Video

Vlog: site structure and SEO

What do we mean by a 'good structure' when it comes to your webpage? And how do you implement it?

 

You need your web copy to speak to human readers, but also optimise it for search engines. Luckily, we specialise in SEO copywriting

So, here’s what we know. The balance is tricky, but there are a few easy tips to make sure you appeal to both humans and algorithms. Alan is here to help you bridge the divide in just a couple of minutes. Click that play button above to hear how it’s done.

Prefer good old-fashioned words on a screen? We hear you. Here’s the transcript:

Hello – I’m Alan from Blackad. Today I’m going to talk about structure.

How do you organise web pages to serve the needs of your readers and search engines?

Bridging the divide between humans and machines is not as complicated as it might first appear. And there are three simple rules that really help:

1. Lead with value
2. Invest time in strong headlines
3. Make it scannable

Right, let’s take that first point – ‘lead with value’.

Ultimately, users and search engines want to know if your page nails the question it sets out to answer.

If it’s a page about opening times – put them right at the top of the page. The bigger and more obvious, the better. Don’t lead with a scene-setter sentence on how convenient it is to shop at your store. Nobody cares.

Structure your content so the most valuable information comes first – before the reader has to scroll down. Because guess what? The search engines look at valuable content ‘above the scroll’ as a big, hairy ranking factor.

Right… now let’s take a look at investing in strong headlines.
If you have a heading that says ‘Our running shoes’ and another that says ‘How to choose the right shoes for your running style’, it’s clear what your page is about.

Flip this around for a second: what wouldn’t be clear?

‘Our range’ and ‘How to choose’ make sense in context, but make it much harder for search engines to categorise them and harder for users to find.

They also make it harder for humans in hurry: ‘Our running shoes’ wins over ‘our range’ every time. Which takes us to our last point…

Make it scannable.

How often do you read a web page from top to bottom? Me neither – and I’ve been doing this for over 25 years.

Most of us scan the page to pick out the information we want. At least, that’s what over two decades of eye-tracking research shows.

Your keys to scannable content are super-simple:

Subheadings – use these to break long text into self-contained chunks.
Bullet points – these show the reader – and search engine – there’s a group of related good stuff coming up.

That’s it…

We’d love to hear your insights about structure. Head to the comments and tell us your stories.

And if you want to know more, visit our website to download our guide on optimising your content for search.


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