How long for Google to recognize my new site structure?

[irock]

Hi, I recently changed my site structure completely. I was wondering how long it will take for G to recognize my new site structure.

FYI, report on "internal links" under Google Webmaster Tools is still the same as 2 weeks ago.

[swapnil]

It will take time for Bots to crawl your whole site, just keep checking daily type in search bar site:domain.com and regularly check the crawling status (No. of pages that are crawled).

[irock]

Thanks for the reply. However, I only created 3 new categories. All the other pages already exist but they are just being re-organized in the new site structure. I changed my site structure from flat to hierarchical structure.

[tedster]

I changed my site structure from flat to hierarchical structure.

If you changed the URLs, it could be a long wait - I've seen it take 3 months for complete indexing in some cases. If you only changed the internal linking, registering the new link structure will happen a lot faster.

How many total pages are involved, before and after the change?

[irock]

I didn't change the URL structure. I simply changed the site structure (i.e. how internal pages are linked together).

Total pages of the site is about 660. I only added 3 main categories (i.e. reviews, news, faq) when reorganizing the site structure.

[tedster]

Sounds like you might see a relatively fast updating. Just know that WMT often lags behind actual indexing. You can get search traffic to a new page before it shows up in WMT.

[aristotle]

Have you seen any significant changes in Google rankings and traffic since your recent site-structure alterations? For example, the Google algorithm might suspect that you made the alterations for SEO purposes, and drop your rankings and traffic, at least temporariily, to test for possible reactions on your part that would confirm the suspicion. It could even become a "cat and mouse waiting game" between you and the algorithm, to see whether it can trap you or you can trick it.

[irock]

Hmm... I actually haven't seen any changes yet. I think as this is a massive change to the site structure (from very flat to hierarchical), do you think Google will need more time to re-evaluate the site?

Tedster, when you say I might see a relatively fast updating, how long will do you think this might take, in your experience?

[tedster]

My crystal ball seems to be a bit hazy in recent times ;) But if this were last year, I'd guess initial ranking changes would be there in another two weeks, with stability in still another two. A lot seems to depend on how your site ordinarily gets crawled, however.

[irock]

The reason I changed my site structure is because after I read an article (excerpt below), I strongly believe I've messed up internal links.

"The “Internal Links” page identifies which pages on your site are most frequently linked from your own site. This can be a very interesting report because internal links give search engines clues to which pages the sites’ owners consider most important. If many internal links are going to pages that are low priority and few are going to pages that are higher priority, the navigation may deserve another look."

[tedster]

You said your original internal link structure was flat. Did you have big pile of links on every page, with "everything linking to everything"? If so, you definitely made a good decision no matter how long it takes Google to sort it out.

[irock]

Well, under my previous site structure, I linked every page to 48 different sub-categories and under these sections, I linked to rest of my pages (about 600 of them).

[tedster]

Well, I've got to congratulate you on making this kind of change - and I certainly hope (and believe) it will help you.

I've made this kind of change with a number of sites and always with excellent eventual results. At the same time I've probably suggested it five times as often to various websites, and I usually run into major resistance. Site structure is a major deal these days. It may even be part of the black and white critters that have been running wild for the past 18 months.

[irock]

Thanks for the prompt reply. So, in your opinion, is my previous link structure flat? I mean it isn't like what you said... every page linking to every page.

Also, I don't understand that reference? What do you mean by "black and white critters"?

Thanks.

[aristotle]

Also, I don't understand that reference? What do you mean by "black and white critters"?

Black and white are typical colors of pandas and penguins.

Also, a strictly "flat" structure would only have one level. A hierarchy of two levels would be less flat, etc. It's also possible to devise structures that are "mixtures" with cross-linking between different levels.

[Jez123]

Have you seen any significant changes in Google rankings and traffic since your recent site-structure alterations? For example, the Google algorithm might suspect that you made the alterations for SEO purposes, and drop your rankings and traffic, at least temporariily, to test for possible reactions on your part that would confirm the suspicion. It could even become a "cat and mouse waiting game" between you and the algorithm, to see whether it can trap you or you can trick it.

This is what I am seeing on my site I think. Do I just leave all alone now I have made the changes?

[irock]

Hi Jez123,

Did you also change the site structure? If so, would you like to share how you did it?

[Jez123]

hi irock,

I have only changed the URL structure. It was parent / child type structure, so you would have a repetition of the URLS the deeper you went:

product
product/type-of-product
product/type-of-product/variation-of-type-of-product

etc.

I have removed the parent / child hierarchy and now it's much less focused.

[irock]

So your URLs are now like this?
http://example.com/variation-of-type-of-product

[Jez123]

Hi irock, yes that's correct

[irock]

Hi Jez123,

I guess you have to wait a bit longer. This could take 3 months for the changes to stabilize.

So, how is your site structure like?

[sid786]

Since yesterday, I have been changing my site's structure and I am halfway through. Basically, I had around 50 categories in the sidebar on every page. Just like yours, my site's structure was flat.

I created a new page, dumped similar categories (with a few posts) in this new page. Let's call this the "main cat page." I also created sub-pages and added relevant categories.

From the homepage, I have linked to "main cat page" and removed those 50 categories. Do you think this is a good idea?

[swapnil]

It takes normally 90 days for the bot to crawl new sites or new content of sites, though be regularly checking the crawling status with the help of following string: site:mysite.com your site will be crawled slowly be patient.

[irock]

Hi sid786,

I think as long as you have a good hierarchical site structure that properly separates your different content into different categories, I think you should be fine.