What is SILO structure & How it helps in SEO
-
SEO
-
March 16, 2023
With Google’s AI getting smarter every day, search engines award top rankings to websites that cover all user’s queries. The primary goal of all SEOs today is to increase organic traffic and leads, so it becomes important to optimize it in all aspects.
In this blog, we are going to discuss what website SILO architecture is and why it is done to improve the technical SEO of websites.
Website silo structure refers to the organization and interlinking of website content in a way that groups related topics together and makes it easier for search engines to understand the overall structure and hierarchy of the site. The process of doing SILO is known as SILOING.
It involves organizing website pages into categories or “silos,” with each silo containing related pages and subcategories. For example, a website about outdoor gear might have a silo for camping equipment, another for hiking gear, and another for water sports.
Within each of these silos, there might be subcategories for different types of gear, such as tents, sleeping bags, or backpacks.
Using a silo structure can help search engines understand the content of a website and how it is organized, which can improve the site’s search rankings.
It can also make it easier for users to navigate the site and find the information they are looking for.
How to organize a website structure as per SILO?
Here are some steps you can follow to organize your website’s structure using a silo approach:
- Identify the main categories or silos for your website. These should be broad topics that cover the main areas of your business or website.
- Determine the subcategories or subtopics within each silo. These should be more specific topics that fit within the broader category.
- Create a hierarchy for your content by organizing your pages and posts into categories and subcategories. You can use tags and categories within your content management system (CMS) to help with this organization.
- Use clear and descriptive headings, subheadings, and URLs to indicate the hierarchy of your content. This will make it easier for both users and search engines to understand the structure of your site.
- Use internal linking to connect related pages within each silo and to link between silos as appropriate. This helps search engines understand the relationships between different pages on your site and can improve the overall SEO of your site.
- Make sure that your site navigation reflects the silo structure of your content. This will make it easier for users to find the information they are looking for and will help search engines understand the structure of your site.
- Monitor and maintain your site structure over time. As you add new content to your site, make sure it fits within the existing silo structure and update your navigation and internal linking as needed. This will help ensure that your site remains well-organized and easy to navigate for both users and search engines.
When is the right time to do a SILO structure?
It’s generally a good idea to set up a silo structure for your website when you are first designing and building the site, as this will help ensure that the content is organized in a clear and logical way from the beginning.
However, it’s also possible to modify or “spin” the silo structure of an existing website if the current organization is not effective or if you want to make changes to better serve your target audience or improve your search engine rankings.
There are a few things to consider when deciding whether or not to spin your website silo structure:
- The overall goals of your website: If you want to improve your search engine rankings or make it easier for users to find the information they are looking for, changing your silo structure may be beneficial.
- The current organization of your content: If your content is poorly organized or hard to navigate, a new silo structure may be necessary to improve the user experience.
- The amount of content on your site: If you have a large amount of content on your site, it may be more time-consuming to change the silo structure. In this case, you may want to consider whether the benefits of spinning the structure are worth the effort.
Overall, the right time to spin your silo structure will depend on your specific goals and the current state of your website. It’s important to carefully consider the pros and cons of changing the structure before making any changes.
Final Thoughts
Organizing your content makes sense for a lot of reasons. It allows search engines to find and crawl a page easily.
Well-organized posts, pages, or content will definitely improve the visitor’s experience. Internal linking wherever relevant it could be is what makes website SILO structure more sound.
Be it a small, medium, or big brand. It is worth doing an audit of the SILO structure for your brand.
