How to Silo Structure a Content Rich Website for Google

Chris Munch · 10-23-2010, 08:36 AM

Here's a good guide from Michael Gray discussing how to silo structure content rich websites to maximize the flow of internal page rank, rank higher and improve usability.

Do you us a silo type structure on your websites?

Adam Roy · 10-23-2010, 08:38 AM

Yes. I typically just change my permalinks to , /%category%/%postname%

Then I display categories and category posts in the sidebars instead of recent posts.

Then interlink the posts.

McBrett · 10-23-2010, 08:47 AM

I definitely try to use that method with e-commerce sites in particular. I also try to silo in multiple verticals in an effort to capture the most search traffic meaning I'll create silos based on brand names, type of products, even sizes and colors if it makes sense.

I don't worry too much about siloing with a newsy / wordpress style website although you could certainly help categorize different types of news using the above method.

Chris Munch · 10-23-2010, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by friend

Yes. I typically just change my permalinks to , /%category%/%postname%

Then I display categories and category posts in the sidebars instead of recent posts.

Then interlink the posts.

I personally drop the /%category%/ as it adds extra length to the URL which is not needed.

There's a ton of reasons to do this but the main one:
1. If people link to you with just the URL, the URL often gets truncated, by removing the category you ensure the most relevant words don't get truncated from the URL.

2. Google currently seems to believe that the short URLs on your site are of more importance than the longer ones, so will give them a higher priority (I read that on SEOMoz somewhere).

3. Shorter URLs are easier for people to read and type. People do read URLs such as when they are posted in forums or Yahoo Answers, and the category bit can potentially damage CTR.

Adam Roy · 10-23-2010, 09:31 AM

I read on their blog, that if you have long URLs, as long as the user still lands on a functioning page on your site if they left something out, you're good.

Shorter the better though, totally agree.

Bashty · 12-11-2010, 01:44 AM

I just read some other threads about silo-ing and there were a few people who said that this strategy was obsolete and would even harm your SEO-efforts.
I'm currently building a new niche-site, will probably be not more than 40-50 articles all in all. Would it benefit me SEO-wise or will it actually hurt my efforts?

I'm using wordpress and also wondering how to apply that silo structure linking to it, as I have a navigation bar on every site that links to a few other sites and I read that nofollow wasn't that good either. I'm going to go through the tutorial that was provided in the first post and hope someone can answer my question

Chris Munch · 12-14-2010, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bashty

I just read some other threads about silo-ing and there were a few people who said that this strategy was obsolete and would even harm your SEO-efforts.
I'm currently building a new niche-site, will probably be not more than 40-50 articles all in all. Would it benefit me SEO-wise or will it actually hurt my efforts?

I'm using wordpress and also wondering how to apply that silo structure linking to it, as I have a navigation bar on every site that links to a few other sites and I read that nofollow wasn't that good either. I'm going to go through the tutorial that was provided in the first post and hope someone can answer my question

Generally making a site that is very easy for users to navigate so it is easy to find content, the structure of content makes sense, and its easy to find related topics, is what also works for Google.

Generally any page should be as easy to reach from the homepage as possible, meaning fewer clicks from the homepage as possible.

As is often the case think of user first and that usually works for Google too.

Its impossible to recommend how you should structure your site without seeing the site, but overall thinking of the user will serve you well.

GlenH · 01-21-2011, 09:09 PM

Yep...it's easily done..automatically with Silo Site Creator

yukon · 01-21-2011, 09:25 PM

All my WP sites are like: hxxp://domain.com/red-cars/really-fast-cars

The word category does not show in my URLs, the actual category name is what shows in both the url & canonical.

This is the direct path to my blog post & being consistent in the url path is a very good idea, I don't think categories shouldn't be left out.

10-23-2010, 08:36 AM	#1
Chris Munch Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 577 Thanks: 350 Thanked 479 Times in 156 Posts	How to Silo Structure a Content Rich Website for Google Here's a good guide from Michael Gray discussing how to silo structure content rich websites to maximize the flow of internal page rank, rank higher and improve usability. How To Silo Your Website:The Sidebar How To Silo Your Website: The Masthead How To Silo Your Website: The Breadcrumb Trail How to Silo Your Website: The Content Tip for the Keyword & Link Footer Stuffers Do you us a silo type structure on your websites?
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10-23-2010, 08:38 AM	#2
Adam Roy The SEO master War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 1,524 Thanks: 151 Thanked 881 Times in 172 Posts	Re: How to Silo Structure a Content Rich Website for Google Yes. I typically just change my permalinks to , /%category%/%postname% Then I display categories and category posts in the sidebars instead of recent posts. Then interlink the posts.
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10-23-2010, 08:47 AM	#3
McBrett HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Minnesota Posts: 386 Thanks: 11 Thanked 56 Times in 38 Posts	Re: How to Silo Structure a Content Rich Website for Google I definitely try to use that method with e-commerce sites in particular. I also try to silo in multiple verticals in an effort to capture the most search traffic meaning I'll create silos based on brand names, type of products, even sizes and colors if it makes sense. I don't worry too much about siloing with a newsy / wordpress style website although you could certainly help categorize different types of news using the above method.
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10-23-2010, 09:31 AM	#5
Adam Roy The SEO master War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 1,524 Thanks: 151 Thanked 881 Times in 172 Posts	Re: How to Silo Structure a Content Rich Website for Google I read on their blog, that if you have long URLs, as long as the user still lands on a functioning page on your site if they left something out, you're good. Shorter the better though, totally agree.
	Niche Business Automation System - Article Copycat System - Ultimate Backlinks Report Internet Marketing Product Reviews Facebook Pages WITHOUT SSL?

12-11-2010, 01:44 AM	#6
Bashty HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand Posts: 99 Thanks: 40 Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts Contact Info	Re: How to Silo Structure a Content Rich Website for Google I just read some other threads about silo-ing and there were a few people who said that this strategy was obsolete and would even harm your SEO-efforts. I'm currently building a new niche-site, will probably be not more than 40-50 articles all in all. Would it benefit me SEO-wise or will it actually hurt my efforts? I'm using wordpress and also wondering how to apply that silo structure linking to it, as I have a navigation bar on every site that links to a few other sites and I read that nofollow wasn't that good either. I'm going to go through the tutorial that was provided in the first post and hope someone can answer my question
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01-21-2011, 09:09 PM	#8
GlenH HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sydney - AUSTRALIA. Posts: 454 Thanks: 0 Thanked 35 Times in 24 Posts Contact Info	Re: How to Silo Structure a Content Rich Website for Google Yep...it's easily done..automatically with Silo Site Creator

01-21-2011, 09:25 PM	#9
yukon SEO Strategist War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 6,532 Thanks: 355 Thanked 1,992 Times in 1,273 Posts	Re: How to Silo Structure a Content Rich Website for Google All my WP sites are like: hxxp://domain.com/red-cars/really-fast-cars The word category does not show in my URLs, the actual category name is what shows in both the url & canonical. This is the direct path to my blog post & being consistent in the url path is a very good idea, I don't think categories shouldn't be left out.