Site/Directory structure and SEO

folders folders folders...

[sniffer]

Hi there

I am looking for advice on how to structure an article site. I want the directory structure to

- accommodate growth
- make it easy to 'find' content via the URL(s)
- accommodate SEO

the first two points are easily dealt with, eg:

www.mysite.com/articles/a/amber-widgets/the-article.htm

users can back track to each directory, but, im concerned about the pros and cons from an SEO perspective

Any advice? Thanks

[vacorama]

the higher up in the directory tree the better... if you look at sites like epinions who rank very high for just about all the types of products they write about, everything is in the top directory. By keepin your URLS as short as possible and still have keywords in the URL you should do well...

[Webwork]

Nice little thread here:

[webmasterworld.com...]

Hope reading it helps.

[Bennie]

And here:

[webmasterworld.com...]

[sniffer]

Thanks for the replies

Im still a little confused as there seems to be conflicting advice and things that i have read elsewhere.

The advice to keep everything as close to the root directory as possible seems to conflict with most of the article sites out there

[Webwork]

The smartest SEOs that I know "test everything" - in small variations.

You can rely on what you read.

You can rely on what worked last week.

You can put all your eggs in 1 basket.

You can run 1 test and conclude you have the answer.

My advice: If you are going to play the game to win this game requires that you 1) don't put all you eggs in 1 basket; 2) you discover what's working by running your own tests; 3) you stay light on your feet.

Some of the smart people have indicated that directory structure is 1 small variable, probably a variable that is more important to the future logical expansion of your website and future management of growth. I agree with this proposition.

But, I could be wrong . . . :)

Moral of the story: Get used to spending money on domains and cheap hosting. Run your own tests. Then tell us all about it, if you're willing after spending all that time, money and effort diving the secrets of small changes.

[sniffer]

yeah i agree - in this particular case its a hobby/personal site so im a bit more fussy about the domain. I'd have to play with other sites.. which i may do in the future

I think ill go the folders route and make small tests from there and test more seriously when ive got something more solid to play with

Thanks