Theme problem?

[Craig_F]

Ok, I have *lots* of top positions for a site I designed a few years ago with the SE's in mind from the start. However, I've been reading a little more about themes, and was wondering if perhaps I'm missing some opportunities. Here's what I'm doing, let me know what you think.

The site is all in the root, but I follow a directory like link structure. For example:

Home Page (lists main product categories)
Home page links to --> Product category pages (each lists all products in the category)
The product category page then links to --> All product pages (just product info)

The part I'm wondering about is that all the pages I mentioned above link to ordering info, contact info, and the home page, but the product category paths do not link to each other. Also, products within a specific category do not link to each other. They only link back to their parent product category.

So, I was hoping a theme expert can chime in a let me know if I'm missing anything important.

[agerhart]

First of all, I would use sub-directories to get the full theme approach, but that is just my opinion.

This is the way that I would strucure it out:
(--> = links to)

Home page --> Product categories
Product categories --> products in the category
Product Pages --> Product Pages (only if in the same category or closely related)

The home page and product categories should link back and forth to each other. The product categories and products within the respective category should link back and forth. The product pages within a category should link to each other. Horizontal linking between product pages of different categories should only occur if they are closely related. The product pages should not be linked to from the homepage, but it is okay the link to the homepage from the product pages.

Does this make sense?

[Craig_F]

Thanks agerhart. Perfect sense. That is pretty much what I'm doing except for this:

>The product pages within a category should
>link to each other.

I thought that this might be important, but why? Easier spidering? The text in the links? PR transfer?

[agerhart]

>>>> Easier spidering? The text in the links? PR transfer?

All of the above!! Linking between these sections allows the website to be consistent in it's theme, relating all of these categories to each other, allowing you to use keyword descriptive text links, and staying on theme by not linking to the unrelated product pages.

[Craig_F]

Just what I thought. Thanks again! Looks like I gotta get busy linking :)

Otherwise, would this be considered a well themed site? I ask because I've been building them this way for years without knowing the theme concept and was surprised when I started looking into it.

It seems to me that if you are focusing on the engines from the beginning a themed site is a pretty natural result.