Information Architecture and its Effect on SEO

Information architecture is the art and science of organising information systems, particularly websites and intranets, for both humans and robots. As an internet advertising agency that provides an SEO service along with web design and build; it is essential that our knowledge of this subject is sound.

Information architecture can have more of an impact on SEO than you might initially think. Information architecture relates to organising your sites content into groups or categories. Navigation comes into this and helps with the organisation of the information.

The way information is grouped on your site will help your SEO campaign. How you arrange information will signal to search engines and site users which content you deem to be most important. This is partly the reason why CMS are so popular because they allow for easy information architecture. Content can be grouped by categories and subjects very easily. To test out some of the best open source CMS systems visit http://php.opensourcecms.com/

It is important to have a firm grip on your sites information architecture so you can prevent any duplicate content issues. Although CMS is very good for organising content many have the ability to create numerous URLs for the same page. This should be one of the first things you address with your SEO campaign.

When you are optimising a website generally you are looking to present the content in a way the search engines are going to find it easy to access and understand. At the same time you have to make the site attractive, useful and usable for humans.

At the design stage it is essential to consider how to easily expand the content and keep the site architecture manageable for humans and search engines over time. When designing a site it is not just about the use of colour and imagery, it is about creating an environment where site visitors will feel comfortable. If it is a commercial site it should create a place where people want to do business. Information architecture and design are essential in improving the conversion rate.

The best comparison I think of is that of a traditional bricks and mortar supermarket. The store layout has been refined over many years of consumer research to create a shopping environment where people will spend the most money. There is a reason why the fresh produce is always by the entrance, the bakery and deli near to the back and the alcohol can be found in the far aisles.

The products are stored in logical areas, when you visit a supermarket regardless of which brand it is you can usually find your way around easily enough and leave with everything you came to purchase. This is what the information on your site should be designed to do.

To find out if your information architecture is having an adverse effect on your SEO contact BDR.