80% of users skim blog posts rather than reading every word. That means your layout must guide both readers and search engines with precision (Source: Nielsen Norman Group).
Here's how to perform a quick but thorough audit of your site's structure: Start with a crawl: Use a tool like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to generate a full map of your pages. Look for click depth, missing titles, orphaned URLs, and broken internal links.
Use a tool like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to generate a full map of your pages. Look for click depth, missing titles, orphaned URLs, and broken internal links. Check your internal linking: Are your most important pages supported by internal links from high-traffic areas like your homepage or cornerstone blogs? Check those!
Are your most important pages supported by internal links from high-traffic areas like your homepage or cornerstone blogs? Check those! Use Google Search Console: Review crawl stats and look for pages that are not indexed or flagged as having coverage issues. This highlights deeper structural problems
Review crawl stats and look for pages that are not indexed or flagged as having coverage issues. This highlights deeper structural problems Visualise your silos: Sketch out how your categories, subcategories, and blog topics are grouped. Are they reinforcing your SEO themes or scattering your authority?
We follow this exact process with our clients at Matter Solutions to identify hidden inefficiencies. Even a basic audit can surface simple changes that lead to significant SEO improvements.
Crawlability refers to how easily search engines can access and scan the pages on your website. If Google or Bing cannot reach a page or follow links between your content, that page might not appear in search results at all.
Improving crawlability helps search engines discover, understand, and rank your content faster. It also makes your website easier for users to navigate.
Here are some common crawl problems to look out for: Orphan Pages: These pages are not linked from anywhere else on your site. If there's no internal path to reach them, search engines often ignore them. Use tools like Sitebulb to find these pages and link them into your content properly.
These pages are not linked from anywhere else on your site. If there's no internal path to reach them, search engines often ignore them. Use tools like Sitebulb to find these pages and link them into your content properly. Deep Nesting: If users need to click four or more times to find a page from your homepage, it may be buried too far down. Try flattening your structure so that important pages are easier to reach.
If users need to click four or more times to find a page from your homepage, it may be buried too far down. Try flattening your structure so that important pages are easier to reach. WordPress Archive Pages: WordPress can create duplicate versions of the same content through category and tag archives. These are often thin or low-value pages. Mark them as 'noindex' using your SEO plugin so they don't compete with your main content.
WordPress can create duplicate versions of the same content through category and tag archives. These are often thin or low-value pages. Mark them as 'noindex' using your SEO plugin so they don't compete with your main content. Broken Internal Links: Links that lead to missing or deleted pages waste search engine resources and annoy your visitors. A quick monthly scan with Screaming Frog will help you spot and fix these quickly.
Improving crawlability helps your site appear in search results more reliably. It also improves user experience, which enhances your engagement metrics and tells Google that your site deserves higher visibility.
Many websites grow faster than expected. Without planning for expansion, you can end up with a messy layout, broken links, and content that competes with itself in search results.
Here are a few ways to build a structure that keeps working as your content library grows: Plan for long-term categories: Think carefully about how you group content. Categories should be broad enough to cover future topics but not so vague that they confuse users. For example, if you're creating SEO content now, leave space to later add subtopics like local SEO, technical SEO, or link building.
Think carefully about how you group content. Categories should be broad enough to cover future topics but not so vague that they confuse users. For example, if you're creating SEO content now, leave space to later add subtopics like local SEO, technical SEO, or link building. Use parent and child pages wisely: In WordPress, you can organise content using parent and child pages. This helps define clear paths between related articles, especially in complex topics.
In WordPress, you can organise content using parent and child pages. This helps define clear paths between related articles, especially in complex topics. Create internal linking templates: Document your linking strategy so your team knows how to connect pages consistently. This also helps new content fit into your site without needing major changes.
Document your linking strategy so your team knows how to connect pages consistently. This also helps new content fit into your site without needing major changes. Use canonical tags for duplicate content: If your site uses dynamic filters or generates similar URLs, canonical tags help Google understand which version to index. This prevents split rankings or penalties.
By thinking ahead, you can avoid painful restructures later. Many of the clients we've worked with at Matter Solutions saved time and avoided traffic loss simply by setting up a well-planned structure from the start.
Improving your website's structure is one of the simplest ways to lift your rankings without rewriting content or chasing backlinks. Yet it's often the most overlooked.
A clear, well-organised layout helps search engines find your pages, understand how they relate, and decide where to rank them. For your visitors, it means smoother navigation, faster answers, and more trust in your brand.
If you've noticed issues like lost traffic, pages that don't rank, or poor user flow, your site structure might need attention. Start by running a quick crawl audit, flattening deep page hierarchies, and fixing any broken links. Then build on that foundation with smart internal linking and scalable silos.
At Matter Solutions, we help businesses across Australia create SEO strategies that grow with them. If you're ready to get serious about structure, we're here to help.
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